Telling yourself a story about who you are is a powerful way to frame your reality.
I am an athlete. I am a teacher. I am an innovator. I tell myself stories to prove it, and I back it up with actions to support my commitment to the story.
When I find props (and products) that help me tell my story, I get them.
- Clothes I can move in help me be an athlete. Leadership books help me be a teacher. Startup tools help me to be an innovator. All of these are truly helpful, but mostly it’s not about the features.
- It doesn’t make me more of an athlete that my suit is made of stretch fabric. It makes me more of an athlete that I’m the type of person who buys suits in stretch fabric, so I can move more.
- Reading leadership books doesn’t make me a teacher, it reinforces my personal narrative, one where I’m the type of person who studies hard to be a better teacher.
If you can find a way to help someone tell their personal narrative with conviction, you help that person be more. You can strengthen a personal narrative, and in doing so help that person live a better story.
It’s just another way of doing work that matters for someone who cares.