I loved this essay so much. I completely agree with this way of shaping the narrative according to the stories we tell ourselves. For me, this was the way with writing which I tried to do regularly last year. I got a lot of "Oh, you also write?" because the photographer narrative was so deeply attached to me by others.
Absolutely. But this is honestly the best way to do it: the opposite of quitting cold turkey, whatever it is. Less questions asked, less assumptions doubled down on, more space and energy to re-arrange stories without anyone else's resistance.
insightful and a fresh take on how we deal with identity exploring. i love the google doc metaphor because most of the time, we are people pleasures who are hesitant to change ourselves because what if they just don't like us anymore? consider applying outsiders' comments and feelings will most certainly leads to one's own negative feelings, well, since no one understands others thoroughly.
I had written this a few months back as a response to someone -
"We are all creatures of convenience and circumstance. We find what suits us best to survive, and justify what we do to sustain. At the end of every day, we need stories to tell ourselves till we slip into deep slumber. In a larger scheme of things, each one of us has our own blinkered narrative. And we find proof to substantiate what we do and we've done."
True with a capital T. It's all about the stories we tell ourselves. Particularly liked the Shared Doc analogy and the term 'selective archivist'. Thanks for sharing!
I loved this essay so much. I completely agree with this way of shaping the narrative according to the stories we tell ourselves. For me, this was the way with writing which I tried to do regularly last year. I got a lot of "Oh, you also write?" because the photographer narrative was so deeply attached to me by others.
Absolutely. But this is honestly the best way to do it: the opposite of quitting cold turkey, whatever it is. Less questions asked, less assumptions doubled down on, more space and energy to re-arrange stories without anyone else's resistance.
you are such a clear thinker, sindhu. i greatly enjoy your work
Thank you so much for reading and for your appreciation!
insightful and a fresh take on how we deal with identity exploring. i love the google doc metaphor because most of the time, we are people pleasures who are hesitant to change ourselves because what if they just don't like us anymore? consider applying outsiders' comments and feelings will most certainly leads to one's own negative feelings, well, since no one understands others thoroughly.
This is relatable on so many levels. Thank you writing this. 🌻
Thank you for reading!
Yes... we are creators as well. There are also ingrained patterns and old emotional stuff.... Great read!
"We are creators as well" sums it up very nicely! Thanks as always for reading.
I had written this a few months back as a response to someone -
"We are all creatures of convenience and circumstance. We find what suits us best to survive, and justify what we do to sustain. At the end of every day, we need stories to tell ourselves till we slip into deep slumber. In a larger scheme of things, each one of us has our own blinkered narrative. And we find proof to substantiate what we do and we've done."
Does this align?
Thank you, this is a nice take on how narratives shape us and how we can reverse the process and use it for our betterment.
Something similar I stumbled upon in other works: Derek Sivers "Useful Not True" book and substack pieces:
https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/first-we-shape-our-social-graph-then
https://defenderofthebasic.substack.com/p/a-beginners-guide-to-culture-science
True with a capital T. It's all about the stories we tell ourselves. Particularly liked the Shared Doc analogy and the term 'selective archivist'. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful!