Who of us cannot look back to a time when we were young children at bedtime. We would ask our parents that ubiquitous question- “can you tell me a story?” Ah, what lovely times they were.
Storytelling has been around since the first people gathered and has been an integral element of every civilization to populate this planet. It has been a powerful tool to share information, memories and every aspect of life worth sharing. So there cannot possibly be a downside to storytelling.
Except when we tell ourselves a story. And not even every story, just the ones in which we get to play the victim. You know the ones I’m talking about. Where you are the victim and your boss, co-worker, company, industry or the economy is the antagonist.
We twist the incredible power of storytelling against ourselves by first crafting, then believing a story that all too often puts the blame for our shortcomings onto someone or something other than us. The longer we repeat the excuse-making mantra in our heads, the greater the impact it has over us.
It is impossible to overestimate the power of our thought lives. By indoctrinating ourselves to these negative self-talk storylines, we not only come to believe them as gospel, but we behave in such ways as to reinforce them and make them real. Really real. Then the sadly inevitable outcome occurs and with a twisted sense of satisfaction, we tell ourselves that “we sure saw that one coming.” But the truth is that we saw it coming because we created it in the first place. Kinda whacky.
But you do not have to fall prey to this self-destructive behavior. The answer can be found by borrowing a line from a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger movie (take your pick which one). Stop whining. Especially to yourself. Even if you feel the need to tell other people a story about why you are not where you want to be in your career, by all means spare yourself the drivel.
There is a different story to be told. This story has you as the protagonist of your career, willing to take the necessary action to make your career plot a reality. Take control of your career by first taking control of your thought life about your career. Tell yourself a story about how you saved the day and became the hero of your career. Then all you need to do is live into it.
Now that could make for a very cool story to tell your kids.