I tell myself stories all the time. I tell myself stories about to explain companies doing well, explain other people, to explain my reactions, and to explain everything. Many of these stories start with a shred of evidence. I use this shred to dig deeper, find more information, fact find, and fill in the gaps. There are on occasion times I tell myself stories and they are not as filled in as they should be. They might start with a sideways glance, a loaded comment, or an unassuming joke.

One of these sorts of minor happenings then become my shred of truth. I then use this shred of truth to develop an entire world around this shred of truth. It becomes the lens through which all other truth is filtered. It even tends to create some new truths of its own. The issue being, a shred of truth does not create new truth.

A shred of truth cannot create new truth.

A shred of truth is not a lens through which I should be filtering life.

A shred of truth is evidence.

A shred of truth needs other truths to tell a story.

When I use a shred of truth to tell a story, I create a lie. When I use a long series of truths to tell a story, the truth tells the truth. Far too often I sucker myself into telling a story based on a shred. I get too caught up into synthesizing a story to go along with the shred of truth I find. I spend more energy trying to tell a story of lies, than I do finding and listening to the truths.

How often do you stop trying to write the wrong story and instead read the truths of the true story? How are you doing at finding the truth? What story are you telling yourself right now about someone else?

Truth listening,

–JT