The Greatest Story Never Told is Often Our Own — Unbranded

We all know how the story starts: “Once upon a time…” As we grew up we heard these stories surrounded our bedtime routine, classrooms, the campfire, and so on. Stories that lead our imagination to wherever our mental limits can take us. We all have stories that we connect to. They can range from the stories that inspired our imaginations, told us more about ourselves, and the world around us, or the light-hearted stories that took us away from our daily routines and made us feel human — even if for just a moment. We can all think of a story that still affects us today.

As we live our lives, passing stories from one generation to the next, the story which is often untold and lost in the shadows is our own. Our lives in which we live — the lives behind the obituary and the one-sentence bylines.

As we live our lives, passing stories from one generation to the next, the story which is often untold and lost in the shadows is our own.

As a speaker and storyteller, I am lucky to travel the globe, helping craft and share stories from individuals across the spectrum. The newly immigrated father navigating a new home for the first time, the young daughter who is managing schoolwork while also supporting her mother back home dying from cancer, or even the happy couple reliving their first meeting several years back after simply sharing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have heard thousands of stories and they are as unique and as similar to every place I go.

These stories and our stories, which we hold ourselves back from sharing, can be the most powerful story in our arsenal to share with the world. Once shared, they provide individuals with the opportunity to step into another person's life for just a moment, to better understand a perspective outside of their own. On the other hand, we hesitate to share for fear of judgment, ridicule, and, most importantly, we hesitate to be vulnerable.

However, what is a story, and what is the power of sharing our own stories? Well, a story is an account of a moment given at a particular time. Therefore, to share our stories is to provide a vivid and detailed account of a time where the listener can step into our shoes and experience our world as if they were actually there. Experience a moment in our lives with all five senses, but you may wonder, how is this relevant?

Well, I would say our current political climate has caused a decisive divide in our country. We have driven our stakes into the ground and stand by our outward labels. Either I am a Democrat or a Republican, this one candidate or that candidate.

For several years, I’ve been traveling the world facilitating an interactive experience on Unbranding helping people find their ‘why’ and ‘how’ it interrelates into the different boxes we put around ourselves and others.

One of the takeaways is that we are multi-layered, but use our outward singular labels to encapsulate ourselves and others. For example, if that person is a Republican, then they most fit into the box of all Republicans and vice versa. It’s problematic once we have labeled someone one way, this can even be how we label ourselves because it creates a zero-sum game. Either you are for me or against me. It makes it impossible to listen to or even empathize with their point of view.

It may be our political affiliation, race, gender, profession, religious beliefs, or even our status. The labels are vast and in the gray area in-between is widening. We have boxed ourselves into our prison of ideology and outward judgment so that we see the world through two different lenses, standing firm to our positions and unwilling to listen to those on the other side of the line.

The problem is that our outward labels are multi-connected. For example, the police officer who goes home to their spouse and kid after a long day of work as well as the NFL athlete who follows the same routine, both likely share similar stories of parenthood and life, but we classify their beings from a single classification — police officer, NFL athlete — we assume that they are worlds apart. The problem is that we don’t hear those stories because we don’t know their story.

Moreover, we put them into a single bucket, devalue, and ignore the many layers that thread together in commonality so that their stories — in our view, fit with our narratives. The police officer is not just a police officer, just as the NFL athlete is not just an NFL athlete. Just as the Republican is not just a Republican and a Democrat not just a Democrat. Yes, ideological perspectives may fall on political lines, but what are the individual stories that cause people to think and react one way versus another. What is the story behind the story; the person behind the person, and the experience behind the experience?

If you find yourself unable to hear the perspective from your positions, change the relationship, change the perspective. Instead of seeing the person for their political affiliation, see them from a shared experience of your own. You both may stand on opposite sides of the political aisles, but you may stand on the same aisle of both being parents, went to the same schools, same gender, same hobbies, or even the clothes you decide to wear. The list goes own. You decide the story you want to see in others.

If you find yourself unable to hear the perspective from your positions, change the relationship, change the perspective. Instead of seeing the person for their political affiliation, see them from a shared experience of your own.

Besides, stories allow us to step into someone else’s life without judgment, as a result, foster empathy and a better understanding through the process of sharing and listening. Now, in a world where people want to be heard, maybe the first approach is to find ways of actively listening. You may grind your teeth and dig your heels, but the ability to listen openly and ask questions that dive deeper into the story is a skill, one everyone could and should learn.

Hopefully, by actively listening and sharing our stories, we as a society will gain a better appreciation for the people that make up the world around us and begin to understand the simple fact that we may have more that connects us rather than separates us. It may sound like a fairy-tale pipe dream, as it may as well be, but I can assure you through my travels across the globe. This process has broken down more walls and led to more “Happily ever after’s” than one would think.

In the comments section, I would love to hear your thoughts. In your signoff, include the multiple different layers that make you who you are. I would love to see it.

Let’s Be Great!

AK

Father, athlete, entrepreneur, speaker, triplet, horrible speller, and professional competitive monopoly player