This one is going to take a lot of explaining. I haven’t really written it down in this way before or told people about it. I have just been waiting and seeing how I can apply this message to the way that I live. It’s a wonder how I’ve ever made it through thinking through life like this, but whatever.

Often, I hesitate to find the difference between fictional stories and reality. When they say that it’s just make believe, I wonder if they’re really right. Of course, the story line and the characters are made up, I know. But the things that they stand for… the desires and the struggles, the types of people, the powers that drive the conflict, good versus evil… those are all real. Those can all be applied to real life. There are still desires and struggles, personalities, and powers acting in the real world. In that way, I see how these stories and reality are the same.

And so, whenever I experience an exciting and fulfilling story, whether that’s through hearing it orally, reading a book, or watching a movie, I’m automatically in the comparison zone. I think about the excitement in the story and then am burdened with the feeling of devastation that my life isn’t as exciting as that.

But then, I think about how my life is similar. There have been very exciting moments in my life that I remember in depth to this day, and if I was to just put those exciting moments together in a story, it could compare a little bit better.

Consider the difference between common types of characters in these fictional stories and the characters in real life. What I’m about to say probably doesn’t apply in all scenarios, but it does in the ones I am familiar with, the ones that I am basing these thoughts off of.

When I think about the things that make a story good, it comes down to fulfillment and adventure. That’s what makes the characters satisfied with their life stories, in a way, and that’s what makes us pleased with the ending and the content with the context.

Adventure and fulfillment come at a big cost. When you’re going through a story that is complex, there are usually many factors at work. There are individual struggles, friendship building and tension, families coming together, evil opponents, hope in the present, and a sense of a lost past. Time goes by and characters face unprecedented, often life-threatening or uncomfortable events. They go through terrors to face their darkest fears and (often) go on a quest to let good win. In the process, there is a climax, a turning point… a point of decisions and no returning. That’s something that I’ve noticed in many of the stories I have seen, heard, or read.

The characters face big deal events, and the smaller things don’t seem to matter. Brushing their teeth? Nope. Eating three, four, or five times a day? Not unless it benefits the plot. Going to the bathroom? Not really. Ordinary human needs are flushed away. There’s a certain lack of the ordinary life… things that take up much of our time, our need to take care of ourselves. Their basic needs are taken care of by their story.

Yet, they still experience human nature. Characters with fears and worries? Yes. Characters with skills and talents? Yes. Characters with relationship struggles? Yes. Characters who are funny and want to have a good time? Absolutely.

These people’s lives are so exciting in the stories. It’s almost as if they’re being depicted with only the best and the most impactful sides of life, to paint a picture that we will be able to comprehend in a short amount of time. That’s it! The reason the characters’ lives are so exciting is because they were made to be that way.

What is it that fulfills these characters? What keeps them going? What gives them purpose in life? Obviously, they’re on an adventure. That is the fulfilling thing. Their happiness flows out of their own tears as they experience change and heartbreak. Things might not look the same at the end of the story, but their growth narrates their stories. They see progress… positive progress toward a future that they believe is worth living in.

Now, compare that with some of the things the world throws at us these days. Think about the people struggling for money. Think about the people who work to be sustained by carefully packaged products sold to them. Some aspects of the world throw at us the idea of protection… the empty type of protection, that doesn’t make much progress. It’s the thing that teaches that pain, suffering, and inconveniences make our life worse and should be avoided at all costs. It’s the thing that teaches us that we shouldn’t be exposed to any difficulties and that we should always be comfortable. But the growth and the progress that happens that makes these stories so great is sourced in discomfort. That’s what drives the progression of the story. They’ll be facing discomfort all of their lives or at least until the happy ending of the story. Then, perhaps, the characters live a good life and stay happy. We know that in this world, though, it’s very hard to stay happy constantly with all the negativity and the demands.

Both happiness and sadness are part of a good story. Just because there were sad parts doesn’t make the story bad. In my perspective, a good story is one lived on the edge, full of excitement, what was old mixing with new, an abundance of growth toward a better hope for the future.

Do you think your life should be a good story? Or do you want it to be just another common, indifferent, or average story? If you had the power to level up your life and make it into a more exciting and fulfilling story, would you do so?

What you want to realize first is that you don’t have all the power. If you didn’t put anything into your life, maybe no one would believe you could hold an amazing story, but they did! People believe that you’re alive… they know it. But what type of “alive” is it? It’s alive after a chain of events. You did not come out of your own effort… or in other words, like they all say, you didn’t choose to be born. But all the pieces fell together and you were born.

That’s what started your life. That’s what started your story. Now, how is it going to continue? And how is it going to end? That’s up to you. You now have some sense of control that comes after dependence.

And for me, I depend on the stories set before me. Those come in the form of songs, books, movies, and more. What I’m here to do is take some of the common ideas, patterns, behaviors, concepts, and feelings from the songs, books, movies, and more that I know… then see how they can be applied internally to someone’s experience. That’s why I call it the Internal Experience.

I remember studying these forms in a way that we saw common themes and words and then compared them to other situations. Yes, I’m here to do that. But this is not simply a literature experience. This is not simply a music experience. This is not simply a film experience. This is not simply a philosophy experience. This, above all, is an internal experience. I take those, think about them, and then think about my life in the real world and what makes that special. I collect my new observations and hope that they can really be applied to make things shine even more.

Something was telling me that even though it seemed impossible, it could happen. I’ve seen this concept keep coming back to me after seemingly impossible things presented themselves time and time again. And here’s to the biggest one of them all… to live a story that is worth it.