It was when my manager told me, “There’s a mistake in this document,” that I heard an old and diminishing message in my head. “You’re so stupid.” It was a story I told myself often. I had actively collected the evidence to support a tale of being The Village Idiot. Then I learned about re-writing my story—an effective strategy for strengthening resilience.
Stories have themes and players. They include relationships with ourselves, our past, families, friendships, lovers and co-workers. Here we will focus on the work environment.
L
et’s imagine you are fired from your job. What might your story be? You could blame the person who fired you, a tale about you being The Victim of The Persecutor. Alternatively you could point all fingers at your inadequacies and tell a story about being The Idiot.
As we repeat a story we strengthen and deepen it. If, however, we awaken to the stories we tell we can deliberately lighten and change them. Take the same scenario and see if you can create a humorous story that features The Clown who somersaults into temporary freedom. Or The Hero who rides off on a white stallion ready to help others face the same fate. Or The Philosopher who ponders the wisdom derived from the experience.
Then there are the collective stories told in the workplaces around the water-cooler or lunch table. Next time you are gathered with your co-workers listen to how moments in time become clustered into a repeated story, a tale that describes a particular perception of the truth.
See if your organization’s mission statement is illustrated in these work day tales. Susan Luke is a ‘corporate mythologist’ who assists organizations to find and share stories that support and demonstrate their vision and values. She is hired because these workplace sagas affect both the well-being of employees and corporations. Learn more about Luke’s work at http://www.susanluke.com.
