This month, I’ve been exploring the ripple effect – how one small thing can set off waves that reach further than we ever expect. Today, I want to talk about one of the most powerful ripple-makers there is: a good story.
Three of my sisters are successful authors. They have amazing story-telling abilities – their books draw me in swiftly. I’m an avid reader and when I can’t wait to get back to my book, I know I’ve found a winner.
Stories offer us an escape from the world, the chance to put worries aside, to focus on anything other than the stress of day-to-day life.
More than that, stories offer us so many opportunities to learn – whether we notice or not.
When I was studying neurolinguistic programming, some of my favourite parts of the course were the stories shared by our incredible teacher. Stories about her life growing up on a farm, stories about an island of frogs in the middle of the sea, stories of books she herself had read or movies she had seen.
Why so many stories in a training course?
Stories allow us to bypass resistance, make information memorable in ways that facts alone don’t, and engage our emotions (particularly powerful for teens, who experience stronger emotions during the intense hormonal and neurological changes of puberty).
When I was studying for my Nutritional Medicine degree, and now, when I’m continuing to build my knowledge, it’s always the stories add the most value – case studies, teachers’ personal experiences supporting clients – these are what we remember.
I find it fascinating that a group of people can hear the same story – and yet everyone will have a different perspective. We’ll remember different parts. We’ll put different meanings on events and outcomes. We’ll be moved in different ways, impacted by different elements.
I often find myself sharing stories with my clients – sometimes my own; more often, though, it’s the experiences other clients have had that really land:
• The client who lost weight following her nutrition plan, despite life throwing a few curve-balls at her along the way.
• The mum who finally gave herself permission to put herself first – and how that one small shift changed everything for her.
• The teenager, caught up in a difficult relationship, struggling to process his emotions – how he came out the other side feeling happier, stronger and more secure in himself (and the ripple effect this had throughout his household).
• The parents who noticed their home moved from chaos to calm as communication with their teen improved.
• The year 7 student struggling to settle in to high school, who found a new group of friends and stopped begging her parents to let her stay home each day.
That’s the ripple effect in action. One client’s story becomes another client’s turning point, which one day becomes their story, ready to help the next person who needs to hear it.
Obviously I keep the stories high-level enough that individuals are unidentifiable (although 4 of my regular teen clients’ families all know each other – it’s like a mum’s group out on the street when their appointment times cross over!).
Each time I share a similar struggle or a win or even a simple suggestion that someone else has tried, a client will gain a new perspective, a new idea, a different approach, renewed confidence.
And I’m reminded of the power of stories whenever I catch up with my family, and we all trade stories of our lives, or mum shares stories of when she was growing up. Or I see my kids listening to the stories their grandparents are telling (even as we lovingly roll our eyes because we’ve heard most of the stories before!) – and yet the kids are taking it all in. Layering their own experiences on what they are hearing, making connections, noticing patterns, subconsciously tucking away ideas and philosophies for their own futures.
Stories have ripple effects for days and weeks, sometimes months and years into our futures. My mum and dad’s stories are still rippling through me. My clients’ stories are rippling through each other. And one day, my kids will catch themselves retelling a story they swore they weren’t really listening to.
Perhaps that’s why stories are such a powerful part of connection. They allow us to learn from each other without being told what to do. We get to take what resonates, interpret it through the lens of our own experiences and decide what it means for us.
So, here’s my question for you: what story is still rippling through you today?