What you tell yourself about your spouse, children, family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors will make or break your relationships. These stories carry the most emotional weight and, often, have the most at stake.

One of the most important reminders in this episode is intensity of emotion is not an accurate measurement of how true or false a story is. We tend to be far more emotionally invested in — and defensive about — our up-close personal stories than our impersonal ones. This applies to both the negative and the positive stories we tell. And it’s especially true when it comes to our children.

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#parenting

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Where does racism, sexism, and classism begin? With a story. The habits we build at the micro-story level directly shape how we think at the macro level.

Macro stories tend to come in two varieties:

1. Up close and personal — Stories about people and groups we interact with directly.
2. Far away and impersonal — Stories about people and groups we’ve never met. Paradoxically, we can be more emotionally attached to these stories, precisely because they’re harder for anyone to challenge.

The micro-stories we’ve been tracking don’t just exist in isolation. They accumulate. Over time, they reveal and reshape our character, our mindset, and our expectations of others and ourselves. And many macro stories — the big ones — begin as a single micro story that grew.

Visit Stephanie Presents for resources, to book speaking engagements, and get the weekly newsletter, Hi(Impact)!

Click here to order your copy of The Great Brain Remodel of Adolescence or purchase from Amazon

#spirituallystrong

#emotionallyhealthy

#relationships

#lifeskey3

#smartrelationships

#parenting

#raisinggodlykids

#raisingadults

#bible

#faith

#truth

#biblestudy

#christianfaith

#christianwomen

#christianity

We can cling to our stories like we keep clothes in the closet we haven't worn in six years. Why? In Part 2 of the "It's All In Your Head" series, we move beyond the labels of “positive” and “negative” and introduce a more useful framework: true, untrue, and unknown.

Paying attention to our stories is work. But like exercise, it gets easier with consistency. Once you experience the benefits, you’ll want to keep at it. And remember: we’re not only looking for negative stories that are costing us. We’re also looking for positive ones worth preserving and protecting.

Visit Stephanie Presents for resources, to book speaking engagements, and get the weekly newsletter, Hi(Impact)!

Click here to order your copy of The Great Brain Remodel of Adolescence or purchase from Amazon

#spirituallystrong

#emotionallyhealthy

#relationships

#lifeskey3

#smartrelationships

#parenting

#raisinggodlykids

#raisingadults

#bible

#faith

#truth

#biblestudy

#christianfaith

#christianwomen

#christianity