non-linear stories and life progression

Think back to an event that was particularly memorable to you. This memory can be good, bad, or neutral, but most importantly, it's one that stands out in your mind as a noteworthy story.

Without telling any of it out loud, how do you recall this event? Does it run through your mind as a chronological sequence of actions?

For me, all of my memories appear in mind non-chronologically, and the order in which I recall events depends on how they affected me and a myriad of other factors like my mindset, external circumstances, and the initial reason for recalling the memory (voluntarily or involuntarily).

The above is why non-linear storytelling works. I even prefer my wedding films to play non-chronologically because I want my clients' viewing experience to be consistent with how a memory of a special day feels. There is also an element of excitement to stories that are told non-chronologically.

Some of the best movies are non-linear because they immerse audiences in another world with no backstory and force them to think. Viewers stay on the edges of their seats when there's less context given away early on — audiences should feel the need to earn context with their attention.

Now, this doesn't mean that I'll only tell stories in a non-linear fashion, but non-linear plots should be embraced at least for how they can mimic real life.

Skills are acquired and fine-tuned with periods of regression, and the greatest successes only come after sufficient failure.

The most important stories we're writing are our own...the ones we're living. It's discomforting to learn that there's rarely a singular moment where everything changes for someone in a positive way, but this is part of what makes life exciting and unpredictable like in a film — it's a process.

Commit to the direction you want your life to take with each small step, but embrace the twists and turns while learning from mistakes. Learning a foreign language, for example, is about non-linear progression and is filled with periods of passion, confusion, embarrassment, and accomplishment (if you stick with it). There are mixed emotions in any process worth engaging in, just like a movie.

If your journey is filled with setbacks, remember that they're part of your story that is non-linear by nature. With a movie or any other format through which we consume others' stories, we want there to be a sense meaning, and a good story connects the dots while using all elements to its advantage.

You already have a great story, so keep building on it.

As painful as some memories may be, there are lessons in all of them, and it's up to you to connect the dots in a meaningful way that serves others.

I'll see you all in the following pages.

-Thomas