The story told too smoothly may have polished away the part that needs examining.

Rehearsal removes friction, and friction is where the information was. A story you have told forty times has been optimised for the listener: the confusing middle trimmed, the part where you behaved badly softened into context, the ending arranged to make sense. Each telling improves the performance and reduces the evidence. Eventually you can no longer reach the version of events you actually lived.

Take an account you give often and deliberately tell it badly once, to yourself or to one trusted person. Put the awkward bit back in and see what it changes about the conclusion.