INSPIRE Therapeutic Workbook

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. If you had to pick just one, which would it be? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

Real-World Application

Once you’ve located a narrative chapter and named its theme, you can catch it in the wild-without needing a big life event. For example, imagine you notice that in meetings you automatically “fix” problems that don’t belong to you. If your theme from this practice is “I have to earn trust by carrying more,” you can predict what will happen next: you’ll feel the need to prove you’re valuable, then you’ll get resentful later. The expected outcome isn’t that you suddenly become a different person overnight. It’s that you’ll recognize the story’s entrance faster.

Try this in a specific moment this week: when you feel the urge to over-responsibility, pause and use your rewrite as a quick internal check. If your rewritten key line includes “I can choose to delegate, especially when I notice I’m doing everything alone,” then your action is clear. You don’t have to analyze your whole childhood. You simply choose one small behavior that matches your choice version. Expected outcome: you’ll likely feel awkward for a moment (that’s normal), and then you’ll notice your body unclench by the end of the day.

Another scenario: relationships. Say you keep having the same conversation with a partner or friend-where you soften your needs, then you feel disappointed. If your theme is “Conflict means danger,” your story will push you toward silence. Applying the rewrite looks like naming the moment you’re entering that chapter again. Then you can choose a more honest line: “What I’m needing is…” instead of “Never mind.” Expected outcome: fewer blow-ups, more clarity, and a sense that your inner world isn’t being ignored.

Reflection

Take a breath and let your page settle. You did real work here-you located a story with enough precision to rewrite it. Now you’ll help your mind and body integrate it.

Reflect: What did you notice about your theme when you named it out loud-did it feel familiar, surprising, or both? __________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

Reflect: Look at your rewritten key line. Which part feels most believable right now (honesty, choice, or compassion)? What makes it that way? __________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

Reflect: Where might this narrative show up next-in a meeting, at home, with family, online, or in your own self-talk? Name one specific situation for the next 7 days and one small choice you’ll make from your rewrite. __________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

Your Next Step (tiny but real): Choose a single sentence from your rewrite and keep it somewhere you’ll see it once today-on your desk, in your notes app, or on a sticky note. Then watch for the exact moment your old chapter tries to run the show.

You’re building the foundation for INSPIRE: narrative clarity first, so the rest of the framework has something solid to hold. Next, we’ll bring structure-so your insights don’t stay trapped in your head, but become something you can return to, track, and use.

End of chapter one. 6 more chapters in the full book.