Do you storyize?
What?
Storyize! Storyizing is the art of embellishing the facts with your stories and assumptions. When storyizing takes over me, my mind is spinning wildly with what could happen, what I want to be true, what I most fear.
If you, like me, you have become quite adept at storyizing, take a moment to stop. Practice simple observation followed by curiosity:
That’s interesting. I just witnessed “that”. Just “that”. Just what appeared to be a mean glance from a friend:
Friend, are you okay? I saw a strange look on your face.
Just what appeared to be defiant behavior from my child.
Child, you know that isn’t a good thing to do. Help me understand. What were you thinking? Why did you do that?
Rather than embellishing our stories, we can expand the facts.
What might be possible if you stop storyizing?