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The Stories You Tell Yourself Shape the Life You Live

Your brain doesn’t know the difference between a fact and a belief repeated often enough.

Author

Dev C
September 28, 2025

You live inside the stories you rehearse. Make sure they’re true — and useful.

What do you believe about yourself?

“I’m not a morning person.”
“I always mess things up eventually.”
“I’m not creative like that.”
“I’m too much… or not enough.”

You didn’t choose these beliefs.
You absorbed them.
From parents. Partners. Teachers. Systems. Culture.

But here’s the good news:
Every story that shaped you can be rewritten.

🧠 The Neuroscience of Self-Narrative

Tom Cruise Cool Story Bro GIF

Your brain forms “default stories” to:

  • Save energy

  • Reduce uncertainty

  • Make sense of the world

This is called a cognitive schema, and over time, it shapes your:

  • Habits

  • Emotional responses

  • Risk tolerance

  • Confidence

You think you're being realistic — but you're actually being repetitive.

📘 Related: The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer — for mastering your inner dialogue

🛠 Step 1: Identify Your Old Stories

Ask yourself:

“What recurring thought loops do I catch myself in when I feel stuck, scared, or small?”

Examples:

  • “It never works out for me.”

  • “I’m not as far along as I should be.”

  • “I always attract the wrong people.”

Write them down — without judgment.

🔄 Step 2: Question & Rewrite

Use this powerful CBT-inspired reframe:

  1. Is this thought helpful?

  2. Is it always true?

  3. Who taught me this — and were they trustworthy?

  4. What would I rather believe instead?

🎧 Listen: Dr. Nicole LePera’s “Rewrite Your Story” podcast — powerful episodes on belief work

✍️ Prompt: Rewrite One Story

Being inspired by the local graffiti in the city of Belgrade, Serbia I have made first one coming from the favorite quote from my sticker: Future is Creative. And of course having a lot of fun was included too.

Old Story: “I’m not good at finishing things.”
New Story: “I’m learning how to follow through — and each day I make more progress.”

→ Don’t make it toxic positivity. Make it directional truth.

📚 Tools to Support Inner Narrative Change

“You’re not stuck because of your circumstances. You’re often stuck inside an old story about yourself.”

And rewriting the story?
That’s where liberation begins.

With clarity and authorship,
- Growth Mode

Forward this to someone stuck in a loop. Help them start the rewrite.