INSPIRE Therapeutic Workbook

Core Concept

Your life has been running inside a story-even if you didn’t sit down to write it. You might call it “the way things are,” “how I always end up,” or “I’m just not that kind of person.” The INSPIRE framework starts by owning that narrative. Not to judge it. Not to toss it like yesterday’s clothes. Just to locate it-so you can see what it’s doing, what it’s protecting, and where it might be asking you to stay smaller than you want to be.

When you own your personal narrative, you’re doing three things at once: finding the chapters you’ve been living, noticing the recurring themes that keep turning up, and then rewriting key lines with more honesty, choice, and compassion. “Honesty” here doesn’t mean harsh truth-telling. It means naming what’s real. “Choice” means you can move from autopilot to intention. “Compassion” means you remember there’s a reason your story formed the way it did.

Key takeaway: When you can name your narrative chapters, you can change the sentences you’ve been living by.

A simple way to work with your narrative inside INSPIRE is to move through these steps:

1. Locate the story you’ve been living (the “chapters” and the main storyline).

2. Name recurring themes (the patterns that keep showing up).

3. Rewrite key lines with honesty, choice, and compassion.

4. Track what changes in your body and choices afterward (small counts).

Guided Practice

Time required: 35-45 minutes

Materials needed: A notebook or this workbook page, a pen, and a quiet place for one uninterrupted sitting.

This practice is called Narrative Locate + Rewrite. You’ll start with a real chapter from your life, then zoom out to see patterns, and finally rewrite one key line you’ve been repeating.

1. Pick one chapter to start. Choose a time period that feels “sticky” right now-something you keep revisiting in your mind. It can be recent (like the last 6-18 months) or older (like the years you were in a certain role). Write a short label at the top of your page:

• Example labels: “The Year I Proved Myself,” “After the Move,” “Manager Mode,” “The Relationship That Shifted.”

2. Write the story version you’ve been living. Fill in the blanks in 6-10 sentences. Keep it simple. No poetry required.

• “In that chapter, I believed that __.”
• “So I tended to __.”
• “When __ happened, I felt __.”
• “Then I learned __ (even if it wasn’t comfortable).”

3. Identify your recurring theme(s). Look back over what you wrote and circle any repeating ideas. Choose one theme that feels most central. Write it in a single phrase:

• Theme formats that work: “I have to earn love,” “I’ll be punished for needing,” “If I slow down, I fall behind,” “Conflict means danger,” “I’m responsible for everyone.”

4. Your Turn: Key line rewrite (honesty + choice + compassion). Now write one “key line” you’ve been living. A key line is a sentence that shows up in your choices. Use this starter:

• “My go-to truth has been: __.”

Then rewrite it in three versions. Use the exact labels below so you can feel the difference.

• Honesty: “What’s real is __.”
• Choice: “I can choose __, especially when __.”
• Compassion: “It makes sense that I learned __, and I don’t have to live there forever.”

5. Name the chapter’s ending you want. In one sentence, write a new ending that doesn’t erase what happened, but changes what you do next. Use:

• “Moving forward, in this kind of moment, I will __.”

Completed example (so you can see what “enough” looks like)

> Chapter label: “Manager Mode (Last 12 months)”

> Story I’ve been living:

> In that chapter, I believed that if I didn’t handle everything, people would lose confidence. So I tended to take on extra tasks and smooth things over before anyone asked. When someone disagreed, I felt pressure and a quick heat in my chest. Then I learned that control equals safety, and it was risky to ask for help.

> Theme: “I have to earn trust by carrying more.”

> Key line rewrite:

> My go-to truth: “If I’m not useful, I’ll be seen as a problem.”

> Honesty: “What’s real is I shrink my needs to keep the peace.”

> Choice: “I can choose to ask for clarity and delegate, especially when I notice I’m doing everything alone.”

> Compassion: “It makes sense I learned this from past feedback that felt like criticism. I don’t have to live there forever.”

> New ending: “Moving forward, in this kind of moment, I will speak up early instead of working harder in silence.”

When you finish step 5, you’re not done with your narrative-you’ve just located one part of it clearly enough to work with. That’s the win.

Your Turn (quick check): Circle one sentence you wrote that feels most accurate right now....