We don't just carry old stories. We follow their instructions.

In this episode, I unpack one of the most persistent patterns I see in myself and in my clients: the stories we form to save ourselves that end up keeping us stuck. I get into how my background in history, narrative therapy, and my experience navigating a first marriage, to show you how these stories get created, what they're protecting us from, and what it actually takes to rewrite them.

In this episode:

• Why old stories feel like facts — and how to start questioning that
• The "I'm not enough" root story and how it directs your decisions and relationships
• What the hidden payoff of a painful story actually looks like (and why this question requires radical honesty)
• The difference between finding a positive spin vs. finding a truer story
• How to use your own personal history as evidence for the alternative narrative
• Why the deepest wounds are usually the last to heal — and what intentionality actually looks like in practice
• What it means to strip back to who you actually are vs. who you've been conditioned to be

Honorable mentions in this episode:

• Name the Narrative Sessions: A free 45-minute session to identify the dominant story shaping your reactions, relationships, and decisions.
• Rewritten: The 8-week narrative practice built around the Beyond the Story Method

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session.

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching.

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities.