In this post we’ll unpack all you need to know about stories, defining exactly what they are, their evolutionary role, how they impact us, how to leverage them and more.
What Are Stories?
Stories are the beliefs or narratives that we create that give meaning to our experiences and shape how we perceive ourselves and the world around us.
The Evolutionary Lens
From an evolutionary perspective, stories evolved to help us navigate our environment by allowing us to interpret our experiences and guiding our behaviour, ultimately enhancing our ability to survive and reproduce.
The brain drives us away from things that we associate with negative stories which it perceives as threats. The brain drives us towards things that we associate with positive stories which it perceives as opportunities.
How They Impact Us
The stories we tell ourselves determine what’s possible and how much potential we tap into. Therefore, they either move us towards or away from our goals and the life we desire.
Disempowering stories lead to decisions that drive us away from our goals and the life we desire. When we create a set of beliefs about why we can’t or won’t do something and why something can’t or won’t work, then we take little action. With a disempowering narrative, we put ourselves on a direct path to failure.
Empowering stories lead to decisions that drive us towards our goals and the life we desire. When we create a set of beliefs about why we can or will or must do something and why something can or will or must work, then we take massive action. With an empowering narrative, we put ourselves on a direct path to success.
Your story is one of three components that leads to finding a breakthrough ― that is, learning how to create lasting change in your life.
In one study, those who had a positive view of aging in midlife lived an average of 7.6 years longer than those who had a negative view. In other words, those who created an empowering narrative about ageing were more likely to live 7.6 years longer than those who created a disempowering narrative about ageing.
“Your stories determine what you can be, do and have.”
How To Leverage Stories
The key to leveraging stories is to construct them so that they align with your goals and the quality of life you desire. In doing so, you become the Master of your Destiny instead of a Slave to your Fate.
Our stories don’t just describe our experiences, they determine them.
How To Identify & Transform Disempowering Stories
There are three steps to transforming disempowering stories.
Firstly, identify your disempowering stories by asking “What areas in my life am I not getting the results I want?” Your results are a direct reflection of your beliefs.
Secondly, transform your disempowering stories by reframing them into empowering stories by asking “What must I believe to achieve my goals and the life I desire?”
If you want to know what stories to create, simply find someone who is already producing the results you want, discover their stories and then model them.
Thirdly, condition your new empowering stories until they become automatic and part of your subconscious.
Summary (TL;DR)
Stories are the narratives that we create that give meaning to our experiences. They evolved as a cognitive tool to help give meaning to our experiences, guiding our behaviour and allowing us to more effectively navigate our environment.
The key to leveraging them is to construct them so that they align with your goals and the quality of life you desire. In doing so, you become the Master of your Destiny instead of a Slave to your Fate.
