Over the last five years, my interest in the work of C.G. Jung has been gradually growing. While studying his teachings, I came to the impression that our instincts and fascination with storytelling are closely connected, emerging from the same core in our psyche.

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Instincts as a Filter of Information

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In early childhood, as we grow, so does our curiosity about the world around us. We learn through stories. Adults guide us by referring to their own experiences. We absorb their words, soak them in like a sponge, store them inside — but then quickly jump back into world of play and imagination. Although stories are captivating, they are not yet relevant to us. Not until the instincts emerge!

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‍Stories as a Driving Force

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At the doorstep of adulthood, once we feel a burning need for independence and self-realization, we begin unpacking what we've collected over the years. In our desire to build our own life, career, relationships, and/or family, we dig up what we’ve heard and picked up along the way. Based on how we felt about our caregivers and mentors — and the level of integrity they showed in following their own teachings — we either use their advice or make completely opposite choices.

Collective Myth

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An intriguing story can be just as motivating. It can awaken a dormant instinct.

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A story can make us fall in love — with a person, an object, an idea, or an ideology.

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Regardless of what we logically understand, we often make decisions based on what we like. We gravitate toward what we find appealing. That’s how we choose our partners, careers, new phones, houses, political leanings, or ultimately, our own “religion” — whether it’s a spiritual teaching, philosophical view, capitalism, or a healthy lifestyle.

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Personal Journey

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We need stories to seduce us — for better or worse. To inspire us to strive toward anything we find worthy of pursuit. Shared stories that resonate with many people at once become myths. Since the dawn of civilization, we’ve used myths to build societies, states, and global corporations. But global myths have a tendency to become exclusive, and almost inevitably, they turn into dogma. Paradoxically, that’s when they start to lose their power — when they begin to compromise the very essence of what makes them so captivating: an open end, a window to the unknown, a carrot on a stick for our curiosity.

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The goal, then, is to find our own myth — a story in which we are the protagonist, where we step up and take an active role. A narrative we write, edit, and rewrite by challenging our core beliefs, exposing our prejudices, and constantly reinventing the storyline. In a world as complex and diverse as ours, the only real truth is a subjective one — and the only one truly worth following.