You’re Not Broken—You’re Just Living Someone Else’s Story (Here’s How to Reclaim Yours)

Guest Author Barry McDonald:

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. You’re not lost.
Chances are, you’re just living out the script someone else wrote for you.

Most people never stop to question the story they tell themselves daily—even if it’s one that’s far from perfect.

Since you got out of bed this morning, you’ve been narrating a story in your head.
And not a new one.

It’s the same story you told yourself yesterday… the day before… and probably one you’ve been repeating for years.

It Starts With “I Am…”

The moment your feet hit the floor, the “I am” statements begin.

You pick up the uniform of who you think you are and wear it like clockwork.

• “I am old.”
  
  

• “I am not good with tech.”
  
  

• “I am just not cut out for that.”
  
  

Each of those labels brings along a set of expectations.
Say them out loud and you’ll feel it.

You’ll feel the weight of the identity you’ve built around them.
The aches, the limits, the invisible rules—they all come bundled with that one little phrase.

These labels become the bumpers on your bowling lane—keeping you in a narrow path whether you like it or not.

Where Did That Story Come From?

From the moment we were kids, we were handed labels.
Not by bad people, but by people who handed down the same script they were given.

• “You’re the clever one in the family.”
  
  

• “You’re not very good-looking.”
  
  

• “You’re the F student.”
  
  

• “You’re good with your hands.”
  
  

• “Rich people are crooked and miserable.”
  
  

• “You’ll never amount to much.”
  
  

And so we play the roles attached to those lines.
We take the jobs people with our story would take.
We marry the people who match our story.
We limit our opportunities based on the self-image we’ve scripted for ourselves.

In short, we live a life according to someone else's lines.

What If You Could Change That?

Here’s the thing—

• What labels am I wearing every day?
  
  

• Would someone with these labels go after the goals I’ve set for myself?
  
  

• What kind of story would I need to be telling myself instead to get there?

Imagine Waking Up With Amnesia

No memory of who you were.

Rewrite Your Script—And Watch Your Life Change

You’re not stuck in the story you’re living.

🔗 Want to Keep Rewriting Your Story?

If this post hit home, you’ll love Barry McDonald’s Substack, “The Breakthrough Hub” —where I share honest, practical insights to help you break old patterns, build your thing online, and finally believe in what you’ve got to offer.

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