Mindful Moment

Thoughtful wellbeing for real workplaces.

Mindful Moment

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Think of something you’re often critical of yourself for.

Maybe you tell yourself:

I’m not very confident.
I always overthink things.
I’m terrible at speaking up.
I never stick with anything.

Notice what comes to mind.

Now ask yourself:

Is it completely true?

Can you think of a time when you behaved differently?

A moment when you were confident, spoke up, followed through or surprised yourself?

Perhaps the story isn’t entirely wrong but it isn’t the whole story.

For a moment, make room for the evidence that tells another version of you.

Beyond the Moment

Re-Writing Your Story

We all carry ideas about who we are. Some serve us well in life and some hold us back. Sometimes the latter become so familiar that we accept them as a fixed part of our personality.

Often, these stories begin with something real. A difficult experience. A rejection that stayed with us. A pattern we noticed during a particular stage of life. And over time, what began as an experience can become part of how we define ourselves.

Once we believe something about ourselves, we become very good at noticing the evidence that supports it and often less likely to notice the exceptions.

But the exceptions are there.

The conversation where we did speak up.
The time we trusted ourselves.
The moment we handled something differently than we usually would.

Those moments matter because they remind us that we are rarely as fixed as the stories we tell ourselves. This isn’t about replacing every criticism with a positive affirmation or pretending our patterns don’t exist. It’s simply about becoming a little more curious about them.

Instead of:

I’m terrible at communicating.

Try:

I notice I find it difficult to communicate in certain situations.

Instead of:

I’m an overthinker.

Try:

I notice I tend to overthink when I’m unsure of the outcome.

That small shift creates space between who you are and something you sometimes experience. And sometimes, that space is enough to see a fuller version of the story.

A Small Practice

The next time you catch yourself saying “I’m just…” or “I always…”, pause.

Ask yourself:

Is there any evidence that this isn’t always true?

You don’t need to rewrite the story completely.

Just make sure you’re telling the whole one.