A friend posted a quirky quote to my Facebook wall the other day — it read:
When something goes wrong in your life just yell, “Plot Twist!” and move on.
I had a good laugh and then a light-bulb went on in the old noggin — that’s totally true and a helluva great life strategy!
Here’s why:
- It was Shakespeare who cited that all the worlds a stage and all the men and woman merely players. Bearing this in mind, we are all in a kind of giant theatrical production and can, at any point, be the actor, director, script writer or producer.
- Being part of the cast and crew is great news because whenever there is a twist in the tale or the plot thickens, we can interpretatively work it out and move along with the other players — yes, a bit like a pantomime.
How Can We Rewrite Our Scripts to Better Suit Our Needs?
I can’t help you with absolutely every twist and turn — inevitably life is going to throw a curve-ball, surprise or unexpected hurdle in the path of every living player — all I can do is offer perspective.
Here are 3 things to contemplate when you come across a “Plot Twist”:
Reason — I know a lot of people despise the old adage, ‘everything happens for a reason’…but, really it does. You may not be able to see the end result from where you’re standing but there is a greater scheme at work in our lives. If you want to call that major playwright God or your Higher Self, be my guest, but if there’s one thing I’ve noted in my life, it’s when I think I know what’s best for me and try to control my destiny — I get a plot twist. And I don’t think it’s a form of punishment, not at all. From my experiences these ‘plot twists’ have always worked better for me than anything I could have tried to dream up for myself. It’s like a slipway to your destiny. When we try to control everything, we can be very shortsighted. The universe is trying to work with you to get you what you want quicker than you could ever attempt. So when we seem to hit a bump in the road, it could be a detour to a better situation even if it may not look that way at first. Sometimes it takes years to see the outcome of one of these ‘twists’.- Rhyme — this is when you end with a sound that corresponds to another. Huh? Oh come on…I had to work rhyme into reason! But seriously, we can write the scripts of our lives to some extent. If you encounter a plot twist and you feel things are unraveling at the seams, write your own ending! Use the curve ball to add an interesting turn in your life. In other words, from this moment on, get down on paper how you want to see this specific ‘scene’ turn out. Then inject the outcome with feeling, like it’s already on DVD. Rewind and replay this episode in your mind knowing that the conclusion is something you really want and can feel.
- Playfulness — seeing you’re already in a play, you may as well be playful! Or, in other words, find the humor in your plot twist. There’s always something to laugh about, it may as well be our pickles as much as our pleasures. Nothing kills a bad mood more than laughing. When you can do this you can be lighthearted. When you’re lighthearted it’s easier to find the up in the down. There’s nothing wrong with being down for a while but at some point, one must make the effort to get back up — humor is always going to be your greatest ally.
Have I lost the plot completely? Gone round the twist? You’ll have to wait for the sequel!
Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.
To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.
Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can also follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment).
Cherie posts a new article on CLN every Thursday. To view her articles, click HERE.
Cherie Roe Dirksen