In the world of wine, it\u2019s normal to go to a wine producer\u2019s website and then read \u2018about us\u2019, where that producer tells us their story. And for us journalists, when we are doing a gig we are often asked for our biography. I have several biographies that I\u2019ve penned, in the third person of course (which sounds odd when you write it about yourself, pretending almost that someone else has). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not an easy thing to do: to tell your story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s also an interesting exercise. What is your own\nnarrative? You have to choose one, out of many possibilities. They can all be\ndifferent, yet at the same time all true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This raises interesting questions about how we see ourselves.\nIt even touches on some important psychology. Retelling our story \u2013 casting the\nnarrative of \u2018us\u2019 afresh \u2013 is a route to healing; a route to transformation. We\ncan tackle negative beliefs about ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have an internal narrative \u2013 a set of stories about how\nthe world around us works \u2013 and it is through the lens of this narrative that\nwe interpret reality. This filtering of experience, and the process of fitting\nit into our own internal story framework, gives each of us a unique perspective\non the world. To some degree we share our worldview with our friends and\nfamily, but many aspects of it are personal to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a nice story that touches on this from the world of\nsport. John Lambie, who was the manager of Scottish football club Partick\nThistle, is credited with a well-known sporting quote. On being informed by his\nmedical team that one of his players was concussed to the extent he couldn\u2019t\nremember his own name, Lambie replied, \u2018Tell him he\u2019s Pele and get him back\non.\u2019 [For the benefit of readers who know nothing about football, Pele is the\nmost famous player of all time.] <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it\u2019s a helpful exercise to try to tell our own\nstory, but in a number of ways \u2013 all the time, looking in, seeing it from how\nan outsider might.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are a wine producer, then telling your story like\nthis might help you better define your objectives, and refine your practices.\nWe can\u2019t be all things: we need to decide what we are about, what we stand for,\nand then what sort of things \u2018are us\u2019, and what sort of things \u2018aren\u2019t us\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a retailer or importer, doing this might make decision-making\neasier. For a journalist, it might help them focus their work priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But whatever the motivation, I think it is a good thing to consider telling your story, even if it is just to yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n