We have to Update our Tropes!

Tropes are stories based on what we think is true. We adopt them as anchors of understanding, then weave through them to find firmness in our thoughts and decisions. “Doctors are smart”, “generals love wars”, “the South is friendlier”, ”politicians are insincere.” But the tropes get old and inaccurate. They have to evolve or they stagnate and obstruct.

When I was preteen, my legs were slow and weak. I lost every footrace and accepted the trope that I was a slow runner. It was accurate and I accepted that story (trope). Then I started strengthening and stopped coming in last every time. I continued, however, to think I was slow. Even when I successfully played the faster positions in team sports in college, I saw myself as slow. I was not being fair to myself and hung on to the “slow” trope too long, it was the wrong story.

How many of our tropes are old and no longer accurate? Is some old trope still telling me why I could not get a date to the prom, or why I did not get that dream job? Whatever tropes explained those misses are no longer relevant. They have to be updated. Step back, look at the obvious tropes you live by, and evaluate if they are still accurate. Then change the story. We get to choose the stories that shape our lives.