How to rewrite your way to happiness

According to psychologist Tim Wilson, a professor at the University of Virginia, you can edit your memories in order to provide a happier interpretation of events. He calls the process "story-editing" and according to Wilson, small tweaks can lead to changes in behavior and the direction of our lives.

He uses this intervention to help people get through troubling times and to overcome obstacles. With Wilson's process, in order to edit your story, you have to write about it. He suggests taking an event and writing about it for 15 minutes every day for four days. Over this time, you'll begin to make sense of what's troubling you and while some will gain acceptance, many will find solutions.

Wilson says that similar interventions have been used to help relieve mental anguish, improve health and increase attendance at work. He's even used them to help encourage students to stay in school.

I think the process sounds much like why we enjoy telling stories of our childhood, especially at the holidays when families gather together to reminisce. Stories about escapades that were questionable at the time are suddenly funny and over years, the characters become much more colorful as it is repeatedly told and embellished.

However, telling the story does more than provide a laugh. It invites others into the social circle and helps them to fit in. And that is why the constant reinterpretation of life's events lead us to a happier life. By engaging others with our history, we learn how we arrived where we are today and make choices for where we are going tomorrow.

Find out how you can edit your way to a happier life with "All Things Considered: Editing Your Life's Stories Can Create Happier Endings" from NPR.

What's your story?

As a public relations communicator, one of my favorite things to do is to tell stories. Many of those stories revolve around my volunteer passion: Optimist Clubs. I enjoy learning about and sharing the many different projects that Optimist Clubs perform in their communities around the world. The projects vary from spelling bees to sports programs and all the way to raising money to fund research at Johns Hopkins University to eradicate childhood cancer.

Optimist Clubs take on big projects and they take on small tasks. They fill local needs and dream big dreams and most create a path to accomplish what means most to the people involved. But something is true no matter the size of the Optimist Club or the community; Optimist Clubs do not succeed in a vacuum. If club members and leaders are not talking about their projects, purpose and passion, nothing gets done. 

This phenomenon of telling stories about what we are doing in our Optimist Clubs is the foundation of word of mouth marketing. Your club projects should not be a secret and neither should your meetings. If people are to join us, they have to know more about what it means to be a part of the group. They need to know specifics like when and where the club meets and if  there are expectations (like buying a meal) at the meetings. Most of all, they need to know the purposes of the organization and how they can help. 

We come to our organizations with many individual talents. We join because we see that our talents and interests align with the organization. We stay involved because we like the people that volunteer with us as work together to make a difference. We are emotionally rewarded with fellowship, friendship and the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing social good. 

Most people want all of those emotional rewards in their lives. Don't deny them the opportunity to join your Optimist Club. Tell your Optimist Club story to someone today, tell it again tomorrow, and the day after that.  Your enthusiasm will inspire others to get involved and you'll share awareness of the great things that your Optimist Club does in your community every day. Friends, let me tell you, those are good stories to tell. 

Optimists: tell your story online

With the proliferation of blogs, telling the Optimist Club story has never been easier. When individuals write first person narratives of their experience at events, programs and even meetings, their story becomes a testimonial for the service that Optimist Clubs provide in their communities.

I've been encouraging Optimist Clubs to start their own blogs for about five years. Slowly, ever so slowly, I'm starting to see the rewards of my ongoing message. Districts have adopted the platform as well as a number of clubs. Here is a list of just a few:

AMS & NW District
East Missouri District
Nebraska District
Oklahoma District
Pacific Northwest District 

Boise Noon Optimist Club
Coquitlam Optimist Club
Jerome Optimist Club
McCall Optimist Club
Middleton Area Optimist Club
Old River Optimist Club
Sunset Optimist Club of Kingston 

Some might ask what is the difference between a website and blog. It's simple. A traditional website is static; the information is basic and rarely changes. On the other hand, a blog is dynamic. It is a website that is constantly being updated.

Blogs can standalone, as these do; but a blog can also fit nicely as link from your Optimist Club's traditional website. The key is that someone - you - need to take charge of updating regularly. Tell stories. Share success. We all want to hear about what your Optimist Club has done and will do, especially those potential new members who want to know what might be expected of them before they commit to join.

Sign in with Blogger now and start telling your story online. As always, I offer my help with this link.

Do you have a story of community service?

Sometimes I have a little trouble finding a story to tell.  I know that sounds crazy given that there are more than 65,000 projects performed by Optimist Clubs each year. But the challenge for any storyteller is to tell the story in a new way, to engage our readers and to touch their hearts

Instead of telling a story today, let's take a look at some ideas that will help you tell a good story.

Storytelling* can be a powerful tool because it creates an emotional bond with your audience. Adapted from The Elements of Persuasion, here are some tips to help you tell a compelling story about the reason your club members participate in Optimist Club projects: 

1. Be passionate: Are you inspired by your mission? Do you wake up every morning ready to do something good for your cause? Use that passion to motivate others to do and to give. 

2. Build your characters: Every good story has a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist is your hero. He is someone that the group you are speaking to will respect and relate to. The antagonist is the problem. Identify what is at stake if the antagonist continues on: people will go hungry or students will not have coats to wear in the winter. Be descriptive. 

3. Generate awareness: Build up to the “Aha” moment when your listener learns something from your hero’s experience that he wouldn’t otherwise have known. Give the story real-life meaning to act upon. 

4. Affect change: Your hero should mimic the actions you want your listener to take. How does awareness lead to action? What should the listener do next?

Experience Optimism wants to help tell your Optimist Club story. Please send us your story of service today. 

*Reprinted from the Experience Optimism newsletter, December 2007.