The Sneeze of Destiny

Here's an untold tale straight from the Storyteller's childhood...

When I was younger my cousin had the cutest sneeze, a high-pitched achoo! every time her allergies picked up.

I had a regular sneeze. It was not so cute and no one took notice except to say bless you on occasion. I thought it would be fun to be have a dainty sneeze of my own so the next time the sun tickled the back of my eyeballs I gave it a try. Soon everybody noticed my mouse-like sneeze and commented how cute it was. Mission accomplished.

It's fifteen years later and now most people think it's original. They don't know my cousin but they do know me - and my sneeze. They don't realize where it came from or wonder if it was mine originally because it is mine now.

Similarly, when you copy a good habit over time, it becomes your own because you exercise it, you use it and you own it.

Others might realize where it came from when you first start, which can be humbling. Yet, even this can be beneficial when it roots out any underlying tendencies to start a new habit in an effort to uphold an appearance before others. A habit is strongest when you do it for a sturdier motivation than appearance since appearances are liable to change at the orchestrating whims of preference.

Don't be offput by a humble start but be thankful you can copy something pre-discovered instead of recreating it yourself. There will be plenty of occasions where your creative energy is required elsewhere. Take the breather and give up the credit if you must (have confidence that it is yours to the extent you use it but be quick to give credit where it is due and you will gain respect). Besides, others will eventually consider this habit to be your own because they frequently associate it with you.

That's how it works with good communication. Just because you communicate poorly now doesn't mean you have to continue doing so for consistency's sake, of all things. If the fact everybody knows you for that trait is holding you back, sometimes it's worth getting around a new crowd. At the very least, prioritize spending time with people who are willing to accept you as you change in positive ways.

Because soon the things that you once were won't describe you anymore and the things you become are what people will know you for. So give yourself the permission to change and let those who hold you to who you were fall away, just like the things you left behind.