Rising Strong

I am not sure if I can stop saying how much Brene Brown has benefited me. This book is no less good that the others I have read. This quote jumped out to me this morning.

In the absence of data, we will always make up stories. It’s how we are wired. In fact, the need to make up a story, especially when we are hurt, is part of our most primitive survival wiring. Meaning making is in our biology, and our default is often to come up with a story that makes sense, feels familiar, and offers us insight into how to self-protect. What we’re trying to do in the rumble --choosing to feel uncertain and vulnerable as we rumble with the truth-- is a conscious choice. A brave, conscious choice.

Robert Burton, a neurologist and novelist, explains that our brains reward us with dopamine when we recognize and complete patterns. Stories are patterns. The brain recognizes the familiar beginning-middle-end structure of a story and rewards us for clearing up ambiguity. Unfortunately, we don’t need to be accurate, just certain.

(“Rising Strong” by Brené Brown p 79)

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