1. Compose Three Short Stories

Think of significant moments in your professional life when you overcame a challenge, you felt inspired and took action on an idea, or felt proud about something you did. Choose three experiences and craft short stories to describe these memorable experiences in more detail.

Note: Your stories can be written in point form and can be kept private.
Effective stories include a beginning, middle, and end, and can be composed in about 3-4 lines.

If you completed the Exploring My Community module in the Discovering Connections unit, you were prompted to create short stories as well. Stories are multifunctional—the key is to be aware and mindful of when and how you share your stories.

Here are some prompting questions to assist the story development process (Click on the '+' to read the prompts):

Beginning Middle End
How did you become involved?

What motivated you to become involved?

Were others involved?
Describe the situation.
What did you do, what was involved?
 
What did you do to succeed with the endeavour?

What skills did you apply and enjoy executing?
As an example, writing, leading, facilitating, researching, event planning.

Note: Skills are verbs.

How did you benefit?

What strengths did you use?

Why do you remember this experience?

What was the outcome?

What values emerge from your stories? Some examples are: a chance to learn something new, monetary rewards, being part of a productive team, and being considered an expert in that area.

Compose Three Short Stories

Now, capture your three short stories or significant professional work and/or volunteer experiences on the downloadable worksheet, in a journal, or using your preferred process (e.g., an audio recording).

Add a title and/or keyword that helps you remember each story. Once you've written your three stories, continue on to the next step: Identify skills, Values, and Strengths.