How Glasses POSSESS Us!

📖 𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐒 📖

I’d like you to take a moment and read the following 2 Stories. They both revolve around the topic of Capitalism ⬇️:

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 #𝟏:

“𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤. 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 🌽

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘵. 🏭

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳. 😈

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 20𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯. 🙌

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 🔥

𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳-𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘴…” 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 💯

Does this Story resonate with you? 📖

If not…how about this one? ⬇️

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 #𝟐:

“𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘧, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. 😞

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 17𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯. 🌞

𝘐𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴. ❤️

𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 💪

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 20𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵: 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮. 👎

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 💰

𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳. 😡

𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥.” 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 💯

So…which Story is correct? #1 or #2? 📖

Depending on where you reside on the political spectrum, 1 of these Stories you’re far more likely to agree is accurate. ↔️

But here’s the catch: 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 📖

They are 2 different narratives, 2 different perspectives on the exact same thing: Capitalism. ↔️

But to back up a moment, what exactly are Stories?

🌟 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. 🌟

If this definition sounds too pretentious, think of Stories as like wearing pairs of glasses. 👓

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬.

👓 The person wearing an Optimistic lens will focus on seeing the best of things.

👓 The person wearing a Pessimistic lens will focus on seeing the worst of things.

👓 The person wearing a Realistic lens will focus on seeing things just as they are.

👓 The person wearing a Cynical lens will focus on distrusting the things they see.

Do you know a person who, even in the worst of situations, can always find a silver lining? 🙋‍♂‍

Or how about a person that, even in the best of situations, can always find something to complain about? 🙋‍♀‍

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬.

🗣️ “DONALD, ENOUGH WITH THE ANALOGIES! WHAT’S YOUR POINT?” 🗣️

My point is it’s CRUCIAL we become aware of what glasses we’re currently wearing. 😅

Why? 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞. 📖

With that said, briefly re-read those 2 Stories of Capitalism again at the beginning of this post. ⬆️

You can now take a guess as to the lens each author is wearing. 👓

To put it simply: 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐄 𝐚𝐫𝐞. 👤

𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 📖

🤬 “THAT’S RIDICULOUS, DONALD! YOU’RE SAYING I ‘CHOOSE’ A CYNICAL LENS?! JUST LOOK AT HOW MESSED UP THE WORLD IS!” 🤬

To clarify, I’m NOT saying you’re “choosing” any of the lenses you’re currently wearing, at least not consciously. 😅

Often, we’ve adapted to these lenses over time through our environment: from our family, from the books we’ve read, from the media we’ve consumed, and from the opinions of friends we’ve surrounded ourselves with. 🌎

As Jim Rohn said: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 5 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩.” 👥

Surround yourself with negative people, you’ll soon become one too. Surround yourself with hopeful people, you’ll soon have their hope rub off on you too. 👥

𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝟏 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 👓

After enough time, you’ll take this Story lens to be a Fact and not just a Story. 😲

But herein lies the problem: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀. ❌

𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞; 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬. ⚪

It’s the difference between saying a Fact about capitalism (“Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit”) versus saying a Story about capitalism (“Capitalism is exploitation”). ↔️

Capitalism is not intrinsically “exploitation” nor “liberation”; these are just Stories lenses we’ve placed around them. 👓

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝒂𝒔 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 🤯

𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨. 😔

When we’re unable to take off our glasses, we have a much harder time separating the Facts from the Stories about the Facts. When we’re unable to take off our glasses, we have a much harder time being able to truly understand other people’s points of view. 🙌

In turn, our empathy becomes replaced more and more with egotistical self-righteousness and moral grandstanding. 🥇

So…how do we solve this problem? 🤔

𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 🔎

Here’s a list of just a few of the Stories currently circulating in our culture. 📖

I must warn you: some of the Stories I list here you may wholeheartedly embrace, and the fact I’m listing them here may make you feel like I’m trivializing or invalidating you or other peoples’ personal experiences. 👎

I can assure you that is not at all my intention here. So, please be aware of this just in case your emotional defenses jump up in protest. ❤️

📖 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘵-𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺!”

📖 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴!”

📖 “𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯!”

📖 “𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯!”

📖 “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬-𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵!”

📖 “𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵!”

📖 “𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺!”

📖 “𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦!”

📖 “𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵!”

📖 “𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭!”

📖 “𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦!”

📖 “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴!”

📖 “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 1%!”

📖 “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺!”

📖 “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴!”

📖 “𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦!”

See some Stories you recognize? 🙋‍♂️🙋

By sharing this list, I’m NOT here to say which Story lens has more validity to them. I’m also NOT here to say each Stories lens is equally accurate or equally useful. They’re not, and it’s why we need Facts. 👍

But that’s NOT what this post is about. 💯

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.

👀 If you wear a Story lens that all men are sexist, misogynist pigs, you’re going to have a very hard time seeing any man in a positive light.

👀 If you wear a Story lens that all police officers are racist, sadistic authority figures, you’ll assume every police altercation that includes people of different races to automatically be about racism.

👀 If you wear a Story lens that all protesters are rioting, anarchic looters, you’ll assume every property destroyed during a protest to automatically be the cause of protesters.

👀 If you wear a Story lens that all white people are racists, you’re going to see racism in every interaction with a white person, regardless if it’s there or not.

A perfect phrase to summarize this: “𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝.” 🔎

But…wouldn’t YOU rather decide what it is that you’re going to seek? Wouldn’t YOU rather decide how you’re going to see the world? Wouldn’t YOU rather decide what glasses you’re going to wear instead of having someone else force you to wear theirs? 💯

It’s time to take back control, don’t you think? 💪

🙌 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.

🙌 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

🙌 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬.

🗣️ “DONALD! WHY SHOULD I DO THIS WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS?!” 🗣️

Because you’re not doing this for others.

😊 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

😊 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

😊 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

Because the alternative is to fall back asleep, to allow yourself to forget you’re wearing glasses, and to return to a place where you’ll continue experiencing needless suffering. 😢

After all, in this place your Stories are in control of you. 😔

So…staying awake sounds like a better option, doesn’t it? 😅

You got this! And before you know it, you’ll be looking back on the old Stories you use to carry, looking back on those 2 Stories of Capitalism, and you’ll truly understand when I say to you: “These are 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 Stories!” 🙌

📖 𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐒 📖

.

(2 Stories of Capitalism credited to Jonathan Haidt)