At the heart of almost every film and book is the hero’s journey. This is the classic storyline in which the main character has to overcome various trials and tasks and then returns home transformed. Along the way, the hero is usually accompanied by friends. There will be a teacher or mentor to offer wise advice and an adversary who will challenge and push the hero to their limits.
I hope this finds you safe and well. This month we combine the celebrations of books with the month, which serves as a reminder of gender inequality (to us, also a prompt to think about moving away from the idea of binary gender altogether towards kinder humanity). People of all genders have used storytelling for centuries. Some stories were published, others written on paper and sent by post or noted in a personal journal, but the idea of writing our story and using the stories for inspiration and healing feels central to who we are as a species.
belongings. Here are some of my recent favourites – reminders that we all go through illness, loss, pain but also love, connectedness and hope.
The healing power of stories is well known. Narrative therapy utilises stories to externalise the problem, challenging emotion or experience, especially when we cannot explain our experience directly.
This is a fantastic explanation of how the stories we tell ourselves need exploring and reframing to a more compassionate, self-caring and self-valuing perspective. This process can help us say a healthy “no”. Check it out:
We all know stories matter. Stories made Homo Sapiens the most successful kind. I wonder, what if we succeed in building a better, kinder future instead?
MailChimp’s Second Act Season 2 series of inspiring business stories is here.
Today I would like to look at a common assumption in our approach to digital wellbeing – the notion of separate reality online and offline.