You Have A Great Reason To Tell Stories

Hello, Friends!

Do you remember feeling wrung out, nervous, and free after you told a difficult story?

Yeah, me too. I’ve had to tell a few of those stories. When I was a child, I was forced to tell those stories about what happened to Dad’s truck, why I was late for curfew, and a few others. Growing older, I’ve chosen to tell hard stories of my failures to friends and to my wife.

A mentor once told me that telling embarrassing stories and sharing my weaknesses would actually cause people to increase their respect for me rather than decrease it. My friends score 100% on his advice.

Friends are the safe harbor to share our shipwreck stories.

You and I grow older and we realize the value of telling stories, of what actually happened, to the people closest to us.

But Wait!!! There’s more!

Sharing your stories helps you grow emotionally.

Guys, all of us need an emotional workout. Like any type of exercise, we have to work up to sharing the deepest, darkest stories with people whom we trust the most.

Pause for a moment and think of a story you shared with a friend.

Notice how you felt after you shared the story. Name those emotions. Think about how your friendship was affected.

Today’s Friendship Growth Challenge

1. Tell a story to a friend.

2. Notice our emotions as you get ready to tell the story, when you actually tell the story, and after the story.

3. Name the emotions.

Congratulations! You just did an emotional workout.

That’s it for today.

I’ve had some internet trouble this week causing some delivery trouble. Starting tomorrow, we should be back on our Monday, Wednesday, and Friday newsletter schedules.

Thank you for reading and being patient.