The Stories We Tell Ourselves Shape Our Lives

We humans are amazing storytellers, so much so that it's actually what sets us apart from other species. We tell stories around the campfire, stories that form entire religions, stories about society and its cultural mores and expectations, stories that create entire worlds that line up in endless rows of books in a library–and especially, we tell stories to ourselves about who we are, who other people are, and why things happen the way they do. Without stories, life as a human would be significantly stripped of its significance.

Growing up, my dad often told my brother and I make-belie