Each of us believes that our life tells a unique story. Not so. Each life tells a story uniquely but every story has been told and retold. That is what makes it a story rather than a childlike chronicle of “and then.” That is what makes it a story rather than a medical chart or a rap sheet. To tell a story, your listener needs to know where you are going with it.
“I coulda been a contender.”
“I made a terrible mistake in judgment.”
“My sister hated me.”
“You won’t believe what that jerk said to me next.”
“I knew it would take hard work and dedication.”
Our stories are not the most interesting thing about us. It is how well or poorly we unfold them and whether we can transcend them.