While none of this means everyone wants to change their stories, nor does it mean anyone has to, something often shifts for clients with the realization that they can.

Additionally, stories of transition present a challenge because telling them well involves baring some emotion. The famous annual festival of words brings together well known authors, storytellers, and poets to the town centre. If there is no way of adjudicating between conflicting accounts, those that are backed by the greatest muscle are likely to win out. According to the fascinating field of “narrative psychology,” the stories we tell about ourselves are the key to our well-being.David Hume thought for a while that nothing did; others have proposed the soul, the body, the brain and so on. Each time she wrote a cover letter, interviewed, or updated friends and family on her progress, she better defined what was exciting to her; and in each public declaration of her intent to change careers, she committed herself further. Those who did leave time to wrap up tended merely to list the four or five (disparate) things they might be interested in pursuing next.

It’s this kind of break with the past that will force you to discover and reveal who you really are.Brooks may hear it this way because English writing tends to be sharper and more contentious than the bland prose of US academia. The book speaks of the need for storytelling as protection from the chaos of reality, but for whom is reality chaotic? One of us, in the context of writing a book, has studied a wide variety of major career shifts; the other has worked extensively with organizations and individuals on the use of narrative to bring about positive change. Your story will need to show why you could not pursue the goal originally, but here, external causes — illness, accident, family problems, being drafted, and so on — can play a leading role.