Transcript

It sounds odd to say that we might be locked within a story. What might this curious expression mean? Chiefly that we keep unknowingly repeating dynamics that go in very particular, and not especially pleasant directions. We're involved in stories of defeat, humiliation, suffering, fear, and loneliness, believing ourselves to be original at every turn, while in fact rehearsing almost identical patterns in our choices and behaviors. And we probably do this into areas above all, our working lives, and our love lives.

At work, some of the stories might go like this. Every time I succeed, I fall prey to terror, that others will want to destroy me out of envy, and I sabotage myself before they have a chance to ruin me. We can get locked in a story where we strive hard to win. But then the moment we do so, we grow fearful of enemies, either real or presumed, taking their vengeance out on us and stripping us of our advantages. It ends up easier to fail at a time of our own choosing them to live in anticipation of random destruction at the will of others.