Day: October 7, 2026

At first glance, it may appear as though I’m encouraging you to become playwright. What you may not realise is that in some ways you already are though, because going back many years, you began to write the script of your own life.

What I’m now inviting you to do is to take back full editorial control of your scripts and here’s why.

The script you began crafting in your childhood was based on limited experiences and questionable decision making. Not through any fault of your own of course, but given that we now know the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, the part involved in understanding consequences of our actions, doesn’t finish developing until, on average, 25 years old, any decisions we make before that age may be considered questionable.

For clarity, I’m referring to the concept of Lifescripts, a key component of Transactional Analysis, which is a theory of personality and a psychological framework or set of theories. I’ve long been a fan and refer to it often. And, there was a particular reason why it appeared again on my radar recently.

It really doesn’t make sense for me to continue to live my life as the youngster in me thought I should. Little Joanna may have thought it was a great idea at the time of writing, but as I’ve been finding out over the years, she was working with a restricted view of the horizon.

And here’s why I began on this particular jaunt. I was exploring the mental receipts we hoard for a podcast episode, when I had a flash of insight. A BFBO as I call them. I think the mental receipts we tend to cherish and probably hold on to long past when we need to, are those that align beautifully with our predominant life script. We don’t have just one though and I outlined some of the different types in my related LinkedIn Article xxxxxx

Now I must say that rewriting lifescripts is usually work done in conjunction with a therapist, and I’d always recommend that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a start ourselves. And as the title of this article nudges us to consider, knowing when is it’s time for that work is essential.

Here’s what nudged me to know it was time.

When I took a careful look at the mental receipts I’d been hanging on to, the common theme was that they reinforced an I’m Not Ok script. There was no evidence that I could quickly find of me thinking I was OK. It occurred to me that I didn’t really value any of that evidence. Kind of sad when I think about it now.

So I had created a pretty intricate web of selective evidence all of which reinforced a
process script confirming that I was not enough, a restriction script embedding that I was not worthy of love, and an outcome script which suggested that I’d not be one of life’s winners. These script types I explained in the LinkedIn article if you want to know more.

What’s interesting to me about the ‘not being a winner’ is that this is distinct in some ways and therefore not the same thing at all as me being a loser. It’s like little Joanna decided I would occupy middle ground territory. I’d be just enough, do ok but not brilliantly, be likeable but not loveable.

If ever I was going to receive a bloomin’ great shove that it was time to rewrite my life scripts, that was it.

Delve into any good text about Transactional Analysis and you’ll find the basic steps on how to rewrite your life script, and whilst that’s not really what this article is about, I thought it might be helpful to give you a few pointers if you want to start the work on your own.

• Take a close look at the mental receipts you tend to keep and notice what pattern they reveal. This may be uncomfortable but stay with it.
• See if you can recall without reliving your childhood experiences where the young you decided these were the best strategies for recognition, acceptance and belonging.
• Intentionally look for evidence that contradicts your scripts and pay attention to how you feel when examining those receipts.
• Grant yourself a refund or shred the receipts that no longer represent how you live your life from this day forward.
• Decide what types of mental receipts you are going to collect in the future, the receipts that will evidence an updated script.

Those steps represent a solid start, and signify you’re taking back editorial control of your life.