On Telling Your Story

As I am settling back in at home after my time at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Arizona, a common theme keeps running through my mind — “just tell your story Erin”. I think it was within 5 minutes of the opening keynote speaker where something along the lines of “know your story, own your story, and tell your story” was said. And for a lot of us, we hear those words and we quickly jump our thoughts to the next thing without really letting those words resonate and what they mean. What exactly is telling your story all about? For a lot of us, it’s a scary or intimidating thing. It’s easier to remain silent, allow others to fill the noise, and keep our chances of putting ourselves out there and getting hurt in return at bay. But the thing is — if we aren’t telling our stories, how can we expect others to tell theirs? It is so true that we connect most when we open up with one another. In the moments of looking more into the depths of what inspires one another, what makes us angry, happy, sad, passionate, laugh uncontrollably, motivates, and so on much more than scrolling past a staged Instagram photo where all is perfect in the world. We all have stories to tell, bloggers and non-bloggers alike. Some of us choose to blast our stories all over the internet while others of us choose to blast our stories all over our children, friends, co-workers, and to those people in our lives who we know can benefit from hearing our words.

Years ago when I started this blog I set out to do one thing — tell my story. From the important parts to the non important parts and everything in between. I came to this space to be able to document the every day happenings that I knew I would too soon forget if I didn’t. I hope that I never want to stop sharing those moments on a regular basis. It in these stories where I can look back and I see all of the life that is happening, relationships forming, connections created, and memories that will never be forgotten. What we have to say matters. What others have to say matters. May we be wise enough to listen and brave enough to speak. It takes courage and a heck of a lot of vulnerabilty to tell your story on a regular basis. What I have to say is not always life changing or thought provoking but it is my heart, my energy, my thoughts, and my spirit.

More and more I worry that we all think our stories have to be perfect in order to be told. The most beautiful moments are the messiest. I hope we can all get a little more messy together, a little less filtered, and a whole lot more real.

Go out and tell your story girlfriend. There is somebody on the other end just waiting to hear it.