Breaking Scripts I Didn’t Write

There’s a strange moment of realization when you look at the path you’re on and think, Wait. Who wrote this story? Because it doesn’t sound like me.

For a long time, I thought I was following my own script. I had the lines memorized, the cues down, the gestures polished. But somewhere along the way, I slipped into a role that had been written for me—or worse, a role no one actually wrote at all. It was cobbled together from expectations, “shoulds,” and the invisible pull to do things the way they’ve always been done.

The problem with those scripts is they don’t leave much room for your own voice. They keep you busy performing, but not alive creating.

This past week, I caught myself mid-performance. I was gearing up to do something big, something that looked shiny and impressive on the outside, but when I stopped to listen in, my gut said: This isn’t mine. I wasn’t excited. I wasn’t aligned. I was just… following.

So I set the script down. And here’s the wild part: the sky didn’t fall. The world didn’t stop spinning. What did happen was a deep exhale, the kind that comes when you step back into your own story.

Breaking the script doesn’t always mean walking away. Sometimes it means rewriting. Sometimes it means flipping a single line so it finally sounds like you. Sometimes it means refusing the part altogether.

But every time, it means remembering this: your voice belongs in your story.

This week, I’m practicing that question with everything on my plate: Am I doing this because I choose it, or because I think I’m supposed to?

And if it’s the second one? That’s my cue to pick up the pen and start rewriting.

Where the Scripts Come From

Scripts don’t fall out of the sky. They are built, piece by piece, from the world around us. Some are handed down directly, like family expectations: This is what women in our family do. This is what success looks like. This is how you behave in public. Others are absorbed quietly, through observation and repetition. We see leaders praised for being loud, polished, and always “on,” and somewhere in us we decide, That must be the way.

And then there are the scripts no one talks about, but everyone feels. The ones built from cultural norms, institutional traditions, or the subtle but constant weight of “should.” You should want the big stage. You should chase the title. You should sacrifice for the job, no matter what it costs you.

When you’re young, these scripts feel like safety. They give you structure. They give you an outline for how to move through the world. And for a while, they even help. They give you lines when you don’t know what to say, a character to play when you’re not sure who you are.

But if you stay in them too long, the safety becomes a cage.

The trouble is, most of us don’t notice when the cage door clicks shut. It happens quietly. A promotion here, a “yes” to something you didn’t really want there, an unspoken rule you’ve learned not to break. One day you wake up and realize you’re living a story that feels polished but hollow.

I’ve been there. Many times.

And each time, I’ve had to ask myself the same hard question: Am I choosing this role, or am I just playing it because it was written for me?

The Cost of Following Scripts

The cost of living by someone else’s script isn’t always dramatic. It’s not always a breakdown or a blow-up. Sometimes it’s quieter. It shows up as exhaustion that doesn’t go away, no matter how much you sleep. It looks like achievements that should make you proud, but leave you feeling empty. It feels like the constant, nagging question: Why doesn’t this feel better?

There is an emotional cost: the disconnection from yourself. When you’re constantly performing, you lose track of what your own voice even sounds like. You start confusing applause for alignment.

There is a physical cost too: burnout. Your body keeps the score, even when your mind insists you’re fine. I’ve lived through the headaches, the sleepless nights, the stress that settles in your shoulders until you can barely breathe.

And then there’s the cost that’s harder to measure but maybe the most devastating: the opportunities you never see because you’re too busy following the script. When you’re locked into lines you didn’t write, you don’t leave space for improvisation, for serendipity, for the things that might have lit you up if only you’d had your head up long enough to notice them.

I remember one moment vividly. I had been preparing for a keynote that, on paper, sounded like an incredible opportunity. Big stage. Big audience. Big visibility. It was the kind of thing most people would leap at. And I almost did.

But then I paused. I sat with it. And what came up wasn’t excitement. It was dread. My body tightened. My chest felt heavy. This wasn’t my moment. It wasn’t my stage. It was just a script I thought I was supposed to follow, because “that’s what leaders do.”

So I put it down.

The relief was instant. The script wasn’t mine, and I finally stopped pretending it was.

Breaking and Rewriting

Breaking a script doesn’t always mean tearing it up and walking away. Sometimes it means editing. Sometimes it means rewriting entire scenes. And sometimes, yes, it means stepping off stage entirely and walking out the side door.

For me, breaking scripts has looked like:

• Saying no to things that look impressive but don’t align with who I am.

• Choosing to celebrate my birthday quietly with my family instead of trying to squeeze in one more obligation.

• Redefining leadership as something rooted in presence and wholeness, not performance and perfection.

• Asking simple, grounding questions before I commit: Do I want this? Does this align with my values? Or does this just look good on paper?

That one question—choose it, or supposed to—has become my compass. If I can’t answer “choose it” with a full-bodied yes, I know I need to pause.

The beautiful part is that rewriting doesn’t have to be dramatic. It can be as small as changing a meeting agenda so everyone gets a voice, or deciding you won’t answer emails after a certain time, or giving yourself permission to leave a party early.

It can also be as big as walking away from an entire path that no longer fits.

I’ve done both. And each time, the freedom I’ve found is worth the fear.

Because here’s the truth: the world doesn’t need more perfect performances. The world needs more leaders willing to show up as themselves, unscripted, real, and present.

The Power of Owning Your Story

When you break a script, you don’t just free yourself. You give permission to everyone watching you.

I’ve seen it in my own teams. When I show up and admit, “This isn’t working for me, and here’s what I’m changing,” it opens the door for others to do the same. When I share that I’m nervous about something or that I don’t have all the answers, it gives them space to be honest too.

Authenticity isn’t just a personal win—it’s contagious.

And let’s be clear: authenticity doesn’t mean chaos. It doesn’t mean throwing out structure or ignoring discipline. It means that the structure serves you, not the other way around. It means the script is one you wrote, not one that was forced into your hands.

The most powerful leaders I know aren’t the ones who stick to the script flawlessly. They’re the ones who know when to put the script down and improvise.

Closing Reflection

Breaking scripts is not a one-time event. It’s a lifelong practice. Because the truth is, new scripts will always try to sneak in. Expectations will always pile up. “Shoulds” will always whisper in the background.

The practice is in noticing. In pausing. In asking: Am I choosing this, or am I just performing it?

When I remember to ask, I find my center again. I hear my own voice again. And I remember the most important truth of all: my voice belongs in my story.

Yours does too.

So here’s the question I’ll leave you with: What script are you ready to break?