Metaphorically Speaking: Edit Yourself!

I recently spied this phrase that has been rolling around in my spirit intriguingly for awhile: “Edit yourself”.

I looked up “edit”. It means “to prepare for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying, to choose material for and arrange to form a coherent whole.” To edit something out means to “remove unnecessary or inappropriate words, sounds or scenes.”

Metaphorically speaking, I wonder what it would look like to edit ourselves? What would we like to ‘edit out’ or ‘edit in’? How would we give a presentation of our own life to the world that is amazing, inspiring, full of flair, yet deep, real, and not Hollywood-esque?

We might be tempted to emphasize the golden, proud moments, where victory displays courage. The memories where accomplishments shine and everyone cheers.

We may want to conceal the very BORING parts and embarrassing icky mistakes. Dark seasons that we wouldn’t want even our closest friends to see. But, how could you edit those out? Those times are most often where the greatest growth in our character occurs. Our lives would not be as rich without the painful lessons—these hard knocks cannot be dismissed, for they fashion us into the survivors that we are constantly becoming.

However, we can choose to embrace the heartbreaking stuff and yet edit out the anger, bitterness, or complaining (i.e., whining) that is unbecoming. We can choose to forgive, learn from past regrets, eagerly anticipate the future, and also relish opportunities of the present. To trust in Goodness, even in the middle of swirling storms. To develop grateful hearts in all circumstances.

How would our life feature stories transform if we consistently examined the challenges at hand and asked ourselves, “What is the best possible response for me to reflect WHO I AM and WHO I am destined to BE?” To stay focused in “EDIT’ mode so that we can live as shining examples and positive influences—relevant and calming influencers in our communities.

Are people attracted to the condensed, coherent ‘whole’ depiction of your life story?

Do yourself and the world a favor today and take time to….Edit yourself!