Topic Tuesday: Your Story

“In Your Own Words” (By: Maria Grasso)

A few days ago someone asked me, “What’s the most moving story you’ve heard lately?”  The answer? My own.

I hope my narcissistic response does not turn you away.  Stick with me here.

A few weeks back, a person very close to me challenged me to do something, and right away, I loathed the idea of it.  He challenged me to tell myself my story.  “Ugh,” I thought, “I already know how that goes.”

Boy, was I wrong, very, very wrong.  And I was happy to be.  See, if this little “
game” of talking to myself was like playing Monopoly, then I was about to turn houses into hotels.

Allow me to explain.  I lived my story and yet did not fully capitalize on the value of it. I had reflected on my past and moved on, proud of my resilience and dedication.  But, after almost an hour of recording myself, I went back and listened to my story.  The insights and lessons I had carried with me to the present were nothing compared to what I just uncovered.  Buried in my own articulation of my own story were the very valuable pieces I needed to not just move on but to move forward.

There’s something magical to teaching, you learn more as the teacher than as the student.  For once, I allowed myself to run the course, The History of Me: 101.

Here’s the million-dollar nugget, people: Your current perspective on your past experience is the most effective catalyst for sustainable change.  You can be like most people in recovery and go through life by “moving on” or you can be like the extraordinary ones and “move forward”.

I often go to other peoples’ stories to draw inspiration, motivation, something to drive me forward.  I never realized, locked inside me was a new perspective on my own story, a story that literally MOVES me forward every single day.

About the Author

Maria Grasso has a passion for people and commitment to education.  In her youth, she served as a Youth Ambassador for a United Nations Association development program in both South Africa and Namibia where she assisted in school development and built water sanitation facilities and homes for rural families. After graduation, Maria moved to Houston, Texas to work in urban education and nonprofit administration at an innovative Houston high school for economically disadvantaged students, while completing her Master’s of Business Administration. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of a youth success program that exposes high school and college students to the proven systems and techniques, that when properly practiced, give students a 7-year head start on their career and life. Maria is an advocate for using your body for strength—and loves motivating friends and family to reach their goals and laugh along the way!