Rewriting Narratives and [The Work].

Identifying false stories.

Our mind is a machine for generating stories to make sense of reality, but many of these narratives are "false" in the sense that they are unhelpful and generate unnecessary suffering.

A true story should make us feel expanded and capable; a false story makes us feel heavy, depressed and blocked.

For example, thoughts such as "I am naturally lazy" or "no one knows my true incompetent self" are narratives that we often defend without questioning their usefulness.

These stories often function as mechanisms to avoid change or justify stagnation.

The first step in rewriting them is to spot them and ask, "Does this story help me grow or does it keep me small and scared?"

Thought reversal

Once a limiting thought is identified, we apply reversal techniques to challenge its absolute validity.

If the thought is "it's too hard for me," the inquiry methodology suggests asking, "Is that absolutely true? Can I know for sure it's impossible?" Often, the honest answer is "no."

Then, we look for the opposite reversal or thought that might be equally true or more helpful, such as "It may be difficult, but it is possible to learn it."

This process is not about naïve positive thinking, but about finding a narrative that is functional and reduces the biological stress response (cortisol, adrenaline) that blocks our problem-solving ability.

The power of "So far"

A simple but powerful linguistic tool to combat fixed identity beliefs (such as "I have always been disorganized" or "I will never be a leader") is the addition of the phrase "until now." By saying "I have not been organized ....

until now," we instantly transform a life sentence into a description of a past stage.

This small grammatical modification introduces the possibility of change and aligns us with a "growth mindset."

It allows us to acknowledge our past difficulties without condemning our future, opening the mental space necessary to adopt new behaviors and stop defending our limitations as if they were immutable traits of our personality.

Summary

Our mind constantly generates stories to make sense of reality, but many are false narratives that, far from helping us, justify stagnation and generate unnecessary suffering, keeping us small and afraid.

Through thought reversal, we can challenge absolute limiting beliefs such as "it's impossible," finding equally true but more functional opposing narratives that reduce biological stress and unlock our capacity for resolution.

Adding the phrase "so far" to our negative judgments about identity transforms a perpetual condemnation into a past stage, introducing the possibility of change and aligning us with a growth mindset.