The 4 Benefits of Sharing Your Story

By William Smith

Maya Angelou once stated that ” there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you”.

I believe that is important for all of us, especially after 40, is to share among each other our stories-the good, the bad and the ugly. This is something that most people do not talk about or think about much but doing so can have lasting benefits.

The 4 Benefits of Sharing Your Story:

1. Sharing your story can help others

Passing on your wisdom to others can heal yourself and benefit so many people. Particularly this is important because many of us are so busy in our own lives that we never have a chance to meet many gay men from our own age group. To share the mistakes that you have made, will help others from making those same mistakes or give them pause. We took a simple survey in our facebook group and many said that being in our group was the only way they have to socialize with other gay men. Therefore, when you have a communication venue like facebook or a conference where you can attend, take advantage of the opportunity to share and to learn.

2) Finding your voice in the wilderness

What does it mean to “find your voice”? I believe that after 40, one does find a voice within you. Gone are the days where you worried what others are thinking about you. Your life starts making sense to you. You may not like your life but you begin to see a beginning, middle, and end to your story. You see the journey that you have made in your life. It helps you to identify key events that have molded you to who you are today. You are the author of your life.

3) Re-affirming your values

No one wants to get laughed at for sharing their story and it reminds us how we want to be treated, so we treat others better in the process. One pauses when writing their story or communicating it and it reminds us of what we value most in life and want to protect it. We have been around the block for a while, we have experienced many things but some of our values stuck with us because we found that they truly were sound wisdom. Many of the people we have spoken to have mentioned that pausing to tell your story can be a good reminder of your priorities and you will not sacrifice them or forsake them. It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Taking some time to focus on what you value most can be beneficial and living over 40 has given you that opportunity because of time.

4) Finding peace within and Aging forward

It can bring closure for you to a chapter in your life that you either learned from or grieved from. It gives you the opportunity to move on.

There’s nothing like being in a room of like-minded people around your own age to communicate your story. 

Other people who are willing to take time away from their own lives to learn something new and help contribute to each other… Other people who want to “better” themselves and I can’t find a better place to do that than at a GLA40 Conference. When you sit in a meeting room with others, you discover that you’re not alone in wanting to improve your skills and bring something back to your own community and friends. You will come out differently after leaving the conference than coming in and that is what aging forward is all about -learning, sharing, being.

Attending conferences, going to events, communicating and bonding with others can make you realize this because you hear other people stories. You are not alone.

You finally have the support to tell your story and peers to listen to it.

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