I was in Waterstones recently, standing in the middle of four floors of beautiful books.
Everywhere I looked, people were reading. Actually reading.
Sitting quietly in window seats, leant against walls, tucked into corners, completely absorbed in stories.
And it struck me how strange and wonderful that is. Because almost everything else has moved online.
Music. Games. Films. Even our conversations.
And yet, physical books remain.
Why? Because of stories. There’s something about them that hasn’t changed, that we haven’t outgrown.
Long before any of this, humans gathered in the dark and told stories.For survival, belonging, meaning and connection.
Stories helped us understand what was happening around us. They helped us make sense of each other. They helped us decide what something meant and what to do next.
And I don’t think that part of us has gone anywhere. If anything, I think we’re feeling the absence of it more than ever.
We live in a world that moves incredibly quickly. Faster than our nervous systems were ever designed for. There is so much information, so many opinions, and a constant stream of noise.
And yet the part of us that makes sense of the world hasn’t changed.
We are still wired for story, meaning, connection.
Still wired for something that helps us understand where we stand.
You can see this most clearly in the off moments.
When something doesn’t quite make sense.
A message that isn’t replied to.
A tone that feels slightly off or a pause that you can’t quite place.
And in that space between what you know and what you don’t know, your mind fills in the gap.
It creates a story.
What’s happening?
What does it mean?
What should I do?
It happens quickly, and it feels convincing. Which is why it often feels like the truth.
But it isn’t necessarily true. It’s your brain doing what it has always done.For most of human history, not knowing was dangerous.
So the brain adapted. It learned to create meaning quickly, to move towards certainty, and to keep us safe. The challenge is that this same system is still running now.
Only now, the “gaps” we are trying to fill are often social.
They are about:
who we are
what other people think
where we stand
And over time, the stories we create in those moments stick, and they start to sound like truth.
“I’ve done something wrong.”
“They don’t rate me.”
“I’m not good enough.” The more they repeat, the more they shape how we feel, how we show up, and what we choose to do next. And this is where something important happens. Once you can see that what you are experiencing is a story, rather than a fixed reality, you create space. And in that space, there is choice.
You can catch the story, question it and begin to choose something different.
This becomes even more powerful when you realise that not all of the stories you carry began with you. Some of them were shaped long before you were aware of them.
Through family, culture and the environments you grew up in. They were repeated, modelled, reinforced. Until they became familiar. And familiarity has a way of feeling like the truth.
But when you start to look more closely, you begin to see that many of these are inherited narratives, rather than consciously chosen ones.
And again, that creates space for:
What do I want to keep?
What no longer fits?
What do I want to carry forward?
The stories you continue to live by don’t stop with you.
They shape how you show up, relate to others and what you pass on. We are shaping what comes next.
This is what I’ve been exploring in depth in the new season of my podcast:
Stories in Our DNA
A journey from the deep past, where storytelling first emerged…
to the present moment, where we are constantly making meaning…
to the future, where the stories we choose to live by will shape what comes next.
Alongside it, I’ve created something simple and practical:
The Story You Tell Yourself
A short guide to help you notice the stories your mind is creating, question them, and begin to work with them as you move through your day.
If this resonates, and you’d like to explore it alongside the season, you can join here:
https://helenpackham.com/podcast-season-2/
You’ll receive the guide, each episode as it’s released, and prompts to help you reflect and apply it as you go.In a world that feels increasingly fast, uncertain and disconnected…your ability to understand and rewrite the story you are living inside matters more than ever.
Are you ready?
Then let’s begin.
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