Imagine that you are writing the story of your life for a tabloid newspaper – what scandal, gossip and sensationalism can you come up with? How can you exaggerate the things that happen in your life? Are you on the brink of bankruptcy? Is the sky about to fall in? Don’t worry about the truth – after all, Fleet Street won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, so why should you? Really go to town on your story. Get some inflationary language in there – shocking, worst for 2 months, incredible, horrifying.
This was the conversation I had with one of my clients this week – there was near-bankruptcy, divorce, business going under, terror and shock and dreadful things happening. Only, when we investigated each terrible headline, we found that the truth was much more…well, mundane. Ordinary. It was a bad day blown up like a tabloid headline with the accompanying inflamatory language.
There are some UK newspapers that I cannot read, because the inflamatory language drives me crazy – everything is dreadful, horrific, shocking, terrible. Some things are – I accept that. But most of the things they report are wildly exagerated and couched in language to evoke a reponse from you. My response is normally ‘high dudgeon’…but not over the story they’re trying to ‘horrify’ or ‘alarm’ or ‘outrage’ me with…but over the language they use.
Maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, I’ve noticed that we do it too – that we emphasize and magnify aspects of a story. Like the newspapers, maybe we do it to make a better story? But if we do it for a long time, we start to believe our own press. And often, that press isn’t “Donna is the most AWESOME person in the world and is a magnificent being we should worship”, but “the worst, most depressing, most awful outcome EVERRRR”. Bankruptcy, divorce, business failure, AND the most horrifyingly bad hair day in 2 months!
If you catch yourself doing it (or your coach gently points it out, while snorting with laughter), it can be kind of funny…but actually I want you to USE this sensationalistic habit to create something way more fun – the sensationalilzed positive story of your day. Use inflamatory language to declare this the best day for a week, the best lunch since September, the best snog from your honey this month! Look for all the good things in your life and emphasize them instead of highlighting the problems.
Just as we have a terrible habit of magnifying the flaws in our bodies, and not noticing our beautiful smile/eyes/butt/knees; we have this peculiar tendency to magnify the drama and not notice that life’s not that bad really! I have lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to someone talking about the terrible, distressing situation they’re in…then when I ask them a few days later how it’s going, the situation has miraculously harmonised. Just like the news, they report the sky falling in one day, then the next they don’t mention it. Because it didn’t fall in.
Of course, sometimes the sky does fall in on our lives, sometimes the worst we dread really does happen, but most of the time it’s just one more worry that never comes to pass. I wonder how much fun it would be to shine a light on the good things in life and celebrate them? They don’t have to be big things – just turning “oh my god, I didn’t do x, y or z today, I suck” to “oh my god, I did a, b and c today, I am wonderful” would change your day from drizzly and miserable to sunny and fun.
And if you were to do it every day, maybe life would respond? Maybe your confidence would be boosted by tabloid-style headlines proclaiming your greatness? Maybe you would feel good about your job, your relationship, your financial situation, your life? Maybe instead of the low level anxiety and stress that forms the background to so many lilves, the background to your life could be joy and ease and love and inflamatory language – fabulous, breathtaking, impressive, exciting, excellent, outstanding!
So this week I have a little homework for you…
Imagine you are writing the story of your life for the most positive tabloid in the universe – no negativity, self-pity or whinging is allowed in this tabloid, but exaggeration of the positive, good inflationary language (amazing, wonderful, magnificent, best ever) is positively encouraged!!! Write, and enjoy that story! And I would love to hear what you come up with – feel free to comment below with your headline and tabloid entry.
Love
Donna.x