Your life is a story or something.

I really like telling stories. Whatever form that story takes, I enjoy experiencing it and allowing others to experience it with me. Be it through words or pictures or going out and actually doing things, stories are what make up our lives even if sometimes we don't fully realise it. Every action we take has the potential to be a story. Every time we make toast, put on some shoes or find we can't fit into the pair of skinny jeans we used to love anymore can become a tale, if only we give it the opportunity to grow.

Stories, giant flying dog things, I like them all.

Stories that are written down or otherwise created are easy to expand on because, if you want to, you can just make stuff up. If I was writing a story about my day it wouldn't have to end with, "and then I sat down and watched Hollyoaks on Channel 4 +1," because that would be a bit of a crap ending and people wouldn't enjoy it. Instead I could make it end however I fancied. I could still be watching Hollyoaks, but I'd be doing it whilst playing chess with a version of myself who'd made different decisions in his life and was far smarter than me, therefore enabling him to understand chess and beat me with ease whilst solving a Rubik's Cube. That would be more interesting than reality.

Unfortunately when it comes to the story we all have to live through, making things up is known as lying and people will stop talking to you if you keep doing that.
"You didn't play chess with a parallel you, did you Ash?" they would say, and I would hang my head in shame as they walked away and I was once again left on my own with only my imaginary self to keep me company and beat me at more games. You can't insert things into your life that have never happened in the way you could with something written; you have to experience the story as it is and just go along with it.

I used to be the sort of person that would perceive this lack of flexibility as an issue. If a particular chapter of my story didn't go the way I'd hoped it would I would see it as the chapter closing and look to move on as quickly as possible, which wasn't always the best decision. I lost out on things because I hit an obstacle and stopped, changed direction and walked away, only to find more obstacles that I didn't fancy trying to get past. I never really got anywhere with that and, the more I did it, the more problems I would seem to find. Little things became big things. Big things became huge. I walked around in circles, hitting walls and telling myself I couldn't climb over them.

Problems became like Wolf. Scary.

Eventually, as you progress through any journey in your life, you will come across a problem that you hadn't foreseen and that will, at the time, seem like something that is simply impassible. No matter how crucial or minor to your life the story is, problems can present themselves.

Making lasagne for tea but haven't got any cheese? That's an issue. Do you just give up and have bread? Nah, you go to the shop and buy some cheese, thus creating extra depth to that chapter and making your day far more interesting than it would have been had you simply stayed at home and cried over your lack of planning.

Without cheese this would be a joke. A bloody joke.

Bought a pair of shoes that are really smart but make your feet feel like killing you as you sleep? That's problematic too. You could take those shoes back and give up on that dream, but you'd feel much more suave if you kept wearing them and braved the pain for the sake of having really shiny brogues.

Plans change, things you were excited about suddenly become things that make you sad, shoes that cost you £60 stop being your pride and joy and start being things that you resent. It would be easy to accept those issues and turn away, ignoring them and hoping that the next time you embark on something it all happens far more easily and everything goes the way you'd dreamt it might.

But, chances are, that won't work. It rarely does. So instead of letting things hold you back and seeing them as the end to a plot line, see them as a twist that you're capable of following, changing and directing if you only decide you want to.

Harry Potter would have been shit if he'd killed Voldemort (spoiler) in the first book. Twists, problems and set backs made it worth reading. The same will be true for you.