What is the story of your life?

It’s been suggested by some that it’s productive at regular points in your life to imagine that you died yesterday, and think about what would be in your obituary.

It’s good to think about the stories other people tell about you, but I think it’s perhaps more important to consider the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves.

The phrase “the story of my life” has become a cliché, and it’s normally used negatively:

“It rained on my wedding day - that’s the story of my life that is”.

Like most clichés, the phrase has become almost meaningless. But why do we allow these negative tales to become “the stories of our lives”? And what can we learn from people who tell more positive stories about themselves?

With my postmodern training, I’m conscious that in writing we invent, rather than reveal, ourselves. How we choose to construct our identity is therefore of great interest. Here are a few people who tell positive stories about themselves: Martin Lewis, Darren Rowse, Yaro Starak, Tom Chivers, Lynne McTaggart.

Are these people lying, deluded, lucky, brilliant geniuses, or just telling the best story they can?

Masahide writes, “My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon.” I’ve been trying to learn the art of telling a story in 100 words. Masahide’s story is beautiful, and it’s only one sentence long.