The Fault In Our Stories
Stories help us make sense of the complex — Nadeem Chawhan
From a very young age, we are entangled in stories. Like fish in water, we don’t realise their importance and impact but it is because of them that we are able to navigate (swim) through the murky waters of life. Stories help us understand emotions, push us to dream, and let us live different lives.
Another thing they do is shape the way our brain processes life. Stories usually have a protagonist who goes through troubled times struggling through difficulties and finally reaching the goal. The most widely used narrative is a hero (good) struggling against a villain (evil) and the triumph of good. This is a formula that has worked for centuries. People have believed the most fantastic stories and lived their lives, in their heads, living as the protagonists would live. Stories work because the narrative of struggle is the basis of the human mind. Every decision we make in life, we process the pros and cons and move forward. And that is the way the story unfolds itself… stories we read and the stories of our lives.
Stories are widely used today, as tools of persuasion - TV Commercials, movies, celebrity lives, political rhetoric and sustainability initiatives. Experts and organisations utilise stories to build influential narratives. These narratives are powerful and more often than not effective in getting the message across. Again, the most basic narrative is good against evil.
Therein lies danger. With stories becoming more and more melodramatic, exaggerated, sensationalised, and black and white; we are becoming more polarised. Being exposed to these stories, we have started seeing the world around us as black and white. We see evil and good, and label people and organisations as such. As someone who often has the privilege of addressing large audiences, I‘ve seen people fall victim to this trap. Remember, we live in the world of stories — like water is to fish. If our stories are polarised, so is our world. In such a world, there are good people and bad people. Life becomes difficult and relationships are strained.
Instead of such a view one must understand that there is good and evil in everyone and in different instances different sides prevail. If someone cuts you in a line, it doesn’t mean their existence is based on robbing other people of their rights. Most people are not 100% good, neither 100% evil and viewing them as such causes dissonance that is destructive.
