Last week we began to focus on The power of the stories we tell ourselves, and the importance this plays in our lives can best be told by the story of Mr. Wright.

In 1957, Mr. Wright was on his last legs. He had been diagnosed with advanced lymphosarcoma and was not expected to live very long. His body was ravaged with orange-sized tumors in his neck, armpits and abdomen, his liver and spleen were extremely enlarged and his lungs were filling up with 2 quarts of fluid every day which needed to be drained just so he could breathe.

Mr. Wright, however, was a determined man. He had heard of an experimental drug called Krebiozen and begged his physician, Dr. West, to allow him to use the drug.

The protocol for acceptance into this experimental program was that patients needed to be expected to live three months or longer and Dr. West did not expect Mr. Wright to live that long. He told Mr. Wright of his ineligibility to receive the drug.  In addition to being determined, Mr. Wright was also persistent and he nagged until Dr. West relented and administered Krebiozen to him.

The stories we tell ourselves lead the course of our lives

Mr. Wright received the medication on a Friday and by the following Monday his tumors had shrunk to half their size. By the time 10 days had passed they were completely gone, his lungs were no longer filling with fluid and Mr. Wright felt like a new man.

Two months later, patients on this experimental drug received an initial report saying that Krebiozen was not working.

Mr. Wright was devastated and fell into a deep, long depression. His cancer came back and once again his life expectancy was measurable in mere weeks, if not days.

Dr. West told him that the Krebiozen he had received prior had been proven to be impure and that he had managed to secure some ultrapure Krebiozen for him. Mr. Wright was encouraged by the news looked forward to receiving a pure and improved version of the drug.

Dr. West injected him with distilled water.

Once again the tumors disappeared and Mr. Wright returned to good health. Not long after he was enjoying life as a productive person, he came across a study published by the American Medical Association which definitively proved that Krebiozen was worthless as a cancer fighting drug.

Mr. Wright died two days later.

When Mr. Wright read the AMA report he immediately changed the story he was telling himself. The Habit of Telling Ourselves Good Stories serves us well only when the stories we tell ourselves are powerful, inspirational and uplifting.

Mr. Wright received a drug that was later proven to be worthless and yet he recovered fully from a terminal illness.

He later was injected with distilled water which he believed to be a purer version of the previous drug and, again, underwent a miraculous recovery.

Neither of his recoveries can be attributed to any medication. What Mr. Wright did was adopt an unshakeable belief that Krebiozen would provide the cure he desperately needed. He used the power of the stories we tell ourselves to bolster that belief and yet, despite receiving an ineffective drug and distilled water his tumors disappeared, and for a while he enjoyed good health.

The power behind the power of the stories we tell ourselves is incalculable. Everything we believe to be true is true … until it isn’t. Our beliefs are formed from the stories we tell ourselves and those stories shape every moment of our every day.

The power of the stories we tell ourselves is the secret sauce for health and happiness.

Take it a minimum of twice a day.

Let’s make a habit of meeting like this.