How Chekhov’s Gun concept of storytelling relates to life?

In storytelling, Chekhov’s Gun is a technique that states that, if, in the first scene of your story, there is a pistol/gun hanging on the wall of a room, then in the second or the following scenes, it must get fired. If it doesn’t get fired and remains hanging on the wall, it is useless to the reader and doesn’t serve a purpose in the story.

In life, Chekhov’s Gun is a metaphor that teaches us that everything, every thought, every feeling, every experience, every memory, every hurt, every heartbreak, every little thing we have, in our body or mind, has a specific purpose. The purpose for different objects becomes revealed at different points in time.

It reminds us how our mind tends to seek connections, associations, purpose, and meaning in seemingly unrelated things, events, memories, or thoughts. Chekhov’s Gun is also a fantastic analogy for how every action we do or every word we speak serves a significant purpose in life. Every action, word, or reaction is a cause that contributes to a certain effect at a latter point in time in the future. Gibberish actions, impulsive reactions, or unintelligent actions can cause disappointment because they didn’t serve any purpose in the story.

So, the next time you sit around and observe your mind and reflect upon your life experiences and look around at the things or resources you have in your house, you’ll be surprised by how rich your life’s story is. Jump inside the train of time and travel back to your childhood. You’ll notice, that your life story has been mapped with a trail of clues or hints. 

Everything was there and everything is there, for a purpose. These little purposes, and the grand overall purpose will reveal themselves later in your life story. Memories, breaths, experiences, cells, atoms, words, emotions, thoughts, colors; if you look around, everything is cosmic. The lesson: Love the unique story of your life and embrace every little thing that is a part of it.