Everyone has two inner storytellers.
One storyteller weaves a tale of woe and tragedy, where the hero suffers through adversity and ultimately fails, wishing he had never started his doomed journey. The other storyteller speaks of great adventures with legendary battles fought, perils faced, and obstacles overcome to great glory and victory.
One storyteller endlessly repeats how you can’t do it, how you are destined to fail, how your life is destined to stay this way, that you deserve where you are, and how you might as well not even try. This storyteller’s favorites words are can’t, shouldn’t, won’t, and don’t. It sees failure as inevitable and to be avoided at all costs.
The other storyteller cheers you on, tells you that there is nothing you can’t do if you come up with a smart plan, if you work hard, if you change, adapt, and grow, if you persevere and keep moving forward despite the past. This storyteller sprinkles words like can, should, try, will, and do in every sentence, encouraging you at every step. Failure, to this storyteller, is one of the best ways to learn.
One storyteller’s words are borne of discouragement, the other’s of hope. One crushes dreams while the other dares you to dream bigger. One tears down the sails of your ship, while the other fills your sails with a driving breeze. One finds despair in every moment, while the other find joy in the journey. One echoes of the Accuser, one quotes the Creator.
Everyone has two inner storytellers. Which one are you listening to?
EDC
Edward D. Casey 