We humans love a good story. Want to bore someone to tears? Give them the facts. Want to engage and move someone? Tell them a story.
This truth also applies personally. We engage and move ourselves with the stories we tell ourselves. We’ve been telling some stories for so long we miss the fact that they are just stories. In these cases, the only way to tell what type of story we are telling is by how we feel. Crappy, low-buzz feeling comes from crappy stories. Good, high-buzz feeling comes from good stories.
Since we end up living the stories we tell ourselves, let’s pick the stories that feel good to tell.
In your corner,
Mike
PS: And here’s a real power-up: whenever stuck in something at work or home, tell the exact opposite story.
PPS: Example: Maybe we want to be a more patient leader but we’ve always been quick to judge or issue orders. We’ve probably been telling ourselves stories like, “They don’t get it. It’s faster if I just give them the solution. They are preventing success.” If we instead tell ourselves stories like, “I bet they can figure this out. They’ll probably surprise me. I bet I can help. I trust their motives and mine. We make a pretty good team,” we will soon become that kinda leader.
PPPS: Or maybe we’ve been telling ourselves the story that success seems to evade us. Or that others get in our way. Or that we aren’t good enough. Or that we are impostors. Or that the world doesn’t support us. Or…or…or… What’s a really good story we can tell ourselves instead?
PPPPS: Yeah, that’s a good one! Go with it. You are good at this.
Today’s photo credit: Moyan Brenn cc