Who tells your story?

Hello friend!

We don't need Hamilton to know that the answer to this question - Who tells your story? - is this:

The one with the power to do so.

This means even our beloved Hamilton tells white, male history.

This means we've all heard that the terrorist murderer in Atlanta “had a really bad day,” but - even when we've gone digging - we know precious few stories about the victims and survivors of the attacks.

This means Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.

This means abusive employers and unethical organizations control their narratives by building non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements into employment contracts.

SIGH

and/but/also

In each of the examples above, I placed links that tell more of the story.

This is the good news:

someone can tell more of the story.

These days, this happens more, and more quickly.

We can almost always get more and better story. 

But only when we go looking for it.

*

This business of empowering better storytelling 

is also urgent and necessary

right inside your head.

Which part of you tends to tell your stories?

Your inner critic, 

or inner champion?

(They have very different accounts of Why You Lost That Job).

Your inner hater,

or inner lover?

(They have very different understandings of Why You Haven't Been Exercising, Why You're Procrastinating That Project, Why You Keep Tolerating This Bullshit).

Your inner victim,

or inner creator?

(They have very different ideas of What You Can Do Next!) 

*

In order to evolve 

collectively

personally

politically

humanly

we have to seek stories 

from the under-represented voices 

both inside and out.

If you're like me and most humans I know,

your inner critic, hater, and victim talk pleeeeeeeenty,

(This is exactly the way the white supremacist patriarchy likes it).

For all of our sakes,

pass the mic.

love,

Natalie