The Stories We Add

I did not get selected. It must be the way I answered the question about why I want to join the company.

My colleague walked past without saying hello. He is clearly upset with me about something.

The client has not replied to my proposal in four days. They have probably chosen someone else.

My manager asked to see me tomorrow. This cannot be good news.

My son has not called in two weeks. I am clearly not a priority in his life anymore.

Read these again, slowly. In every one of them, there are two things happening.

There is a circumstance. The interview result, the colleague walking past, the silent client, the meeting request, the son not calling……These are facts.

And then there is a story. The reason we attach, the motive we assign, the outcome we predict. None of it verified. All of it treated as truth.

One of the biggest mistakes we make is confusing our circumstances with our thoughts about our circumstances. The fact is one line. The story is a paragraph. And we suffer mostly in the paragraph.

The circumstance is rarely the problem.

The story we wrap around it usually is.