The Stories You Tell Yourself

Some are holding you back. Others could set you free.

Dear Unlearners,

We all live in layers of stories.

The polished ones we tell at work. The filtered ones we share on social media. And the raw ones we whisper to ourselves at 3 AM when no one's listening.

They're all different versions of you. All true. All false.

I know because I've lived them all. Been trapped by some. Freed by others.

Layer 1: The Inherited Story

The one your parents wrote. The one your culture assigned. The default settings you never chose.

Layer 2: The Defensive Story

The narrative you built to protect yourself. To explain away the failures. To justify playing small.

Layer 3: The Aspirational Story

The version of you that lives in your daydreams. The one you're afraid to speak out loud.

Layer 4: The Actual Story

The messy reality of who you are. The contradictions. The complexity. The truth you rarely share.

Here's what most people do: They pick one story and stick to it. They become the responsible one, the rebel, the victim, the hero. They let a single layer define their ent…