I tell stories to people. I wish to make them laugh and relax them into amazement. I wish I could tell stories that can jolt a realization of truth in them. I do to people what I do to myself.

I reckon, you too, do the same.

Far more than others, we are busy telling stories to our own selves. Some stories seem simple, clear and minimal. Others are complex, bewildering and abundant with details.

The ultimate narrative of “who you are” — is a deep, personal pursuit. It is a continuous mental, physical and environmental churning. A story without an end-page, a story still in progress.

But before this ultimate story is grasped in entirety, we make merry in building our small and daily-life stories. Stories that we believe in. Stories that occasionally go through the test of reality.

I cannot dance.

I cannot make music.

I cannot learn finance.

I cannot wake up early.

I cannot give up this addiction.

Well, stories. I hope you are recalling your own.

We reinforce these myths with the coat of practicality, popular science and pragmatism. By employing our intellect, we make sure that these stories stay true.

I have a 8–10 job, there is no time for this.

The night-time is enlightening.

I can’t wake up early — I am not a peacock, my spirit animal is panda.

I have a logical mindset, I suck at art and creativity.

I cannot learn maths. I am born to write novels and splash paint on streets.

Labeling these traits helps our mental functioning. With labels we can memorize and connect these stories easily.

I am an empath, I am a sociopath, I am a narcissist, I am a leftist, a colonist, a bhakt, a libtard.

Even when we are not comfortable with our personal story, we would like to continue. We bear the suffering that comes along with it.

That is why people defend their habits, their lifestyle, their consumption patterns, despite being intellectually aware of the consequences.

People would put stacks of stories, one on the top of the other, to stay as they are. They would use their intellect, memory and skills to preserve their image.

Internet culture is not untouched by this idea.

What does the first letter of your name indicate ?.

What does your zodiac tell about you ?

Heaps of cultural stories and quizzes are poured on our feeds. Augmenting these cultural curries are our personality detection algorithms. Popular science attracts the most educated of our kind. The 16 types of personalities — the INTJ’s and the INFP’s.

The Howard Gardner’s theory of 8 key types of intelligences.

The learning styles and instructional methods.

The right-brain and the left brain stupidity.

And finally it is the Dungeons and Dragons — Moral Alignment test.

By the time you are done with all the quizzes, what you are left with is — conformation. These tests act as positive feedback to our personal stories. When we give these tests we selectively choose those happenings of our lives that conform to our story, while we unconsciously keep out the details that are threatening.

Apart from tests, our surroundings, our friends, teachers, parents and colleagues — all constantly behave according to the stories they have in their heads for you, which has overlaps with what you project on the outside.

Your mental image comes out in behavior as a pretense, is taken by fellow organisms as reality, refurbished as a story in their heads, that story is again projected as a pretense outside, which in turn is taken by you this time, as reality. This is the complete deception loop. An almost unbeatable positive feedback.

Slowly, our lies become the self-imposed truths. And they keep on piling till the point they become absolutely undebatable. They cannot be traced back to the point of original lying. A perfect self-deception.

Remember the idea of residual self-image of the movie, Matrix ?.

The concept of residual self-image

This idea of self-image confirmation struck me as a teenager, when I came across a psychology test that tells the type of personality based on handwriting. To me, that test was absurd because I used to write in many styles of handwriting. A craft that I had cultivated in school.

What would be the personality of a person, who does everything ?. Is he a super-personality or he has broken the idea of self-image ?

I guess, it is the second.

I did not break the idea of self-image, but handwriting test told me a lesson.

I would use the parable of legendary Bruce Lee to convey my understanding.

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

We are literally water. Human beings are 70% water.

We can’t do things, we can’t do things the way we want is because we always have stories to our rescue.

Pick a step you think you can’t do.

Write down your story of why you really can’t.

Pick a dustbin.

Throw that story down in the dustbin.

Start doing the step.

If your story was based in false reality, it will eventually give away.

Drop the stories.

Stay Awesome.

PS : This is a strategy I came up with to tackle my problems with persistence. A lot of people have problems in breaking inertia, it might work for them as well.

PS2 : The weather in Delhi is really bad and I am coughing for 3 days. It would be great if we could start writing down stories of what prevents us from doing anything for the environment. (types while coughing)

PS3: What never reaches the shores of pop science is the simple fact of Neuroplasticity, the ultimate superpower that our brain possesses to shake things up. The ability to change, adapt, modify and even transform the organism.