Controlling Your Narrative: The Power of Writing Your Own Story

Everyone talks about other people.

Some stories are complimentary and praise-infused. Others are critical and dismissive.

Life has a simple, that, if followed, gives you control of the narrative.

People will tell stories about you, but you get to write the story.

Several years ago, I did something without much thought. We knew a couple from our home church that had to go to Houston. Their daughter had a complicated and long surgery at one of the medical center hospitals. I made about a 45-minute trip to the hospital (something familiar in Houston) to sit with them through surgery.

I left that day without thinking much of it.

Yet, to this day, that woman tells that story to people we meet together.

People will talk about you, but you decide what they say.

You control the content of the conversations in hallways, around watercoolers, or at dinner tables.

Peter told pressured and persecuted Christians:

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)

How do you write the story that others tell? By what you do and how you treat other people.

Your behavior is nothing more than the display window of your character. Some may protest that it is unfair because, deep down inside, people believe themselves to be good. If true, why doesn’t it seep into how they talk and live?

This blog post does not contain inadequate and misguided advice to “live better.” You can fake it for a while, but you show back up. The expression says, “Wherever you go, there you are.” You cannot escape your character.

Be authentic. It is too labor-intensive to always “be on your best behavior.” Instead, if you have a problem, take the steps now to change your character. It may take years. But over time, the stories people tell about you will change.

It’s simple. Remember that people will tell stories about you, but you get to write the story.

What story are they telling about you?