Repeating stories (to ourselves and others) about good fortune and generosity makes those stories more powerful.

Seth Godin writes in his blog,

It’s not difficult to maintain a grey cloud and a sullen outlook. The event is long over, but the story remains.

A proven approach is to keep repeating the narrative that led us ever deeper into this memory hole. As with a missing tooth, we probe that spot, over and over, examining it from all angles, again and again, in order to keep the story fresh.

On the other hand, forgotten stories have little power.

And the same approach works for a feeling of optimism and possibility. Repeating stories (to ourselves and others) about good fortune and generosity makes those stories more powerful.

What happens to us matters a great deal, but even more powerful are the stories we repeat about what happened.