"The world doesn't just happen to you. You happen to the world."
One of my coaches once told me, “Everyone has a story worth sharing.” I’ve never forgotten it.
Every time I engage with someone, whether in a meeting, a mentoring conversation, or a fleeting encounter, I’m reminded of how true it is. Stories shape us. They open windows into experience, invite empathy, and connect us across time and space.
The stories we read reflect this too.
“Once upon a time” isn’t just for children. It’s where many of us first began to explore who we are, how the world works, and what it means to belong. You’ve probably heard me say how much children’s books mean to me. They open our minds to creativity, courage and wonder. They plant the seeds of imagination. Lately, I’ve noticed that young adult novels offer something just as powerful. Especially as I’ve been reading alongside my daughter.
Having a teenager around makes for interesting times. She’s navigating big questions on identity, purpose, belonging. And this summer, as she spends time far from home for the first time, she’s discovering the power of stories in a new way. These books give her space to test ideas, stretch perspectives, and reflect. And in watching her, I’ve realised something unexpected.
I’m still asking the same questions. Who am I becoming? What do I believe? Where do I belong?
The answers shift. They evolve. One insight leads to another. It turns out that the process of self-discovery doesn’t end with adolescence. If anything, it deepens with age.
Literature scholar Karen Coats puts it this way:
“Adolescence is a period of self-fashioning, and young adult literature provides a site where readers can rehearse and experiment with different identities.”
I think the same holds true for adults. Especially when we're open to imagination. When we recognise that we are still learning, still becoming. As Rebecca Solnit wrote, we must learn to listen. Not just to the stories others tell but to the ones we tell ourselves. When we question them and name them, then we too become storytellers.
So this week, I’ve been wondering: what does this mean for work? What happens when we bring wonder, imagination, and identity-searching into our jobs? Do we then open ourselves up to questioning and naming what limits us? Do we allow curiosity to take a seat at our table? Do we make space to flip the script? To realise that life isn't just happening to us, but that we have choice.
Stories remind us we have agency. We’re not just shaped by the world. We shape it in return.
Maybe that’s why I keep reading. Not just to remember who I was, but to imagine who I’m still becoming. And to remind myself that the world is still waiting for what I might bring to it.
What’s a story that shaped you? I’d love to hear about it.
