Speaker #1Hi, everybody. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Prescribing Possibility podcast. This episode is called Becoming the Author of What Comes Next. So I'd like to welcome you to another episode in our solo mini-series here on the podcast. Over the last several weeks, we've explored the sacred pause, we've created our own care plans, and we've reclaimed joy as a radical act, and we've helped ourselves hone in on clarity. So now we arrive here at a kind of threshold, but not of a conclusion, more of a continuation. Why? Well, because joy doesn't only ask us to reflect, it invites us to imagine, to step into authorship, to remember that while we can't control every chapter and every bit of our lives, we do get to choose the voice we use to tell our stories. So today, today is all about becoming the author of what comes next. Let's begin. So there have been many seasons. where I felt like the story of my life was just happening to me. And case in point, I used to often remark when I was on labor and delivery that I was a victim of circumstance. And by that, I meant it was kind of like a defense, quite frankly, because I had a little bit of a reputation of kind of, it's what we call a black. cloud in medicine. And it means that when you're there, all of this craziness sort of follows. And I remember, I mean, I was totally a black cloud in residency. You can ask anybody who trained with me. Yes, I brought all the craziness, but I didn't actually invite it. It just kind of showed up. And so my response to this. uninvited scrutiny I would get from colleagues and nurses even who were like, oh, we're going to have to like upstaff if you're on call. No, it was all meant and just, of course, but I did have a little bit of a reputation and it was not something that I brought on. It was really what I considered I was a victim of circumstance. And so there were lots of other seasons where I felt like my story was literally happening to me in the moment. So when my vestibular symptoms hit and when I was forced to practice stillness instead of clinical medicine, when that same episode brought about a change and I could no longer teach my Irish dance classes, sometimes it meant I needed to rest instead of parenting the way I wanted to. Or it... I couldn't sometimes even find the language for what was happening in my life and for who I was becoming. And it kind of felt like I was caught in between chapters. I was no longer who I had been, but I was completely unsure of who I was becoming. And I remember journaling one morning, and it was kind of like a stream of consciousness. And I asked myself, this simple question, you know, this is not the end of my story, but what might it be the beginning of? You know, where's the, where's the plot going? Where might it lead? And that question really changed everything because for the first time I stopped narrating the story from a place of survival. And I started writing and considering from a more, I don't know, a place of... more from possibility, you know, what could be. And I quickly realized that I didn't need to know the whole plot. I just had to write the next honest, authentic line. And that's what today is. It's a space to let your next line emerge. So maybe you've felt like your story has been co-authored at some point by obligation or maybe edited by burnout. Maybe you've lived entire chapters where your needs were barely footnotes. But something brought you here and some part of you is still listening. There's a part that knows that there's more to the story. And so I want to speak to that part today. You don't need to have a five-year plan. You certainly don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to ask yourself, what is one sentence of truth that I'm ready to write into my life today? It could be, I'm worthy of rest. Could be I choose to feel my feelings and emotions without apologizing. Perhaps it's I'm allowed to do or I'm allowed to want something different. So you can let that story change, not because it was wrong before, but because you're growing and you're changing. And so the plot may change right alongside you. You know, we are living in a collective narrative that often leads us. leaves us feeling depleted, diminished, detached. But we don't have to keep telling the same story. We can rewrite what joy means. We can rewrite what success means. We can reframe what healing looks like. We can take back the joy and not just as a moment, but as an entire worldview if we choose. We do not have to be passive readers. of our life stories. We're the writers, right? We're the narrators. We're the ones who get to say this is not where the story ends. This is just when it gets good. Together we can write softer, wiser, truer chapters. Ones that let us be human and hold both the ache and the awe the same time. Ones that make room for the joy even when the world tells us it's not time or when it feels impossible. We get to begin again. And so if you are in a place where you can safely close your eyes and take a moment, I'll invite you to just take a moment now. You can be sitting in the car, walking outside, lying in bed. I just want you to imagine your future self. He or she, they're not perfect, not flawless, but she is crystal clear. She is rooted and she's feeling a little bit lighter. Now, in your mind or on that page, let her speak to you. Here's what I want you to remember. Let her tell you what matters, what no longer needs your energy, what joy feels like where she is. You don't need to write a full letter, just one or two sentences, just a tiny little whisper of what's possible. And now I'd love to offer you a journal prompt, something that you can work on at another time, perhaps. And the prompt is this. If I were the author of this next chapter, what title would I give it? What truth have I been waiting to write down? And then right from there, you can set your timer for 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, whatever feels good to you. And just free write. No editing. No editorializing. Just write to the journal prompt, if I were the author of this next chapter, what title would I give it? And what truth have I been waiting to write down? So your story is still unfolding. All of our stories are. Let joy be a part of it. Let rest be part of it as well. Your voice, let your voice, your whole... honest, tender voice guide you forward. Because you're not behind. You are not broken. You are becoming. And I am so honored to walk beside you one page at a time. Well, thanks for joining me, friends. If you liked this episode, I'd love to hear what part of the show resonated most. You can message me on Instagram or email me through the link in the show notes. Your chapter is waiting for you. Until next time, take care and be gentle with yourself.
