Do not appeal to the facts

I first remember encountering the idea that facts have no inherent meaning in the book 7 Habits by Stephen Covey.

Each person’s interpretation of these facts represents prior experiences, and the facts have no meaning whatsoever apart from the interpretation.

I encountered it again in the writings of Peter Drucker. From The Effective Executive:

No one has ever failed to find the facts he is looking for.

But the final blow came from Robert Pirsig in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

For every fact there is an infinity of hypotheses. The more you look the more you see.

Facts are far less important than the lens through which we see them. The lens is the story we tell ourselves about the world, whether consciously or unconsciously.

This is what allows the faithful to see trials as necessary refining experiences instead of world-ended losses. This is the difference between optimists and pessimists.

Own your narrative. Control it. And you will be powerful.