The Power of Story — as Illustrated by a Four Year Old

Stories are incredibly powerful. While modern “story branding” techniques have hijacked age-old storytelling practices, the truth is that storytelling is and has been a vital component of human nature practically since the beginning of time. Reading, sharing, and even creating stories can not only help improve various brain functions, but can help us grow inwardly. Stories can help us grow in empathy, understanding, optimism, and can even give us a sense of peace, control, and orientation in our lives when everything seems to be folding into chaos.

I learned all of this from my time as a Literature major at Point Loma Nazarene University. However, I was given a stark illustration of the power of story only a few weeks ago via my niece.

Scrolling through Facebook last week I came across a post from my brother. It was a quote by my niece, who just turned four.

“When coronavirus is all out of our village and all out of everyone’s village, can we go to Disneyland to celebrate?” My niece inquired.

At first glance, the question is a simple, sweet, pure inquiry from a little girl. For me, however, something about this question stood out. She didn’t simply ask “can we go to Disneyland when this is all over?” It was how she framed the question in terms of a threat leaving a village that caught my eye.

“When coronavirus is all out of our village and all out of everyone’s village, can we go to Disneyland to celebrate?”

My niece doesn’t watch too many movies – though she has seen a few. However, she has read So. MANY. BOOKS.

Between her two parents who work as ministers, her grandmother who is a former teacher, her aunt who has a literature degree, and her uncle who also has a literature degree, a background in education, AND a freelance writing business, my niece was doomed to a life of literary nerdiness. If she’s not reading stories, she’s listening to stories. If she’s not listening to stories, she’s telling stories. Her entire existence thus far has been defined by stories.

SO – when a vague and ominous presence (in the form of a virus) rolled into her community, robbed her of her freedoms, and threatened the safety of herself, her family, and her new baby brother – she actually wasn’t at all surprised. After all, Moana, one of her favorite stories, begins with an eerily similar episode (though instead of a virus it was all the greenery on the island turning to ash). In fact – MOST of the stories my niece has encountered begin with some sort of foreboding presence moving into the “village.”

My niece knows, however, that the story doesn’t end in darkness. In fact, when the darkness comes, that’s usually when the adventure starts. She knows that brave heroines and heroes are out there doing their part to vanquish the foe once and for all, liberating the village in the process. She also knows that once it’s all over – and it WILL be all over – the proper thing to do is to celebrate and celebrate BIG!

My nice just turned four, but her way of framing all that’s happening in our world right now perfectly illustrates one powerful truth. STORIES MATTER!

It turns out, what my niece has stumbled into is a universal truth of humanity. Many might say storytelling is the defining attribute if humanity.

My niece may not know it, but by immersing herself in narratives – in movies, books, the Bible, even her own family – she has become better prepared to handle an uncertain, ever changing, and at times overwhelming world. Guess what – you can use stories in the same way!

How Does STORY Help You?

As a professional freelance content writer, I have seen the myriad ways brands utilize the universality of great stories. It’s actually something I wrestle with immensely as a writer. How is it that is this ancient, innate, foundational component of human nature has been so blatantly hijacked to sell you crap?

Whether you’re a business owner, a creative entrepreneur, or simply a passionate professional looking to engage in your next creative endeavor, understanding the power of story is vital. Moreover, though, understanding the crucial role storytelling plays in our day to day life can have numerous benefits on your health, your intelligence, and your over all outlook.

Information Dust Bowl

We are in a crisis right now. This crisis however, is not one relating to a virus. Unfortunately, the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic coincides with a much bigger problem. What we’re truly seeing and experiencing is simply the latest chapter in the ever-evolving nightmare of the misinformation era.

We’re bombarded with so much text that we have trouble processing all of it. In response, we go into a collective shut down. We only permit the familiar voices in and we tune the rest out. We dive in as deeply as we feel we can handle, but the tide is growing increasingly shallow. We’re trying to eat the fruit, but we’re severing the roots.

It reminds me of the stories I read in history class about the practices that led to the Great Dust Bowl. In that era, the emergence of new technologies allowed for greater wheat production. However, as farmers over-plowed their fields, they robbed the soil of its nutrients. Without deeply embedded roots to hold the soil in place, winds began to pick it up in droves, causing enormous clouds of dust to devastate the American South and Mid-West.

Today our plains are not made of dust, but columns of binary code. Our technology has allowed us to produce crops of information far more rapidly than before. But in doing so, we’ve robbed our soil of nutrients – credibility, logic, reason, and history. We’ve created a cloudy dust storm of misinformation. The initial problem was dangerous enough, but now we’re seeing its more devastating effects. When a real crisis emerges, like a ruthless virus, we find ourselves ill-prepared, caught up in the monstrous dust storm of our own intellectual undoing. We feel afraid. We feel disoriented. We feel disconnected.

Yet – in the midst of this storm, I found hope in a young four-year-old girl who, despite her age, knew exactly where to turn in the midst of crisis. It’s as if her mind and body were already prepared for what was happening, and anticipated what would happen next. She wasn’t disoriented because she had a guiding light. Yes – she had her parents. But woven into the very fabric of her being were the numerous stories and narratives she had entered into over and over and over again since the day she was born. It turns out, exposure to narratives, engaging deeply with texts, and creating our own narratives can provide legitimate answers when the questions in front of us seem insurmountable.

So how do stories work, and how do we benefit from them?

When examining the impact of narratives on our minds and emotions, we can break it down into two big categories. There are the benefits of actually reading written texts, and there are the benefits of engaging with narratives and narrative structures in general – basically hearing stories.

So first, let’s look at READING texts.

Reading is not an innate human practice, which is why it is a great struggle for many of us.

However, many studies have enforced the significance of repeated exposure to stories, particularly works of fiction.

Reading does any tings to improve brain function. One study indicates that reading utilizes complex neural networks, involving multiple areas of our brain simultaneously. For this study, a group of researchers issued MRI scans on several test subjects and were able to support their theory that these neural pathways strengthen and become increasingly sophisticated as the subjects read more and more.

Other research suggests that reading improves what’s known as “Fluid Intelligence” or the ability to solve problems, understand things, and detect meaningful patterns.

The effects of reading on the brain can’t be seen over night, but become more apparent the more you read.

Stories Make Us Human

Beyond simply becoming more exposed to text, however, there is immense benefit in spending time immersed in stories – particularly works of fiction. While we can expose ourselves to various stories through other media like film and music, reading and sharing stories seems to have a much more potent impact.

One of the greatest benefits of reading literary fiction is that it helps develop and improve what’s known in psychology as theory of mind, which is the ability to attribute mental states — beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge, and so forth — to oneself and to others. To understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's own requires a well-developed theory of mind.

In literature, we are exposed to various characters and more importantly, different points of view. When we read, the narrator’s thoughts become our thoughts. Her feelings become our feelings. We can literally gain short term, limited access into another person’s consciousness. We live out their reality, and in doing so, gain a better understanding of who they are, what they think and feel, and WHY they think and feel their thoughts and feelings.

Participants in one study read a story about a counter-stereotypical Muslim women and were then asked to determine the race of ambiguous faces. Those who read the narrative exhibited lower categorical race bias by making significantly fewer race judgments. The narratives these participants were exposed to challenged heir internal beliefs and actually reshaped their perspectives in the real world! Narratives can literally reconstruct the way we see others and the world around us. Moreover, narratives can help us discover and reshape the way we view ourselves!

Utilizing narratives is a powerful tool for self-expression. We learn about ourselves and the world around us through telling stories. Artists in various media – from songwriting to stand-up comedy – will attest to the power of reshaping past experiences through a creative lens. Story telling allows us to piece together moments of our lives and make a logical, sensible, cohesive whole out of what would otherwise be random experiences. Story is what literally gives life meaning.

Creating stories not only helps us sort out our past, but can even impact the way we feel about our futures. Individuals who repeatedly encounter narratives where characters overcome obstacles tend to be more hopeful and optimistic people. Conversely, research suggests that when we constantly relay negative narratives about ourselves or others – such as our spouses – we tend to form negative opinions and even develop biases that overshadow the positive attributes. The stories we tell ourselves and others are constantly shaping the world in which we find ourselves.

So what does this have to do with you?

How does this help you in your business? How does this help you in a crisis?

As School House Rocky once said – knowledge is POWER!

If you want to grow professionally or personally, perhaps the best way to begin is also the oldest! SHARE STORIES! Read stories. Ask friends and family to tell you stories. Write and share YOUR stories. Swim in stories!

It’s more than just a way to pass the time when you’re bored. Encountering as many stories and perspectives as possible will almost certainly help you grow as a person. Take a break from the news and crack open a work of fiction! If you need recommendations, I’ve got TONS!

Perhaps the greatest gift that stories give us is written proof that whatever we’re facing, we’re not alone. We can look at a world brought to its knees by an invisible virus, but we can have hope. We have seen our heroes face seemingly insurmountable odds We have seen characters overcome by their own shortcomings. And we have seen protagonists triumph over their foes and over themselves.

 If they can do it, so can we. So can you!