Writing Your Life Story
A life story is at least 11 pages long.
Why?
- Because you write the first four pages fairly easily. After that, you have to dig in.
- Themes and topics come up that you may never have thought about.
- If you’ve written something about yourself before for an education, take that as a starting point.
Many biographies are written from birth to death, or to the present. It can also be valuable to let go of the timeline when discovering patterns and themes. If you follow the prompts, templates and assignments then it becomes a hybrid.
Paper or Digital
“When you write the story of your life, don't let anyone else hold the pen.”
- source unknown
You can, of course, write your life story the old-fashioned way by hand, but I don’t recommend that. Digital offers the advantage that you can add photos and videos. Also, you can search and hyperlink in your text or even work with #TAGS.
Privacy
I can imagine, because of privacy, some people prefer to do it on paper.
I personally assume that we have not had privacy for a long time.
Becoming a New Version of Yourself...
That old identity can be “stolen” from me (proverbially).
Make Time!
Many people seem to be busy. If you are going to write make time. Look at what you spend your time on in a week and …
- Turn off the television for a few weeks. Start with a month
- Log off social media and stay logged off while you are writing
- Schedule time and find a quiet place free of distractions (cottage)
Do it Together
Do it with your loved one, with a friend or with a group of people. Make sure you have someone to read your story to who can help you by mirroring it. This can be someone familiar or a professional, such as a coach who has experience mirroring clients and recognizing patterns and traumas or wounds.