It’s important to know a lot of stories, because they can help you a lot to make a point when factual talking fails. For instance, when someone feels stuck in a situation and very upset because of it, there’s little consolation to be found in “yeah y’know, we’re going through hard times every now and then, it’ll either go away or you’ll get used to it”. And it’s not motivating.
What might be of greater help is to tell the tale of the two woodcutters:
Once upon a time there were two woodcutters. One would turn up for work at the crack of dawn and work tirelessly till dusk. He would use his axe to fell and chop trees without a single break during the day, covered in sweat, exhausting himself. The other one would turn up for work much after the first, take breaks often during the day and leave early. Still he managed to have more trees chopped at the end of the day. The hard-working woodcutter was confounded as he was hurt. He decided that he should have a chat with his peer and find out, why despite working much harder, he was less successful. When asked, the other woodcutter smiled at him and said “Your axe has become blunt. Whenever I sit down to rest, I also sharpen mine.” (There are variations of this story to be found all over the web, so pick the one that suits best.)
Also quite handy is a little arsenal of sayings as “Take stumbling blocks and turn them into stepping stones” and the like. Images speak more than 1,000 words, even if they are conveyed in a spoken or written way.
