Living Like a Story

Hi everyone! It’s Amelia writing today. In today’s post, I talk a little bit about stories, their structures, and how both have helped me to look at life a little bit differently. I hope you enjoy!

Introduction

Have you ever read a book (or watched a film) and wished you could be transported into that world and time? If you’re anything like me, then you have wanted that pretty often! But that desire has probably gone beyond just that “it would be a cool experience” or you would like to be in someone else’s shoes for a day. It has probably been more about your desire to be needed, loved, and fulfilled, and to really be the “main character” of your story. 

I think that this is one reason that stories are written, in a way. To teach and inspire and spur us on to doing more with our lives. And, if stories really were meant to teach us, then we must be willing to learn. If you have longed for that “story world” where there seems to be so much more to live for, your life really can look more like that world than you think. 

Internal Conflict

Since I started getting more into writing, I have done quite a bit of research on what makes a good story. I am no expert, but I have started to realize how much we can learn from the structure of a story and how, just as characters must conquer their fears, we can as well. 

For those who may not be familiar with internal conflict, it basically boils down to desire vs. fear. Though there are different ways that authors go about it, I learned it like this:

Character’s desire

Character’s fear

Character’s misbelief about the world

How that character goes about fulfilling their desire and overcoming their fear

This is the main backbone of character development and growth, and what a large part of a story focuses on. And, just like characters in a story, we all have our own internal conflict, too. Because humans are complicated beings who have so many past experiences, our lives are more complicated than fiction, and it might be difficult to find what your own internal conflict really is. I’d like to give an example of my own life.

My Own Internal Conflict

My desire: to feel loved and have a purpose

My fear: Doing new things and letting others down

My misbelief: That I cannot make a difference to others because of my own inabilities and weaknesses 

How will I go about fulfilling my desire and overcoming my fear? In many ways. Some of them are: giving God control of my life to guide me towards opportunities. Stepping outside of my comfort zone. Reaching out more to others and realizing that my misbelief isn’t really true. 

Why it Changes you

How does being aware of this internal conflict help me? It reminds me of how I can start making changes in my life, and how I can really make a difference. It brings me back to my goals in life, and my ultimate goal of trying to live for Jesus. And, it reminds me that my life isn’t so different from a story, where I can grow and overcome my fears and defeat the evils of the world in the small ways around me.

This will not mean much to some, but for those who have envied all kinds of fictional characters and their stories, I would encourage you to live your life much like a story. This doesn’t mean that you’ll live in a false world, or always have your head in the clouds. It means that you will live more intentionally, more goal-focused and more willing to grow. 

I think that, if we remind ourselves more frequently of our goals in life, we will find more of our purpose and more of our will to live. We will remember that we are much like a character in a story, who will continue to mess up and need help, but will not ultimately give up in the end because we see why we have purpose and how we must keep striving to our end goal. 

I am still very, very bad at this. I forget my goals and my purpose frequently, and I don’t remind myself enough that I believe lies about both myself and the world. But I want to try harder. I want to have the courage of a book character and the ability to keep on fighting for the good and perfect things. And I think that, if I can accomplish the act of living like a story, I will find that I can be more content, more brave, and more ready to remember my purpose. 

I hope this post gave you some things to think about! I won’t pretend to have all of the answers, and I can’t promise you that trying to live like a story will change your life, but I hope that taking more steps towards living in that way can be something fulfilling, and can be a good reminder for us all. Just like a character in a story, you have a purpose, and, no matter how much evil surrounds you and no matter how many flaws you have, you can continue to live out the purpose God has given you to the very end. 

– Amelia