Rethinking Authority

For good reason, many are questioning authority these days. For far too long, authority has been unfairly and unjustly distributed.

We should, and we must, cease this historical pattern and work together to extend privilege and opportunity to everyone, starting with those from whom it has been withheld.

But how?

Maybe it starts by rethinking our authority stories.

The root word of authority is author. An author is a storyteller, someone who crafts a narrative worth sharing. Authors are powerful. When their tales take hold, they can influence destiny.

And we are all authors of the stories we tell others and ourselves.

All of us can weave tales that change the way we think about our institutions, systems, the culture, and each other. But perhaps the most potent narratives are autobiographical.

Choose your story, choose your future.

Authors get to decide what goes in their stories and, much more important, what does not go in their stories.

Self-narratives that promote our health and happiness are tales about emergence. The hero's journey is one of becoming. The hero embraces uncertainty, navigates adversity, and understands that failure is a necessary and valuable part of the process.

These adventures begin with committing to take the first step and follow it with the next. As the author of your story, you must own uncertainty and your insecurity. You must decide to replace "what if?" with "as if." Every doubt and difficulty must be followed by "and..." to create opportunity and possibility.

What if you started being the author of your story? What if you committed to being the agent of your destiny? How might that change things?

Life only happens to you if you let it. Life can happen through you. Are you ready to be the author of your destiny?

Scott Perry, Difference-Maker Coach at Creative on Purpose.

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