Stories are powerful.
They aren’t just what we read in books or see on screen. They are the underlying threads helping weave together how we understand ourselves, our work, and the world around us.
Last week I wrote about mindset and the critical role it plays in – well, everything.
This week I was reminded that stories are behind the mindsets we bring into our lives. They shape how we show up, lead, collaborate, and navigate challenges. The narratives running in the backs of our minds – about ourselves, our peers, and our work – inform what we believe to be possible and how we engage with the world and people around us.
Most people don’t like to study their stories. It feels slow. They want to focus on behavior change, instead.
I get it. Changing behavior feels stickier and more productive.
It can also be a short term fix.
To get at the heart of real and lasting change, we have to figure out what’s behind the behavior – the narrative driving it.
We need to know our stories. Identifying my own stories has been one of the biggest challenges of my leadership journey.
Stories can be complicated – they can weave a mean web of conflicting tales including victimhood, insecurity and limitation:
-I don’t have time…
-Someone else always wins…
-I don’t have the confidence to lead that initiative…
-I don’t have what it takes…
And on the other hand, our stories can be full of possibility, energy, excitement, and opportunity:
-I can’t wait to start…
-I am fully equipped to accomplish…
-I have everything I need to make this happen…
-This is the perfect time for me to start…
Our stories can tear us down or they can empower where we want to go next. The decision on which one to indulge is completely up to you.
Which story will you tell?
The next time you’re feeling tension or frustration, ask yourself:
-What is the story I am telling myself about this?
-Is this story helping or hindering me?
-What’s another perspective?
-If I were watching this as a movie, what advice would I give the main character?
Change is always preceded by awareness. (Read that again.)
Discovering and challenging the stories that inform our life and leadership is what happens in coaching and in groups like EMERGE, and in our new flagship men’s program, LEAD. We get to the root of what’s standing in a leader’s way to getting to the next level of whatever it is they’re looking for.
What follows is long term change and growth and better paths to fulfillment and impact.
Statistics tell us that change happens in community.
What story will you tell yourself about growth and change?
We’re here to walk you through creating the very best version possible. One step at a time.