Article
30 January 2024, 3 min read

The stories we tell ourselves

Ever imagined how rewriting outdated stories could unlock the Wellbeing Economy we want?

When we flip the script, fresh possibilities emerge

I host monthly Big Conversations in partnership with the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland hub – informal, lunchtime chats to discuss BIG issues progressive businesses face as we transition towards an economy serving people and planet.

Dominant tales limiting imagination

In our recent conversation, we examined the stories we tell ourselves and how unchecked assumptions restrict even the most conscious leaders from enabling the new economy we know is possible. As we explored economic narratives – and tensions between traditional logic and imaginative new ways forward – several seemed ripe for flipping! Rewriting these outdated stories intentionally could spark fresh personal and social breakthroughs.

Take common tales glorifying endless material growth and wealth accumulation above all else. I asked, what stories might we be clinging to that contradict social and ecological wellbeing? Such narratives underpin mainstream business, limiting our ability to envision alternative systems aligned with dignity and regeneration.

Rethinking mainstream assumptions that governments must balance budgets, for example, opens imaginative policy options for investment enhancing human and ecological wellbeing.

How might AI risk unconsciously perpetuating existing ways of thinking if left unchecked without including diverse voices challenging norms?

Dehumanising work and citizen disempowerment

Some recalled how from Taylorism in the 20th Century to AI in the 21st has dehumanised work for many. There is a deeply embedded historical pattern of viewing workers as ‘variables’ to be optimised for productivity and profit, rather than humans with agency and purpose, with technology as means of control. Often technology is left unchallenged - as depicted in "the computer says no" sketches in the UK comedy, Little Britain. But this reliance on technology over judgement can have catastrophic consequences, as the Post Office scandal in the UK reminds us.

Questioning the tales we tell ourselves and who they benefit creates possibilities for rewrite. Institutional gatekeepers often control the narrative, creating a power imbalance. We need to consciously examine core beliefs, such as citizens existing to serve economic outputs rather than justice and democracy.

Knowledge building through storytelling

Even our reliance on ‘facts’ and ‘knowledge’ contains assumptions worth looking at. Knowledge builds on previous knowledge through storytelling, transferring wisdom through generations. But dominant paradigms can grow outdated yet remain sticky due to how embedded they are. Challenging underlying beliefs matters, as core assumptions often unconsciously drive our behaviour, feeling like unquestionable truths unless we consciously confront them.

Flipping scripts opens fresh possibility

Questioning outdated narratives and assumptions opens capacity for fresh storytelling, which feels vital at this time of great transition. As we co-create an economic system serving people and planet over growth, progress requires courage to flip limiting tales filled with contradictions. Re-anchoring dominant stories told about markets, technology and progress around shared values of justice, regeneration and democracy could spark previously unimaginable breakthroughs.

What problematic stories might we consciously revise together to serve dignity for all people and the planet? I believe rewriting rigid stories brims with collective transformative possibility. My hope is these community Big Conversations contribute in some small way to that collaborative process of progress.