Why Do We Believe the Bullshit Stories We Tell Ourselves?

Let's imagine that it's a hot summer day, and we're sweating our butts off cheering on our favorite baseball team as they finish off the season. Then suddenly - as the centerfielder jumps to catch a bomb hit deep and headed straight for the wall - an afternoon lightning storm comes rushing through, causing a half-hour delay of game and a shift in momentum thereafter to end the game. 

When we return home, our family and friends ask each of us about how the game went...but will our stories match?

Sure. Why wouldn't they? Were we not at the same ball game, on the same day, in the same place, at the same time? What could be so different when the facts of the day were the same?

Facts > Experiences > Meanings > Stories.

You see, the facts simply make up the event. But when we attach our own meanings to those same facts, our stories end up reflecting two different experiences of the same event.

For example: Did we feel relief from the summer heat, or did the downpour just add to the already high humidity of the day? Did the 30-minute pause in the game give us a chance to relax a bit, or did it annoy us because it pushed our already tight schedule back even more? Did we only notice the gloomy grey skies above, or did we happen to notice the colorful spectrum of light peering from behind the rainclouds? Did our team benefit from the shift in momentum, or did they end up losing the game? 

Stories < Meanings < Experiences < Facts.

In reverse, our STORIES are mostly based on the MEANINGS that we attach to our individual EXPERIENCES of the same exact event, regardless of the FACTS. We are personally responsible for giving meaning to the stories that we tell, not only to others, but to ourselves. 

So why do we choose to tell ourselves and believe the bullshit stories of inadequacy, worthlessness and defeat??? 

Self-deprecating stories like that don't serve us, nor do they help us to serve others and live in our purpose. 

Wouldn't it make more sense for us to choose to tell ourselves and believe the badass stories of sufficiency, worthiness and success??? 

The shift in perspective could be the simple anecdote to our restlessness, allowing us to shine in purpose and know that we are worthy. Worthy to exist, worthy to love, worthy to falter and get up again, worthy to dream, worthy to grow, worthy to succeed, and worthy to move forward, not in perfection but in progression.

All we have to do is simply CHANGE OUR STORIES and choose stories that will serve us, not hurt us. 

So let's BENCH THE BULLSHIT and BRING IN THE BADASS!!! It's a sure win every time.

*Think of a significant life experience that you feel has shaped your "story" to date. Identify the fact of that event. Next, identify the meaning that you've attached to that event when telling your "story" to yourself or others. Evaluate whether that meaning has proven to serve you in upscaling your life. If not, try shifting your perspective to discover a new meaning that you can attach to the same life event such that it will serve to propel you further into your life's purpose. Comment down below to share how you're gonna rewrite your story by benching the bullshit and bringing out the badass!