In my workshop on Celebrate Your Life Story, participants take time to reflect and identify the milestones in their lives that have helped make them who they are today.
Milestones are those events, experiences and critical people that along with our personality traits help shape and mold our perceptions and responses to the world, our self-image and self-worth, expectations and assumptions, and the rules we choose to live by. Your milestones will be different from mine or anyone else’s.
It is here within our life story, where we find lessons learned and wisdom gained; where we discover old wounds that need to be healed, grievances and resentments that need to be forgiven and outdated rigid beliefs challenged and replaced.
It is within our life story where we become aware of God’s presence in our lives, discover our gifts and are able to better appreciate and evaluate the challenges we have had.
But it is an exercise we can do periodically without going to a workshop that will help us appreciate the progress we have made, the hard work it has taken and give thanks for the blessings we have experienced in the midst of our challenges.
Take time out and reflect on all you have done this past week or month – the extra mile you have walked – the extra push to complete an unwanted task – the phone call to listen and support a friend going through tough times when you are struggling yourself. We would rather forget our tough times and focus only on those that were happy – those moments of joy.
But it is in the tough times where we have developed strength and character, learned humility, compassion and grace. It is where we develop a stronger and trusting relationship with God.
Marlene Anderson