What’s Your Story Morning Glory: How Telling and Hearing Stories Can Lead Us To Change
We all love to share positive and motivating media like infographics and viral videos with catchy headlines and interesting content that advise you what you need to change about yourself. I am no exception here in fact the myriad of social media outlets I currently use their feeds are deliberately curated to show only positive content and I love it that way. I love to share interesting and positive information that hopefully inspires someone else.
These media pieces grab our attention and get us excited about things that we need to change but with my constantly curious nature and deep thirst for knowledge I find myself constantly asking myself and others how?.. How do we go about making the changes necessary to bring about a more joyful and productive lifestyle that helps us to achieve our potential as human beings?
For example this morning a good friend of mine posted on Facebook a lovely video on
After watching this video I once again started to state to myself that this was wonderful BUT how do I implement this? How do I actually start and follow through with actively incorporating these changes into my life? Too often I find that infographics tell us the what or even the why but rarely they show or tell us the how of things. I am at a stage in my life that I want to actively change things that are no longer working for me. This got me seriously thinking how do I learn?
Then it dawned on me.. Storytelling…
For me this year has revolved around two concepts: Authenticity & Storytelling.
For the past couple of years I have worked on showing the world my true self and that work has paid off giving me the courage to make some significant changes in my life including quitting a job that I had been at for almost 14 years. It was during this current phase of inner work that storytelling has come to the forefront in every area of my life. For me learning I have come to find takes place on a very fundamental level through stories and storytelling.
Exploring our shared stories gives us a frame of reference, gives us examples of what to do or what not to do so and gifts us with insights we would not have before.
What is storytelling?
Storytelling is defined as:
A teller of stories,
A relater of anecdotes,
A reciter of tales,
A liar or fibber
A writer of stories
Source: www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/storyteller
In the past Storytelling was too often discounted as being fictional.That the teller of these tales were liars and the stories that are being told were looked down upon as being childish, fictional and inconsequential.
How often in the act of telling our stories are we hushed or discounted?We are told:
Oh that is just a story, or to Stop telling stories.
Not only is this a damaging school of thought but also an outdated one.It is harmful for anyone to continually be denied the telling of their own life’s story.It diminishes our self-image to have our voice silenced in this way.If we continue to adhere to the notion that stories are inconsequential we are going to be left behind unable to understand or connect to a world that is increasingly connected internet based society.Where once we learned solely in a classroom we are now constantly learning for many many different sources 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
For me In this increasingly digital and individualized society I have come to find that learning takes place at a fundamental level through my connection to the stories contained within.I learn from reading stories, the music I love are ones that tell a story, my favorite movies have rich stories to them.I connect to the world through its stories.Stories and storytelling builds up our empathy, our ability to connect and stay engaged with one another.it is our stories that engage our emotions and our minds, it in fact brings us together.
So how do we use storytelling to make changes in our lives?By seeking out the stories we need to inform and motivate us.Not just stories from celebrities either but real stories from real people who have conquered the same problems you are seeking to find solutions for.There is a reason why social media sites such as Youtube and Facebook are so wildly popular.This is why our infographics while a great way to draw in attention must lead into something more.A greater conversation and the telling of personal experiences and stories to share our increasingly important stories with each other.
