Every once in a while someone proposes this problem about Personal Mythology. They say “Doesn’t acknowledging that something is a personal myth take its power away?”

And the short answer is yes, but the long answer is no.

Initially, acknowledging that a personal myth is a personal myth can disempower it for some people because of that kneejerk feeling of “Well now that I know I could change my beliefs, they has no power and neither would my future beliefs”. But this is a little short sighted.

Yes; setting a new myth as a sort of Northern Star will initially feel weak but it’s not because choosing a myth makes it weak, it’s because you have no background with that myth, no fond memories of when it helped you or made sense of things. It’s like wearing someone else’s clothes. Just like the clothes, the more experiences you have while wearing them, the more they become yours.

When we take a look at our exercise or diet routines and decide we’re going to be more healthy, we don’t just immediately call ourselves a healthy person right? You start small, you build on that, and you change your identity from unhealthy to healthy when you feel like you’ve done an appropriately good job at earning that title.

It takes time and effort, but if you choose a new personal mythology and make that effort, you WILL gain powerful new beliefs about yourself and the world around you.