I learned in debate my freshman year of high school to carefully select the facts that contribute to my case – to the story I want to tell. This idea of choosing narratives to support a story was emphasized over and over in the essay writing I did throughout high school, and of course beyond.
What I didn’t realize at the time, as I learned to write, is that my life is a story, too. So is yours.
The difference is that instead of being supported by the arguments and facts you corral into the middle paragraphs of your five-paragraph essay, the story of your life is supported by the choices you make.
I think it’s a lot easier to make those choices if it’s clear what story you’re telling. I know the story I want to tell with my teaching, so the choices I make in the rehearsal room come from wanting to support that story. I know the story I want to tell with the music I write, so the musical choices I make are made to support that story.
I know the story I want to tell as a parent, as a friend, as a spouse, as a son, as a citizen of the USA and of the world.
The more specifically I know the story I’m telling, the easier it is to make the best choices in any circumstance I find myself. When I don’t know the story I want to tell, I struggle over decisions. But when the story is clear, the decision is clear, too.