Singing Lessons, Billie Eilish, and Writing a New Story for Yourself

Have you ever discovered something about yourself that completely shattered an old story that was so ingrained you didn't even realize it might not be true?

That happened to me last week.

I recently starting taking singing lessons with Alexa Wildish, one of my favorite musicians who also happened to be on The Voice last year. Check out her performance of Cher's Believe and prepare to be blown away.

(Side note...in case you're wondering if it's both equal parts terrifying and amazing to take singing lessons from someone who is THAT good? Yep! It is!!!)

Here's what happened in our lesson last week that shattered one of my stories:

I brought Billie Eilish's song "What was I made for?" to work on in the lesson.

We warmed up and then I took a breath (with my knees shaking!) and sang the first few lines of the song for Alexa.

She immediately interrupted me."You're singing this lower than the original song. Do you want to do that or do you want to practice singing higher?"

"Higher?" I responded with total doubt and questioning. "I don't think I can sing higher."

Here's what happened next....

Alexa hummed the first few bars of the song at the higher pitch.

I joined in, matching her voice.I sang every single one of the high notes.

I looked at Alexa, a little stunned by my own voice."I didn't know I could sing that high," I said. "I was always the alto. I never had the melody. I was always the harmony, singing lower."

Her response?

"That was your story - and it was false. We're going to rewrite that one right now."

I had been carrying this story around with me for YEARS. Decades!

And it was proven false in less than 30 seconds.

Which leads me to ask you: What stories are you carrying?

Where are you being held back by a belief that might not even be correct? That might be a downright lie?

Where are you NOT doing something because you're certain you can't, but if you're being honest with yourself, you aren't sure how certain that certainty actually is?

You don't have to live with those stories forever. You can break the rules you've been handed about who you are, how you're supposed to show up, and what you're capable of.

You can write a new story. A TRUE story.A story that moves you in the direction of freedom, in the direction of your goals and desires, in the direction of your grounded confidence.

What will your new story be?