Recently, I've subscribed to a newsletter from one of my favorite figures, Colin Wright. Wright is a 30-year-old who gave up a corporate job to write and travel. He picks a new place to live every four months based on submissions by his readers. But recently, I was on his website and I found something interesting: an email series on how to shape and change your perspectives.
On Saturday I received an email about becoming the protagonist of your own story. Wright encouraged subscribers to write a short story about themselves.
"The idea here is to become comfortable with seeing yourself as a motive force in a larger story," Wright said. "A character in a world that has a lot of moving parts, but one in which you can influence the outcome, in whatever way you may want to influence it."
I think it's important to consider how someone would paint you if they saw you in your everyday life. How do you think you would be painted? Shy? Outgoing? Smart? Quiet? Start the exercise out by writing some of your positive attributes, as many as you can think of, no matter how small they may seem.
Now, after you've listed your positive attributes, think of the setting of your short plot. This isn't meant to be a novel or an epic, but do write until you feel like you're finished. Whether it be 100 or 1000 words, just let the inspiration take you. So, maybe it's from an outside perspective while someone watches you work in a coffee shop, or maybe it's as you browse in the grocery store. It's all up to you. You're in charge of what direction the story will take.
From there, all that's left to do is write. Write about you, whether it be the ideal you or the person you want to become. I think adding a few things about qualities that you don't currently embody would be a great motivation to make those changes to embody those attributes. When you're trying to make those changes that are sometimes difficult or daunting, you can look back to this short story and realize how your life could benefit from implementing these changes.
Let me give you an example. It'll be a short one, I promise. Let's call the protagonist Mary.
Mary's Qualities:
Smart
Quiet
Hard working
Any qualities she wants to embody:
Confidence
Pride in what she does
Story:
Mary was relaxing in her usual spot in the corner of her favorite coffee shop downtown. She was alternating between reading an article about 17th century art history and quietly sipping her black coffee. She had just finished the newest poem she was writing. Despite it only being in the rough stages, she was proud of it. She was proud of what it would stand for once it was all done and ready to be added to her collection of poetry from this year. When she saw someone standing in front of her, she looked up with a smile. "Hello, sir. Anything I can help you with?" she asked, smiling warmly as she sipped her coffee once more as the man opened his mouth to speak.
I hope you find this helpful!
Now go out and conquer, I believe in you.
