All great writing starts with a blank piece of paper. Photo / File
All great writing starts with a blank piece of paper. Photo / File
Every written article, letter, poem, story, email, memo, script, thesis, book and even this publication from the Rotorua Daily Post started with an empty page. I remember a newspaper editor once remarking that every publication starts from nothing.
Every newspaper they published depended on what could be created by thehands of their reporters and writers, which in turn came from the stories created in their local community and events of the day worldwide.
Our lives are no different. We begin our lives, stories and journey with an empty page. We are our own reporters. We determine what we want our story to look like and how we will use our lives to write our final story known as our epitaph.
The Maori proverb "He kai kei aku ringa" is often said by those who recognise that their destiny is in their hands and their success is highly dependent on how they use the skills and resources available to them. They know that the writing of their life story and their success depends on the decisions, effort and opportunities they make. As an international leadership speaker I have seen this proverb applied by all of the outstanding leaders I have met who enjoy huge successes in their lives. One of my speaker buddies often says "If it is to be, it is up to me".
I have also observed that most successful people choose not to go down the "blame others" path. They take full responsibility for their actions and outcomes. I have heard countless stories from leaders who continually forgive and move on, but choose not to forget so they learn the lesson learned from their mistakes regarding others.
So how is your life story going? One indication that you might be suffering from "writer's cramp" regarding your story is that you keep going back to a particular situation where someone wronged you and your negative thoughts about that person seem to totally consume you. Can I encourage you to forgive them and move on because there are more exciting chapters for you to write. You are the author of your story - not them. Na te mahi murua o nga hara, ka puta mai te kaha ora ai. Through forgiveness we gain life-sustaining strength to contribute to our story and stay positive, which is very important because none of us knows how much longer we get to write our own story.
Ngahihi o te ra is from Te Arawa and is an International Leadership Speaker, MC and author. Book him for your keynote presentation, training, or seminar by phoning 021 482 281 or through his website at target='_blank'>www.ngahibidois.com.
