Voluntary tales | Seth’s Weblog

The narrative we run in our head is a selection.

It’d or may not be based mostly on goal actuality and verified historical past. Doesn’t matter, it’s nonetheless a selection.

There are thousands and thousands of the way we will remind ourselves concerning the occasions of our lives and the methods we reside in. However on this second (and the following) we’ll select only one or two to rehearse and permit it to change our selections, outlook and interactions.

So the important thing query is straightforward:

Is it serving to?

It’s clear that the story is a selection. You’ll be able to change it. Not all of sudden, not simply, however after all, we alter our focus. This takes effort, and it’s worthwhile.

And since we will change it, it’s a device. If it’s not serving to, we will change it.

200 years in the past, Jeremy Bentham wrote a pamphlet on how we use phrases to inform ourselves tales. It’s archaic and dense, so few learn it any longer. I requested Claude to offer us a abstract.

February 6, 2026