Written by Sarabeth Jones, Arkansas Women Blogger Miss June 2013

Recently, I was talking to my dear friend Alison, and she was explaining a decision she had made which was going to put her into some uncomfortable circumstances for a day or two. She admitted that things weren’t ideal, but then said, “I thought about it, and decided that these are the kind of stories I want to be telling. So I’m doing it.”
You know those little moments when someone says something and it just sticks? It takes on more meaning than the speaker probably intended, because it’s what you need to hear at a certain time.
This little sentence has stuck with me.
This is a close cousin to saying yes, I think, but it puts the focus a little farther out. When I’m looking at a decision it’s easy to let the difficulties stop me. This is going to be too hard. Probably not the right thing to do. It’s too much trouble, or time, or money. I don’t know how.
But if I stop and ask myself this question – is this the kind of story I want to be telling? Well then, that could help me push through.
It’s not a new thought by any means: if you want to do something, you have to set your eyes on the end goal to get through the parts that are hard on the way. It’s just that this is the metaphor that speaks to me – a great story. I love to tell them, don’t you? I want to have a zillion more to tell.
It’s worth noting that the same thing applies to the stories that come to us: we all know that there are things we choose to enter into, and things that powerfully shape our lives that we have no control over. Still, though, we can choose the story we tell, in our writing and with our lives.
So remind me, won’t you? And I’ll remind you – is this the kind of story you want to be telling?

Oh, in case you were wondering – Alison’s story turned out beautifully. Here’s hoping mine and yours will too.

Crazy coincidence: Last week while I was putting these thoughts together, I saw that a favorite creative, Blaine Hogan, made this question into a set of wallpapers for your desktop, phone, or iPad. You can get them here.