This past Sunday, I got stuck in a cabin up in Montana in a blizzard, trying to Lyft my way out to no avail. Stranded, no car, eventually I got out, and even had some fun on the way.

The experience while challenging gave me inspiration for what I speak to in the New Year, since I don’t bother with resolutions anymore. Less than 8% of resolutions get completed, anyway.

And yet still, if you’re like me at all…

• Do you have a temptation to reflect on 2018?
• Consider what went right, what could have gone better?
• Or even think about how 2019 could be?

Of course, you do. You’re a contemplative person.  You look at yourself and your relationships. You seek to learn and grow.

So… how do you engage your desire to reflect and not just make up a bunch of stuff to do for next year?

Instead of “resolutions,” consider something else – Your story.  Yes, that’s right. Your story.

You know how news outlets love to talk about the Big Stories of 2018. Revisiting them, we take a big sigh, and say – Wow we got through it, the world did not fall apart this past year, at least not entirely. We survived some big stuff.

And three seconds later, we ask, what will the Big Stories of 2019 be? It’s as if we’re asking, what can I burden myself with now moving ahead? At one level, it’s mere entertainment and self-soothing.

I invite you to go deeper. Forget about the big news stories of the past year.

Instead, ask yourself, what’s my Big Story of 2018? What’s the story I’m telling myself, moving into 2019?

And I don’t mean just what happened to you, but what’s the story in your head?

Often the story goes like this. Next year, I need to work out more. I need to make more money. I need to work on my inner critic. I need to be more present with my family. I want to find my true partner.

Chances are you already know this. But here’s a gentle reminder. We don’t have to believe our story.

In fact, we gain a lot of personal freedom when we don’t. And identifying our story, in any moment, is a game changer.

Again, and this time, take a moment to answer. Pause and reflect. Journal.

• What was your Big Story of 2018? What did you tell yourself?
• What’s the story you’re bringing into the New Year?
• What’s the story you want to work on in 2019? (at least Q1)

Your story is the inner eco-system you live in. It shapes how you think, what you believe, and how you’re in relationship with yourself and others.

When you identify your story, and notice the effect it has on you, you get free from it.

Ultimately, your story either feeds you or depletes you. Knowing which is all that matters. This is the effect, the biological force that shapes whether you live in a healthy or unhealthy inner psychological-spiritual eco-system.

And from there, you get to the big game changer. The God power in you. A power that scares the hell out of most of us. The fear that we are more powerful than we could ever imagine. And the fear that we are not stepping up to own it.

It starts and ends with how you choose the story of your life. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

What’s your story for 2019?  Share your answer in a comment below or on my Facebook Page.

Here’s to a Great New Year!

Self-relationship Warrior, you got this!