It isn’t possible to put into words the power of story. It is simply the nature of what story is – pictures that the mind imagines, told in a timely order, where drama is built and emotions are stirred, with a lesson ultimately learned or a principle finally shared in the end.
There is amazing power in story.
Every year, I read through two metaphorical stories by the same group of people, The Arbinger Institute. The books – “Leadership and Self-Deception” and “The Anatomy of Peace” – are metaphors that describe the negative power of Self-Deception and the different principles that we can use to dig ourselves out of the muck and mire. They have become favorites, not only because of the principles they describe, but because of the way they make me feel.
The often-quoted phrase in sales, “Numbers tell, but stories sell,” is proved every day, in every culture, by every age group. Young men are enamored with the possibility of storming the castle, slaying the dragon, and saving the princess. Young women see their white knight coming and either being rescued by him – or fighting the dragon alongside him. Our love for stories never goes away, although it looks different in our technology-saturated society. Today we fall in love with television characters and are swept away by the visual and emotional roller-coaster that takes place on a once-a-week basis. Video games give us a portion of control inside the story, whether it takes place on our world or another. Romance novels – whether printed electronically or on good ol’ ink and paper – have never been out of style and will likely never go out of print.
The power of story is beyond argument; how we act on those stories is a totally different topic.
First of all, what kind of stories are you inputting into the imagination factory of your mind? I once asked my mom to pray about the nightmares I was having of zombies, probably coming from a particularly popular zombie television show that I had watched that week. She paused for a moment (anytime she does this, I know that she’s using a verbal filter…) before giving me a piece of wisdom that I’ll never forget: “Chris, I’m not sure how to pray for you in that regard. I’ve never had that problem, because I refuse to watch shows like that.”
I hope that you’re not too caught up in emotional response to hear what she said there – “Chris, garbage in, garbage out.” The results that I was experiencing had come from the stories that I was inputting into my mind. In a world where the majority of stories involve some kind of fear, is it any wonder why so many people are on medication for worry, stress, and anxiety? I’ll ask again … what stories are you putting in? And are you happy with the results that you’re receiving from them?
Next, if you are particular about the stories that you are inputting into your mind, I would then ask what you’re doing with them. Heroism is something that we can all admire and wish for. We either want to be the person who slays the dragon, or we at least want to be able to say, “I know that guy!” from the safe confines of our living room sofa.
I would like to challenge you: what are you doing with the stories? Are you learning a lesson? Are you even looking for a lesson that could be learned? Then after you find the lesson, how can you act on that lesson? What difference could it make in your life if you simply add a little heroism? A little courage?
The next story you hear, read, or watch, find a principle – then live it out. Benjamin Franklin summed it up well:
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten; either write things worth the reading, or do things worth the writing.”
Just a thought.
