#43 - Why Stories Pull Us In and Why They Matter

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Welcome to Mind and Faith Matters. I'm Dr. Cory

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Potter and I'm the host. You know, lately I've

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been noticing how often we get pulled into stories

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without even trying. And so I thought, what about

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an episode trying to explain the importance of

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a story? It happens all kinds of ways. We get

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drawn into a book, a movie, a conversation. Before

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you know it, you're right in the middle of it.

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You probably had that moment too. You pick up

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a book just for a minute and suddenly you're

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several chapters in. Or you start a show planning

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to watch just one episode and somehow hours later

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many episodes in you're still sitting there.

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Or someone starts telling you an interesting

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story that happened to them and you've completely

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tuned out everything else and you've tuned in

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only on that. I love friends that are great storytellers.

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There's something about stories that grab us.

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I've always loved that. In fact, I love reading

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for that reason. And I love movies for that reason.

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And honestly, I love when someone tells me a

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story from their life. I just love when someone

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shares a story and gives me understanding. You

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know, you don't plan on getting pulled in to

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any of these stories. It just happens. And I

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want to talk about the reason for that. Our brains

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are built for stories. When a story begins, your

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mind starts building a scene. It follows the

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emotions. It watches the movement. And your brain

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stays curious about what's coming. And your body

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even gets involved. When a story pulls you in,

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your brain releases a little dopamine. That's

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the chemical that helps you stay focused and

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curious. And when you feel connected to a character,

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Your brain gives you a bit of oxytocin and that's

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the same chemical that helps you feel close to

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people in real life. And when the story gets

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tense or uncertain, your body wakes up a little

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bit. Through adrenaline your heart might beat

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faster or you might lean in without even realizing

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it. That's a signal that your body's paying attention.

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to the story. By the way, I don't like horror

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movies. I don't like scary movies that much.

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I'm a wimp when it comes to that stuff. But in

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other kinds of stories, I see this in my own

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life all the time where I'll pick up a book just

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to see what it's like and suddenly I'm in it.

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Recently that happened with a book called Head

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Cases by John McMahon. I remember thinking, this

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is so clever. And before I knew it, I was following

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every clue and tracking with the characters on

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how they solved the situation. Have you ever

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had a book that did that to you? Where you look

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up and realize you've been pulled in without

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really noticing. And then there's another book,

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First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston. That one kept

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shifting in ways that Made me smile every time

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I thought I had it figured out the story moved

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again Have you ever experienced a book like that?

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Where it kept outsmarting you and somehow that

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made it even more fun to read and before I talk

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about movies, I want to tell you I used to tell

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my kids stories at bedtime and I would try to

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do that same thing where I just would intrigue

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them or Help them to imagine something in a different

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way and I used to love sharing the stories that

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captured them or captivated them and they were

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like tell me more tell me more one of my favorite

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things I do that with my grandson as well and

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movies do that same thing to me Big Hero 6 is

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an animated movie it's one that I didn't expect

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would stay with me so long but the the character

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that's a robot a nurse that one of the main characters,

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his brother, created as a nurse like a first

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aid type robot. And Baymax won me over. His gentleness

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reminded me a little of my dad. And there was

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something steady and protective about Baymax.

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And that made the whole story feel warm. And

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you might have a character like that too, someone

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who reminded you of a person that you admire

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or that you love. And then there's the movie

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The Patriot. Beyond being a great action movie,

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I've always liked movies that have family bonds

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that are strong. And the way the characters care

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for each other in the movie gives the whole story

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a sense of depth. Friends can be that way too

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in movies. You find yourself caring because they

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care. And maybe you've had a movie like that,

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where the relationships pull you in more than

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the action itself. And then there are stories

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that just flat out make us laugh. Humor has its

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own way of keeping us present. It can be timing,

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it can be the surprise, it can even be the way

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that a character reacts. I think about the movies

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that I love, like... Central Intelligence with

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The Rock and Kevin Hart or Get Smart with Steve

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Carell. They're playful and a little ridiculous

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and that's part of what makes them fun. You can

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relax into the movie. You know they're gonna

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make you enjoy yourself and the humor keeps you

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watching because you want to see what happens

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next. You probably have a movie like that, the

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one you turn on when you just want something

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light laughter is so good for us too it lowers

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our stress it helps your body relax and humor

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can lift your mood so when a story makes you

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laugh your brain is doing some of the same things

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that it does with any good story it keeps you

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present it's helping you connect and it's giving

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you a moment that feels good I'm gonna share

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a story that I recently talked about with a friend

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of mine. My lifelong friend reminded me the other

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day that back when I was in healthcare, I went

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to the hospital to see a patient and I went with

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my technician, Pat. And Pat and I were friends

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outside of work. He said he was gonna use the

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restroom and I was gonna finish up. at the nurses

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station writing a note when I came around the

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corner from that I saw the restroom where I thought

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he was and I waited and I waited and I thought

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what is Pat doing and then I thought wouldn't

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it be funny for me to say hey I know what you're

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doing in there lol so I went up to the door and

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I said just that waited a minute and someone

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walked out of a single stall restroom where it

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wasn't Pat it was a doctor or an intern or something

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and this gentleman looked at me and was like

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what in the world is going on with you after

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you turn the corner I laughed and laughed and

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that's when Pat came around the corner he said

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I went into the Restroom that's part of the shower

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room across from the patients and I said you're

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not supposed to be in there You're supposed to

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be in here and we cracked up and for months That

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was the big thing. I know what you're doing in

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there and I'm sure that guy went home and told

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the story in a different way like there was some

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crazy guy in the hospital that probably Shouldn't

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have been outside of the restroom saying things

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like that So I love that a story can have different

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angles as well. And like I said, even a simple

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funny moment can stay with you for so long. And

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this isn't new. Think about it. Long before people

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wrote things down, they shared stories to remember

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what mattered or to pass along wisdom and to

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stay connected with one another and people that

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went through a history or went through situations

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together. they wanted to have that connection.

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And we still do that. When you tell someone about

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your day, you typically tell it as a story, not

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just a bunch of facts or bullet points. And when

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families share memories, they share them like,

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do you remember when? And then they share the

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story. It's also one of the ways that we make

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sense out of our lives. And because of that,

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Stories tend to stay with us, help us to remember,

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and you might forget a lot of things, but a story

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can stick. Like, I know what you're doing in

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there. It's gonna be with me forever. I've noticed

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this in my own reading too. There are times when

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I imagine the scene in my head, what it looked

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like, what the people were feeling, where I might

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be standing if I were there. And I even do this

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when I read the Bible. It helps me slow down,

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really, and pay attention. It makes the story

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feel real to me and my life, and sometimes it

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shows me something about myself that I didn't

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expect. If you've never tried imagining a scene

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as you read it, it can be a surprisingly helpful

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way to take it all in. And it doesn't really

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matter whether a story is truth. fictional. Like

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true stories help us feel connected to real people

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and real experiences where fictional stories

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can give us room to imagine and explore just

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like the stories I used to tell my kids. Both

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can spark something in us. Both can stay with

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us and both can shape us. Stories also give us

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a safe place to feel things. To try on emotions

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without anything actually happening to us. It's

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like your heart gets to practice. And there are

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moments when a story just doesn't sit well with

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us either. And that's normal too. It might touch

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something tender in us that we don't want touched

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at that time. It might be on a topic that doesn't

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feel safe or clear or even kind based on our

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life. Or it may simply not match our taste. We

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all have a sense of what feels like a good storytelling.

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And that varies from person to person. And honestly,

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the stories you avoid can tell you just as much

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about yourself as the ones that you enjoy. Over

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time, stories start shaping how you see things.

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The ones that you return to can influence what

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you notice in the future. how you interpret situations,

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maybe in the same way that other characters or

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people have, and even how you think about your

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own life. It tends to happen slowly, but it happens.

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And it's one of the reasons Scripture is written

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the way it is, if you think about it. The Bible

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teaches, but it also tells stories. Real people

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in real situations making real decisions. For

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example, one of the stories that has always stood

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out to me is the moment between David and Abigail

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in first Samuel chapter 25 There's movement there's

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tension and there's a moment where wisdom changes

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everything When I read it I can picture it and

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I can feel it You might have stories like that

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when you read them in the Bible you start to

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notice patterns or you remember how someone else

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responded to help you to think about your responses.

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You learn something about who God is and how

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people relate to Him. And eventually, you can

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start to see yourself in those stories. And that

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connection matters. When you connect to a story,

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it reminds you that your life is part of a larger

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story. Think about it. Your family, Your friends

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Your co -workers are all part of the bigger story

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that's around you even the events in life that

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happen at the time in history that you're alive

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really shape us and When I really think about

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it in today's political world Sometimes it's

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very hard to get to the Objective facts of something

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because both sides or many sides Let's just not

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say two sides in America, but political parties

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have spin and Now with all the social media and

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all the stories that get out there sometimes

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something Isn't exactly what it seems either

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you think something's true. That's not where

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you think something is not true that actually

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is and so This isn't a story about fact -checking

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and this isn't an episode where I want you to

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worry about that. I actually would rather that

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you think about the stories in your life and

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the things that you encounter that help you understand

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your world better and give you peace rather than

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tension. Connection to stories help you to notice

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the way that you're thinking about stuff and

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things that stand out to you. the things that

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you carry with you from a story really tell us

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a lot about ourselves. So it becomes worthwhile

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to pay attention. And what kind of stories do

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you go back to over and over? What type of stories

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hold your attention? And what stays with you

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after it's over? You know, there are some simple

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things to notice, but they can tell you a lot.

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As I say, you can start to see patterns and you

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might start to see what draws you in and find

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out the why. And that awareness can be helpful

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in navigating your life. So this week just notice

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the stories around you. Notice what pulls you

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in or repels you in fact. Notice what makes you

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laugh or think or feel something familiar. Notice

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what stays with you. you might find that stories

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the ones that you enjoy are telling you something

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about what matters to you and that's a good place

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to begin and as you pay attention to the stories

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in your life you may find that the stories you

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love are quietly helping you to understand your

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own until next time I want you to have a great

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week like Follow subscribe wherever you're listening

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to the podcast really helps and I want to give

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you a sneak peek I have an upcoming episode where

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I continue with a case study of a certain kind

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of story true crime When I asked myself Why do

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I love stories so much and what's the big deal

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about stories for this week? I was also sparked

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to think about why do people like true crime?

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Why is it so popular? And we all have different

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reasons. But then I thought, as a believer, as

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a follower of Jesus, is it wrong that I like

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true crime? And I think I have some answers to

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that. I'm excited about maybe you thinking about

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it beforehand, but I'm also excited about that

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episode that's going to be coming up. So until

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then, I hope you love the stories that surround

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you and that you make new ones this week. Take

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care and God bless.