Recently I have begun to notice that it is the stories we tell ourselves that are often the most powerful narratives in our head.
It is these stories that become our truths and drive our life experiences, unless we begin to notice their impact and challenge them. If you have noticed this too, then this story might resonate.
It had been a busy time but I was keen to visit a really good friend in a nearby town, the days went by and she didn’t reply to my texts, I began to feel a bit hurt, hadn’t we both said we were really keen to each other, maybe she didn’t really mean it?
Soon I began to feel anxious and felt like texting her to say I wasn’t coming, the story I was telling myself was she didn’t like me anymore and that the friendship was completely one sided.
A few days later she rang to say she and her family had been really unwell and how much she was looking forward to seeing me. I was a little ashamed of myself, why had I jumped to the conclusion and worried so much?
Through storytelling we are trying to make sense of the world and, as you may notice, it doesn’t have to be based on facts, it is a bit like fortune telling really! Our inner narratives are developed over years of experience but they often have an inner bias that may not always be helpful.
This experience has helped me decide that before I jump to conclusions, I am going to step back, asking myself “What story are you telling yourself about this?” .
It is early days but it is already helping me feel less worried and a wait and see attitude feels much more healthy.
