What Every Story Is Really About—Including Yours

Could it really be true that every single story is about the same thing?

Every Story Is The Same

Could it really be true that every single story is about the same thing?

From The Odyssey to Hamlet.
From Citizen Kane to Harry Potter.
Even Happy Gilmore.

Yes. Every single story is about one thing.

Every novel ever written, every play, every film, every musical, every TV episode.

And every life.

Every person you’ve ever met has a story because of this one thing.

And so do you.

Do you know what it is?

Some have said it’s conflict. And that’s close—but it’s not quite the whole picture.

It’s bigger than conflict.

Ready?

The one thing every story has—including yours—is change.

A story is simply the record of a person changing. That’s it.

They start out one way.
They go on a journey.
They end up somewhere else.

The best stories are about change on two levels.

First, there’s external change—the literal transformation of the character:

• The hopeless bachelor finds love.

• The angsty teen becomes a war hero.

• The timid girl leads her nation.

• The “nobody” achieves unthinkable greatness—or, in a tragedy, falls short.

But still: changed.

Then there’s internal change, the real heart of any story:

• The orphan finds a family (Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter).

• The abandoned child helps the helpless (Batman, Superman).

• The selfish one finds a cause worth sacrificing for (Tommy Boy, Han Solo).

• The outlaw becomes a righteous leader (Moses, Nelson Mandela).

• The rejected is resurrected (Jesus, Neo).

These are all stories of change.

So why do we hate change so much if it’s part of our story?

Simple: it hurts.

This is why so many say stories are about conflict—because change creates conflict. Always.

Our evolved brains still crave basic survival desires:
Predictability.
Safety.
Not standing out from the tribe.

Change always means a death:
A death of identity.
A death of innocence.
A death of security.

So what does this really have to do with you?

Everything.

You are about to face a change.

I don’t know what it is, but I know your life is a story—so change is coming.

You can dread it.
Avoid it.
Ignore it.
Deny it.

But you can’t stop it.

It’s coming.

Or you can lean in. Face your fears. Enter the cave. Descend to the depths.

And, as counterintuitive as it may seem, you can overpower your reptilian brain and tell it to chill out.

You can self-evolve through awareness.

You can do more than face the change.

You can be grateful for it.

Because change isn’t just what every story needs.

It’s the one thing that proves you’re alive.

On a journey.

More than a journey—

Called to a great adventure.