Storytelling: When the future is uncertain and making decisions becomes difficult, we should calmly gather our thoughts and craft our own story. Stories hold power—the power to neatly organize complex situations. We accept and understand even absurd stories with interest if they fit the art of storytelling. Storytelling reconstructs the situation and finds and fills in the missing meaning between events based on facts. As a result, we complete and accept a coherent narrative. We experience cognitive dissonance when a narrative isn’t interpreted due to an incomprehensible situation, meaning the gap between events isn’t understood. This cognitive dissonance causes instability, which further complicates the situation. Addressing twists, turns, and future uncertainties requires a focus on storytelling. In this process, I need to identify the parts I missed and complete the meaning. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
No matter how hard you work or how busy you become, it’s essential to maintain initiative in your life. When I lose control of my life to others, I feel as though I’m living a life of servitude. The most important way to preserve initiative in life is to consistently take action, even if it’s small, as part of my daily routine. Theologian Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr prayed: “Let me do my best in what I have to do, give me the courage to give up what I cannot do, and give me the wisdom to judge the two apart.” - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”