Your Brain is a Drama Queen. It Hates Uncertainty, So It Makes Shit Up.
I found a small white pill in my pill bottle last week.
While this may not sound like breaking news, my pills are large and beige, so this pill was unlike the others and clearly did not belong in my bottle. So it was, in fact, alarming.
I Googled the “C” and “158” that were clearly stamped on its sides to find out that it was an anti-inflammatory.
I didn’t want to be a Karen about it. But it was concerning, especially since the only other people I have ever seen in line at my pharmacy are senior citizens, and it’s not certain if they could catch such an error, especially since a lot of pills look the same.
I had to run other errands that day, so I made the pharmacy the first stop.
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Scene: Long’s Pharmacy. There is a young girl working behind a glass window. After she finishes with her customer, I approach the counter.
Me: “Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I found this pill that is not Armour Thyroid…” (holds up a tiny Ziploc bag containing one mysterious white pill) “…in this bottle of Armour Thyroid that I had filled here.”
(Gen Z Stare)
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What do I do?
Why isn’t she saying anything?
“I’m not mad. I just thought you would like to know since this is a safety issue.”
No blinking. No visible processing.
I continue, “Would you like to take the information from my bottle so you can look into it?”
Without changing her blank expression or saying anything, she took the plastic bag and bottle from my hand and walked directly to the pharmacist. I couldn’t hear what was said, but fortunately the pharmacist was concerned and came over to talk to me and told me she would look into it.
I left the pharmacy with a sense of dread, and it had nothing to do with the pill.
Is this the future of America?
Why did I have to explain to her why the situation was concerning?”
And because our brains like to search for certainty, I became fixated on how Gen Zs don’t have critical thinking skills because they grew up on iPads and social media.
They grew up with a tablet shoved in their face before they could talk. They think communication is a text with emojis and zero words.
Meanwhile Gen X, we had to figure out EVERYTHING ourselves. We got lost and found our way home using our brains, memorized our best friend’s landline, and survived using industrial power saws in shop class in middle school.
I was totally into it, ready to write this blog as a rant about the decline of an entire generation. And then……plot twist!
A few days after the pharmacy incident, I went surfing.
Surfing is like drunk driving in that the person being reckless is never the one who gets hurt.
I had caught a wave and was paddling back out for more when I witnessed a rookie surfer (also known as a kook in the surf community) with a huge, heavy rental board take off without any regard for anyone around him and smashed right into another surfer who had been minding her own business.
I couldn’t tell with the chaos of flying boards and whitewash, but it looked like she was hit on the head.
I immediately started paddling towards her, but a young boy, who seemed to be around twelve years old, reached her first to see if she was okay. After confirming she wasn’t seriously injured, he started going off on the guy who hit her, who was actively paddling away.
“You’re just going to hit this lady and not apologize!?!”
I couldn’t hear everything he was saying, but he was completely tearing into the guy, who was at least ten years older than him, and significantly taller and bigger than him, for being reckless and not taking accountability for hitting the girl.
I was so proud of that kid and felt so much hope for the future of America.
Oh shit.
And then my stomach dropped because I remembered that just a few days ago, I had been cursing the younger generation because they couldn’t even think without the assistance of electronics.
But here was someone from that generation who was not only using his brain but was using it for moral purposes.
Are there not Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers who don’t have critical thinking skills?
Are there not people of all ages who have compassion towards other people and are willing to stand up for injustice?
Why did I have to make it a generational thing?
The girl at the pharmacy doesn’t have critical thinking skills for whatever reason. The kid surfing has integrity for whatever reason. It has nothing to do with age.
It made me wonder…where else do we confuse stories?
One cheating partner becomes, “You can’t trust men,” one rude tourist becomes, “Tourists are so entitled,” and one greedy millionaire becomes, “Rich people are selfish.”
Our brains love categories because categories feel certain. And the most damaging category we create is about ourselves.
One mistake becomes, “I’m an idiot,” one rejection becomes, “I’m not good enough,” and one failed attempt becomes, “I’m just not cut out for this.” We mistake one moment for an identity.
Just like I decided one pharmacy employee represented an entire generation, we let one experience become evidence for who we believe we are. And before we know it, we’re making adult decisions based on stories that were never true to begin with.
Growing up, my mom would always say, “Rich people are sinful.”
This came from a scarcity mindset because she believed that if someone had money and someone else didn’t, then the person with money was taking away from the person who didn’t, and the person with money should be giving all their money to the poor person until they were equal.
Looking back, I realize that wasn’t really about money. It was another story.
Sinful people are sinful, selfish people are selfish, and greedy people are greedy. Money is a resource. Not a character trait. It simply amplifies what someone already is.
Every day, wealthy people casually fund scholarships, build hospitals, sponsor youth sports teams, pay for strangers’ cancer treatments, donate to food banks, start nonprofits, adopt children, support animal rescues, and invest in businesses that create jobs. These stories don’t make headlines because they’re not as dramatic as outrage.
But our brains love certainty, even when certainty is built on terrible evidence that we have chosen to focus on.
We would rather be certain than accurate.
But here’s the beautiful thing about stories: they can be rewritten. That twelve-year-old surfer changed the way I thought about an entire generation.
One kid.
If one person has the power to reinforce a stereotype, then one person also has the power to break it.
So be the generous rich person, respectful tourist, honest entrepreneur, or the person who makes someone stop and think:
“Maybe I was wrong about people like them.”
Sometimes it only takes one person to rewrite a story thousands of people have been telling themselves.
Maybe that person is you.
And while you’re at it, maybe it’s time to question the stories you’ve been telling about yourself, too.
What story are you going to rewrite?
Glow Tip:
This is something simple you can start implementing in your day-to-day life.
Every time you notice yourself jumping to a conclusion, pause.
Maybe your boss sends a short email, a friend doesn’t text back, someone says no, you make a mistake, you overspend, or your brain suddenly whispers:
“See? This is why…”
This week, don’t believe the first story. Instead, ask yourself:
What are the facts?
Then ask:
What story am I adding that isn’t actually evidence?
Because your brain isn’t trying to sabotage you. It’s trying to protect you. It hates uncertainty, so it fills in the blanks.
Sometimes those blanks become stories about other people. Sometimes they become stories about yourself.
“I’m bad with money.”
“I’m terrible at relationships.”
“I’ll never figure this out.”
But one experience isn’t enough evidence to define an entire person. Not someone else. And definitely not you.
This week, notice how many times your brain tries to turn one moment into your whole story.
Then gently remind yourself: Every story deserves a second look, especially the ones about yourself.
I’ve been furiously working on something new, just for you.
I’m putting the finishing touches on The Overflow Society, a carefully curated small-group coaching experience for only 5 women who are done making adult decisions with childhood beliefs.
It’s designed to help you ask for the raise, increase your prices, speak up in the meeting, and make confident money decisions without guilt, overthinking, or waiting for permission by becoming the woman who knows her worth and uses her voice.
So if you…
• Still work twice as hard to prove you’re worthy of the raise instead of believing you’ve already earned it
• Notice your voice getting higher-pitched, quieter, apologetic, or hesitant the moment you ask for more money, set a boundary, or say what you really want.
• Find yourself waiting for the other shoe to drop whenever life, money, or your relationships are finally going well
I’ll show you how to make these habits (and more!) history in just 12 weeks, even if you’ve spent years believing, “This is just who I am.”
Join the priority list and be the first to know when The Overflow Society opens its doors.
There are just 5 Founding Member spots because I want this to feel more like sitting around a coffee table with women who get it than getting lost in a room full of strangers.
https://www.runninginslippers.com/theoverflowsociety
Because your next level is waiting for you.
PS: Need some help right now? Here’s a link to a helpful YouTube playlist that will help you make progress right now! Because if nothing else has worked, this will.
https://youtu.be/cSEXt8KxxH8?si=oFwJvML-d6hxzGhI
With Love & Fire,
Angie
https://www.innerglowbyangie.com/
I help you rewrite the subconscious money stories behind overworking, undercharging, impulse shopping, and waiting for the other shoe to drop, so you stop letting childhood beliefs make you adult decisions, know your worth, use your voice, and create a life that feels as good as it looks.
Because you deserve to feel excited about your own life.
Through my signature GLOW Method, I combine money story rewriting, identity work, practical money strategy, and real-time action to help women stop playing small, use their voice with confidence, and become the kind of woman who naturally attracts more money, opportunities, visibility, and fulfillment.
I’m the author of Running in Slippers, a raw and vulnerable memoir about life kicking me in the a$$, and, in hindsight, I needed it to.
I have moved from Chicago to Hawaii on my own, jumped out of a helicopter and into the ocean Navy SEAL-style, bungee jumped, skydived, and cliff jumped, yet I am still terrified about allowing myself to be seen.
