To Inspire:

I had the privilege of interviewing OSU Professor Angus Fletcher at our recent Wealth Summit. Angus heads up Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic research initiative on the power and potential of our own life stories to help our brains heal from emotional trauma and to help us find greater purpose and meaning for our lives.

Angus shared with all of us some findings from his work with a group of U.S. Army Special Forces – men who had gone through considerable trauma on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan. The men were back home and suffering from a lack of purpose and direction. A number of therapies had been tried – all to no avail. When journaling was suggested as a potential resource, the men were skeptical but tried it. It failed to help them, with the exception of one man – who chose to journal about his own life story. It had a powerful effect on his own healing and future direction. Angus and his team studied what he had written and discovered that unlike the other men, he had written about his trauma – but also about past chapters of his life when he had experienced joy, fulfillment and accomplishment – when his own goodness had shed light into the world. Angus called this a plot twist – capturing positive life experiences that when focused on and relived can bring meaning back to our lives and help us to integrate all parts of our life. These moments of “wonder” can be transformative when we really lean into them, relive them. Rather than avoid painful memories, this soldier relived them – but also relived the more beautiful parts of his life. The result was powerful healing and a life path forward that emerged.

Perhaps you are struggling with purpose and meaning in your life right now or some kind of emotional pain. Give the above approach a try – spend some time writing about your life – the good and the bad. Bring the good chapters into your mind and heart and relive them. If you’re struggling with grief, reflect deeply on times of joy. If you’re struggling with guilt, remember past occasions of generosity and selflessness. We need not be defined by our most difficult moments – let’s relive and celebrate our more beautiful moments. In doing so we will experience healing, greater peace and a better sense of how we want to live our lives going forward.

I’ve shared in the past that one of my favorite bible passages is Jeremiah 29:11 – “I have plans for you, says the Lord. Plans of good and not evil; to give you a future and a hope.”  That verse gets me so excited. My encouragement to all of us is to pursue our future life with expectant joy and gratitude by remembering past joys, not just past sorrows. In this way we’ll help ensure that our future is a life of meaning, beauty, love and joy.

Life…what a gift! Have a great weekend.

Written by Matt Palmer, Partner & Co-Founder