Storytelling

Welcome to the Healthy Mindset App podcast where host Mike Hartman, a performance coach and former professional athlete, brings his passion to help athletes and workplace athletes achieve their dreams and goals while being mindful of everything else in life. Mike also uses this platform to share his targeted assessment application, Healthy Mindset course, meditation and goal setting technique for the athlete and workplace athlete. We're glad you're here. Now let's dive headfirst into this episode of the Healthy Mindset App podcast. Here's your host, Mike Hartman.

Today I'm going to talk about stories, and I believe that everybody has a story and how storytelling could be so important for so many reasons. One of the first reasons, let's start with number one, is stories are a fundamental means of human communication. They allow us to convey complex ideas, emotions and experiences in a way that are relatable and engaging. So share your story, but share it in a way that it really is authentic and real. Stories create connections between people by sharing common experiences and fostering empathy. So I've always said it that everybody has a story. And I love storytelling. I love when I hear stories, especially when we get around some of our former teammates. I mean, they're the same old stories, but they're fun to hear, they're great. And even within some companies, and I'm sure a lot of companies are based off of their story. And that's where I'm going to go here. Number two, preserving culture and history. So throughout history, storytelling has been, you know, used to pass down cultural traditions, values and historical events from generation to others as well to even to one another. It helps preserve collective memory of society, ensures that its important knowledge and heritage are not being lost over time. So share that story. I know I like sitting with family and I like hearing stories about my grandparents. And I'm always sharing great stories about my grandparents. And as I get older, I want to learn more and more about the history of my grandparents, even at my age now. So again, this is a great way on how you could utilize storytelling and maybe you could take some of these tips and utilize them in your life. Number three, education and learning. Stories are a powerful educational tool. In fact, in my coaching, I coach a lot through stories. I, I share a lot of stories, not about me, but just other people and people I've looked up to. And sometimes I would, you know, say even within in my coaching, when I'm, you know, talking about one of my mentors, imagine them watching you. Would you do the same thing if they weren't watching you? So I love stories. They engage the imagination and make learning enjoyable. I love, like I said, teaching by it. I've had a lot of great people in my life and, you know, and I've learned many lessons from these people. So education and learning is so important. Number four, emotional impact. Like, I was with a friend at lunchtime and I told him this story today actually of a gentleman named Benny. And Benny was a gentleman with the New York. He actually was a fan of the Rangers. He lived across the street of our practice rink. He right across the street. And one day, it was January, it was cold outside, and Mark Messier was there. And I know I talk a lot about Mark, but he's always a hero of mine. And I look up to him even to this day, even since I was 12 years old living in Detroit. And the story goes, Mark sees this gentleman and he was standing outside and it was freezing out. So Mark invites him into our practice rink. We had closed practices in Rye, New York at our facility. Brings him in the dressing room and to make that long story as short as I can here so I can get on to the next thing. Mark told him he's going to be our towel person, so he's going to pass towels out. And it made him a part of our team. And we just loved having Benny around. There's a lot more to the story if anybody wants to hear the longer version. But at the end of the day, Mark Messier gave Benny a Stanley cup ring for being part of our team. And I told the full story today. It's like a 15 minute story. And my friend had a tear in his eye at lunch. So the emotional impact that stories could have could really affect the emotional state and create these. These lasting impacts on people. Inspiration, Empowerment stories often feature characteristics who overcome challenges, achieve their goals. And those are great stories. It really puts a positive impact on others. It inspires and empowers listeners to really believe that you know what they could strive for greatness as well. Perspective and empathy. Hearing or reading stories from a diverse perspective exposes us to different worldviews and experience it. It just helps us cultivate this empathy by allowing us to understand the feeling and struggles of others. We used to say that every. Someone told me this once, that every good story has a struggle somehow along the line. So that was something I never forgot. This individual told me this. He was. He was from Canada. I actually lived with him. And he just. He uses that line a lot. He's one that wrote poetry and did a lot of great things and was also in the. In the coaching space for a while, but it's just good. It's. Nothing comes easy. And it's good to hear that other people had struggles. Not that you want to hear other people's had struggles, but they overcame it. They overcame their adversity. And those are great storytelling, problem solving and critical thinking. Many stories involve characters facing dilemmas or conflicts that require them to use their intellect creativity to find solutions. Exposure to such narratives can enhance our problem solving and critical thinking skills. So problem solving and how they share their story and how they solve that problem. It's a great educational tool that you could use in your life. We also like stories for entertainment and relaxation. Storytelling is a form of entertainment. I've heard people tell stories that had laughter and tears to it. Whether it's through books or films or traditions or just sharing their stories, it escapes the daily life. Like I remember somebody was telling me a story how they were skating on a pond in the middle of the mountains in Alberta, looking at the mountains and just not thinking of anything or sharing their story about walking on the beach or the ocean. I have my own story, walking my dog and we were walking on the ocean while the sun is setting. And it's just. And I'm sharing that with somebody else. It's still a story, it's still entertainment and relaxation. Number nine, cultural exchange. Stories could bring gaps between cultures and promote cross cultural understanding. Sharing stories from different parts of the world can foster appreciation for diversity and help break down stereotypes. I remember when I was a young athlete and I went to Sweden and it was a culture shock for me going even to Sweden. I was I think 11 years old, 12 years old and our hockey team went there was a great experience. But learning the culture, wow, you have a sauna in your house. And little did I know how healthy they would eat. And it was just a different culture. They didn't lock the doors to their house. But these are all storytelling, so it's really neat. Some of these. The last one I like to talk about is number 10, identity and self expression. So people often use storytelling to explore their own identities and experiences. And you could see that. Like I keep saying, be authentic. Sharing these personal stories can be a way to explore, express oneself, find a sense of belonging and connect with others who relate to similar experiences. I cried when I had a tear in my eyes. I heard a friend of mine, his son got called up to the major leagues baseball player, but played in the minors for nine years and just kept plugging away and working hard. And when he finally got that call. Somebody sent me a text that Zach Ramallard just got called up to the White Sox and he had a great game. His first game. He had a historic game. You have to look at it. I'm not here to share that story. And right away I messaged his father and I said, ernie, I'm so proud of you. And Jen, his wife. I said, how exciting were you? I said, what did you do? He goes, I just cried. And that's his personal story and experience. You know, everything's around a story. It's a lot of what we do. Even in our community, we share stories. And the community is the healthymindsetapp.com not www. It's healthymindsetapp.com we'd love to have you be a part of our community. Our ongoing coaches, we have meditations and so many great things in there, but thank you for listening today. Any questions, please reach out and share those stories and impact others.

We're so glad you joined us for this episode of the Healthy Mindset App Podcast with your host, Mike Hartman. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That helps others find the show and we greatly appreciate it. To dive deeper and learn more about the Healthy Mindset program or to get in touch with Mike, please Visit our website, healthymindsetapp.com thanks again for listening and we hope you'll join us again in the next episode of the Healthy Mindset App Podcast. Until then, be well.