Whose Life Are You Really Living?

She thought every choice was hers—career, relationships, even the way she carried herself.

But beneath it all, she was reading from a script she never wrote. A script handed down by family expectations, cultural pressure, and invisible “shoulds” that stacked up until she couldn’t tell where they ended and she began.

That’s the cruel part: you don’t notice the script until you realize the life you’re living doesn’t actually feel like yours.

The Hidden Scripts

The “perfect student.”
The “reliable one.”
The “success story.”

These roles feel like safety. But they aren’t. They’re cages. The more you live inside them, the more you forget your own lines.

I saw it play out in a friend’s career. She stayed in a corporate job she hated because her parents bragged about her title at family dinners. Every time she thought about leaving, guilt hit harder than any bad day at work. She wasn’t staying for herself—she was staying for the script.

How to Spot the Lies in Your Script

Forget the self-help fluff. This isn’t about thinking positive. It’s about noticing where the story isn’t even yours:

• Listen for the “shoulds.” Every “I should” is usually someone else’s voice, not yours.

• Catch the autopilot. If you’re repeating habits that drain you, you’re not choosing—you’re complying.

• Notice the guilt. When you feel guilty for wanting something different, that’s the script clinging to you.

• Watch your energy. Scripts exhaust. Alignment energizes. If it drains you, it’s not yours.

Breaking the Script

The only way out isn’t affirmation. It’s action.

• Say no once.

• Choose differently once.

• Cross out one “should” and replace it with “want.”

When I finally left a path that wasn’t mine, it wasn’t clean. I disappointed people. I second-guessed myself. But I also felt something I hadn’t felt in years: momentum. Even messy progress was better than perfect compliance.

Final Thought

Your life doesn’t need a new script.
It needs your script.

Pick up the pen.