A World of His Own

Victoria West sees her husband, writer Gregory West, through the front window of their home, sharing a drink and speaking with an attractive and affectionate woman in his office. When Victoria enters into Gregory’s office to confront him, the woman is nowhere to be found. Frustrated at not being able to catch Gregory with the other woman, Victoria baits her husband into telling her the truth. Gregory, through a dictation machine, can make any idea in his mind become a reality. Should he choose to delete that reality, all he has to do is remove the part of the recording tape, burn it in a fire, and the reality of that idea is no longer.

Victoria, not believing Gregory, is ready to request a divorce when he is able to summons the young lady, Mary, with whom Victoria saw Gregory sharing a drink. Mary begs Gregory to stop bringing her back to “life” as she isn’t fond of her segmented “existence”. Furious, Victoria attempts to storm out, but is stopped by an elephant Gregory has created through dictation. At wit’s end, Victoria threatens Gregory with having him committed for his apparent insanity. Gregory walks over to his safe, pulls out a reel of recorded tape, and explains to Victoria that the tape in his hand is the very tape he used to create her and it is only recently that she has been exerting her own independence. Not believing Gregory, Victoria grabs the tape out of his hands and throws it into the fire. Feeling faint, Victoria realizes Gregory was telling the truth. As she fades away she cries “You were right!”. Gregory rushes over to his dictation machine and begins to record his description of Victoria, he reconsiders, and instead begins to describe “Mrs. Mary West . . . “

Victoria and Mary were the creation of someone else’s imagination and not of their own making. Thankfully the creation of Victoria and Mary only exist in the Twilight Zone, but in the real world, many of us allow others to write our story. We allow others to put their expectations upon us, put their demands upon us, and tell us who we are. We give up the responsibility of creating the life we want and allow others to dictate who and what we are supposed to be.

What story are you allowing others to create on your behalf? What are you missing out on because you don’t allow yourself to write the story of you? How can you start writing your own story? How can you begin to take control of your life and take the steps needed to create it?

Start by telling yourself you are worth it. You deserve the life you dream. Know it will take work to achieve the life you want. There will be successes, failures, celebrations, and heartbreak but it will be worth it. Don’t allow failure hold you back. Don’t let other’s fear or negativity hold you back. Surround yourself with people who support and love you. Create a community of people who not only support your dreams but will help lift you higher to achieve your goals. Know that you are enough to achieve what you desire, you just have to take control of your future. Don’t allow someone else to write your story. Be responsible for creating your own story. How will your next chapter begin?