The Story Writing Workshop is our writing and reading session in Echoes of Recovery. When we write our truth, we go much deeper than when we talk. The Story is all about digging deep to find healing.
We will have our next The Story reading sessions next Wednesday, September 23rd:
Morning Call: 9am MDT
Evening Call: 6pm MDT
The writing prompt for next Wednesday’s sessions is: How can I reach my full potential?
Addiction expert, and all around guru on self-improvement and growth, Dr. Gabor Mate, debunks a common belief with which many of us struggle. Our culture leads us to believe that there is a contradiction between working on self-improvement and feeling self-acceptance. I know I feel that. How can I work to get better unless I have absorbed the idea that I am not good enough? Gabor says that we need to ask ourselves a kinder question, “How can I reach my full potential?” This question allow us accept who we currently are while still working and striving to grow. It is a powerful reframing. And the striving is not limited to our own internal growth and development. By trying to reach our full potential, we can eliminate roadblocks and change our situation so that the pressure for improvement isn’t squarely on our shoulders. So, for this week’s writing, please answer Gabor Mate’s question: “How can I reach my full potential?”
Having trouble finding the time to write? Our Echoes of Recovery participants lead busy lives. But busy is a matter of priorities, and we believe so strongly in the power of writing our stories, that we offer this suggestion if you are having trouble finding time to write. Try the Seven Minute Prompt method. Set a timer for seven minutes, write to the prompt above, and stop wherever you are at the end of the time. No need to edit. Just bring the output from your seven minutes of writing to our session, and read with pride for finding time to squeeze in the writing this week.
On next Wednesday’s video calls, we will read our stories to each other. Please be prepared to give and receive relentlessly positive feedback. In The Story Writing Workshops, we reward the vulnerability of our writers.
Early on Wednesday morning, I will send the ZOOM links to join the reading sessions. Please let me know if you have any questions, and we can’t wait to hear your stories!
Matt
How can I reach my full potential?
My first instinct is to make a list of everything I should be doing better. I should be more organized, more patient, more productive. I should be able to teach full time, pursue my doctorate, care for the people in my life, and somehow still have energy left for myself. But if reaching my full potential means doing all of that perfectly, I will always feel as though I am falling short.
Maybe my full potential is not a future version of me who can carry an unlimited amount. Maybe it begins with being honest about the person I am today: someone who cares deeply, works hard, gets tired, and needs room to grow. I can value those parts of myself without pretending I have everything figured out.
For me, growth might look like choosing what matters most instead of trying to give everything the same amount of energy. It might mean asking for help, setting a boundary, or resting before I am completely depleted. It might mean letting myself learn slowly, especially when I wish I were already good at something.
I want to keep moving forward. But I want to do it with kindness toward myself, not with the belief that I have to earn my worth. Perhaps reaching my full potential starts there: trusting that I am already enough, and giving myself the care and space I need to become more fully myself.
Current question: Does my future best self look better as a single woman? Have I been fooling myself all this time thinking that everyone needs a partner to make the best verson of themself? Should I start thinking of myself as an I rather than a we. I don’t have to think of myself as living by myself to think of my self as single. I can think of myself as single in my current living arrangement. I do need to do what’s best for me. Detatchment sure is easier when you don’t live with that person. Everyone does seem to understand me better as a part of a couple.
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