New Chapter, Same Story

I had to laugh when I looked up and saw this quote on the wall at F3 last week. I have a version of this tattooed on my arm (tabula rasa; "blank slate" in Latin) and the reminder still seems to find me wherever I go when I need it the most-- Don't like the story? Change the narrative. 

Then I came across this Brene Brown quote about how our strengths and things we want to change are on the same continuum. We can use our strengths to help reframe things about ourselves that we want to improve. Starting a new chapter does not mean erasing or distorting the stories we've already been writing, it means building upon what we have learned in order to write a stronger, braver, or more honest narrative in the future.  When I think about my story as a powerlifter, here are some things I am actively working on changing and the [strengths] that I think are born out of them. 

 1. I overthink things, repeat every cue, and try to change too many things at once in order to get something right [I'm eager to learn what I can do to get stronger] 

 2. I shut down when I feel like I'm having an off day, whatever "off" feels like at that particular moment [I'm reminded that this is important to me] 

3. I get bogged down in comparison--with my expectations, with able-bodied lifters, etc. [I pay attention to when other people reach their goals, and celebrate with them every chance I get. I feel grateful and uplifted every time they do that with me] 

All this is to say that while I still believe in changing a narrative that no longer suits me, I don't think it needs to be this dramatic rejection of that narrative. New chapters of a book are influenced by what's already been written, so we might as well just keep writing the best stories we can.