You know that person who always has amazing stories every time you talk to them? The person you always look forward to talking to, because it seems like they manage to find excitement in every minute of the day to the point where you wonder if they sleep. That one.
Now, think about that person who never has any good stories, sucking all of the life out of every conversation as soon as they open their mouth. Every time they start talking, everyone’s smiles drop, because they know it’s going to be another boring, predictable attempt at seeming exciting with the same old story, and people check their watches to see if they can casually leave before they launch into their endless pointless rambling.
Which one would you rather be? The person who tries to make their life seem exciting while talking about boring things, or the person who seems like they live an excitement-filled life, even during something as mundane as going to the grocery store?
While they seem like opposite people entirely, there is a very fine line between the two personalities. Everyone lives in the same world and has the same choices to make, and there is one simple difference between those two people that you can adjust immediately. Every time you come to a choice, regardless of how important or mundane, base your decision on one factor.
Which choice will make a better story?
Don’t let the simplicity of the question fool you. It has far-reaching implications.
Start with the mundane things. The next day, would you rather say “…and then I got the same sandwich I always do” or “…so I tried those new barbecue-pomegranate snacks, they tasted so weird!”? It’s a simple choice that has very little implication on your life, aside from deciding how adventurous you are and how good your story will be later when you tell someone else.
The more you make choices based on how good a story it will make, the more you start accepting that you are the kind of person who lives a life of great stories, and it becomes more and more natural. Soon you will be making choices about whether you should go hang gliding or riding a giant inflatable hamster ball down a hill. And at that point, any choice you make is a good choice.
As one quick but very important qualifier on this, make sure you always imagine that you are the one telling the story. If you did something that was a great story, but it killed you, it wasn’t a good choice. Take risks, but don’t be an idiot.
As you integrate this choice-making qualifier into your life more and more, you will start finding that everything in your life can be as much adventure as you want, and you will realize that you can squeeze more and more adventure into your life than you thought possible. Soon you will be the person that has more experiences than it’s possible to fit into a day, because everything becomes a potential great story, and you are designing your life the way an author designs a character’s life to be fascinating.
Now get out there and make some choices that give you the most amazing stories you can imagine.
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