My son, Kyle, just graduated from high school. As we sat through different awards ceremonies, slideshows, senior events, and graduation itself, I could not help but look out over the group of seniors and be almost overwhelmed with that pool of potential. Two words that seemed to come up over and over at each event were “next chapter.”
There may not be a better way of looking at life than in terms of it being a story… your story. And as we move through life, the different phases could be broken down into chapters. After high school, the next chapter for many is college, for others, it is the military, and others it is the workforce. It may be one of the most obvious phase changes in one’s life. Because of this, there is a lot of thought, energy, and attention that goes into how one will proceed as they flip the page, moving from young adulthood into a much fuller adulthood.
But the story is far from over. For many, it is really just beginning. They are flipping the page, about to embark on a new chapter, and their life story will continue to be written.
What I couldn’t help but wonder… actually hope for… is that these young men and women, bubbling with potential and overflowing with opportunity, realize that they are the authors of the next chapter. They get to write it. They hold the pen. What gets written is up to them.
The sad thing is that most won’t take charge of their story. Instead of creating their lives, they will let circumstances, life, and the world around them write their story for them. Most people fail to recognize that they can change their story at any time. They can’t rewrite the past, but at any moment they can pull out their pen, flip the page, and start writing a new chapter, creating a new story.
My thoughts turned from thinking about these graduating seniors to all of the other people there. How many people are stuck in a story that they hate? How many people have ended up where they are because they never picked up their own pen? And how many people think that this is it, that their story has already been written, that it is over.
There may be no more powerful realization than understanding you have the power to change your story. Every single day, you have the ability to write something different. Every single day is like a new page. You may not realize that each and every day, as you sit in front of that blank page, you take that pen, and write. But most write the same thing day after day. They live a life of dread, despair, lack, and mediocracy. They write what they have always written. They write what others have told them to write. Many let others do the writing for them.
So today, start thinking about life like a book. This is your story. No matter what has happened in your past… your disappointments, mistakes, shortcomings, events that have been unfair, people who have harmed you… all of that does not matter. Those are surely part of your story, but they are in the past. Use the past to fuel a better future, rather than keep you chained to a life of stagnation… or worse… misery.
What will your next chapter look like? What will you write? Make this next chapter one of significance, accomplishment, gratitude, and joy. I heard one author say that some need to write a new chapter, while others may need to start a whole new book. The stories we love most are when the hero falls down, gets back up, dusts him/herself off, and keeps going.
As we encourage younger people to seek a bright future, to build the life they’ve dreamed of, and to be excited about their “next chapter,” we need to remember that we too need to seek a brighter future, to not give up on building the life we dreamed of, and to get excited about our next chapter.
You are writing your story… you are the author… so what do you want the story to look like? Make sure you are holding the pen. Flip the page. Start writing! Good luck to all seniors as they embark on their next chapter… and good luck to YOU, as you embark on your next chapter.