I recall traveling through the same streets I’d walked my entire life and feeling like something was calling me beyond the familiar roads of my small city. I used to tell myself that I was made for something more, bound to do greater things, and destined to leave my small city and become a global citizen.
Although I never had the words for it before, such as being a “global citizen,” which I only learned in my late 20s, there was already a stirring inside me that compelled me to dream more deeply about expanding my horizons.
Now that I am in my 30s and writing this blog post thousands of kilometers away from my childhood home, I can attest to how our narratives create constraints on our choices until we arrive where we want to be. Our narratives enable us to see what is possible, the places we can go, and the things we can create.
As Seth Godin wrote:
If your story serves you and those you care about, that’s great. If it persists, it’s probably close to what really happened. But if it’s not working for you, or continues to surprise you when it bumps into the rest of the world, hold it lightly enough to change it.
The best way to get to a more accurate version of reality is to share your assumptions, show your work and change the story based on useful feedback. When we reject narratives that are counter to our story before we even bother to consider them, our story is getting in the way of our path to better.
Versions of reality
And in creating stories, we use words. And words are powerful like how Proverbs 18:20-21 put it:
From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:20-21 [CSB]
Indeed, the story we tell ourselves shapes our reality.
jessa 