Transforming Your Narrative: How Viewing Your Life as a Story Can Lead to Daily Fulfillment

"A Day in the Life" videos have gained immense popularity on platforms like YouTube and across social media. They present the creator’s lives episodically, though perhaps it might be more accurate to consider these videos as chapters in the story of the creator’s lives, where each day represents a chapter. In reality, these YouTuber's lives are not precisely what they show us in their videos. Their lives, much like ours, follow a linear and sometimes monotonous path, punctuated by highs and lows that contain the life lessons we are meant to learn, though they can be difficult to recognize while we're in the midst of them.

This is precisely why we are so drawn to stories.

The best stories encapsulate these lessons, igniting our imagination and engaging our minds, ideally leaving us with solutions or steps towards overcoming the challenges we face in our lives. YouTubers who post “Day in the Life” videos are putting this into action by turning their lives into a narrative. By following their example and employing storytelling techniques in our own daily lives we can better understand them even as they are unfolding, and in the process better understand ourselves.

YouTubers who create such videos understand this concept and find ways to structure their days as elements of a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. They establish a setup, introduce a problem, and ultimately provide a solution, much like the three acts of a play. By comprehending what makes a good story and employing those techniques in our own lives, we have the power to live more fulfilling days.

I try this exercise of visualization every morning, before fully starting my day: I craft a story about how I want my day to unfold, envisioning myself as the main character. However, I don't limit myself to wishful thinking, as that would be both uninteresting and detached from reality. Instead, I include the challenges, distractions, setbacks, and long-standing hardships that I might encounter throughout the day. As the hero of my own story, I contemplate how I can overcome these obstacles by utilizing my skills and strengths. Winning the day alone is insufficient, and relying solely on visualization, without being in a positive mindset or having practiced it, can lead to imagining unfavorable outcomes—it can send us down unwanted rabbit holes, leaving us feeling worse or frustrated that visualization doesn't seem as effective for us as it appears to be for others.

My suggestion is to start narrating a daily story about your life. It doesn't have to encompass your entire existence or day from beginning to end. Instead, focus on the most crucial task you need to accomplish that day or a relationship you want to improve or deepen. By doing so, you can visualize potential outcomes. Similar to crafting a story, your mind will naturally gravitate towards the versions and twists that feel most authentic and organic to the narrative you're constructing. While you can't control your life in the same way, you can do it within the confines of your thoughts, helping you avoid wrong turns, poor choices, and appreciating that you are in the midst of a story.

With continued practice, this technique not only allows you to imagine greater possibilities for your day that no longer feel like far-fetched fantasies, but also transforms them into tangible realities. Just like a well-crafted movie or book can transport you into another person's world, offering a believable and inspiring experience, engaging in this storytelling exercise can leave you with a sense of purpose and drive in your own life.

Think of the classic example of "Rocky," a movie that makes you believe you can fight for the heavyweight championship of the world, where even if you don't win, you'll emerge stronger. Now, transpose this story, into your own life, replacing the heavyweight championship with your own personal challenges. Picture yourself as Rocky so that when you get hit in the course of your day (or any point in your life), you know you can take it. That you are someone who will keep fighting.

I still vividly recall being 19, just wrapping up my freshman year at UCLA. It was my first time in California, and my first year of college, a year brimming with challenges and fresh experiences. I knew nobody and felt unprepared. So overwhelming was this feeling that I considered transferring at the end of my freshman year. I applied to Syracuse and the University of Michigan where good friends of mine attended, and both accepted me again. 

One night, as I was about to confirm my transfer, I decided to watch one of my favorite movies, "A Few Good Men". Although I've never been in the Navy, nor have I squared off with high-ranking officers like Jack Nicholson's “Colonel Nathan Jessup”, something about Tom Cruise's character struck a chord with me. Despite his confident exterior and successful career, he had never truly tested his mettle in the courtroom. Out of fear of failure, he chose to settle cases instead of fighting them out in court. 

I found myself relating to this character, his fear of the unknown, his fear of failure. It made me realize that my own fears were what made me contemplate leaving UCLA. My dream of striking out westward towards a career in entertainment seemed to be faltering at the first hurdle - moving to Los Angeles. 

Like Tom Cruise's character, I had tried to rationalize my decision to transfer. But after seeing the movie, I realized I was merely succumbing to my fears, potentially shortchanging my dreams before they had even begun. I decided to picture myself as the hero in my own movie, and imagined how the story of my next year at UCLA would go if I chose to return.  This led me to the realize that returning to UCLA would be my personal courtroom, a place where I might face challenges, but also where I would continue to fight for my dreams.

So, I let my acceptance letters from Michigan and Syracuse lapse. I returned to UCLA, graduating after three more years that deeply influenced my life. More importantly, I stayed in Los Angeles, gaining a foothold in the entertainment industry through internships at places like ICM talent agency, and Variety. I also made connections that I still maintain today.

So, what's the story of your day? Of your life?

And if you're not happy with that story, what steps can you take to change the ending into a more positive one?