Interesting NYT article about the effect the story people tell themselves about their own lives and how it affects their futures. This Is Your Life (and How You Tell It) – New York Times
- People seem to be a product of their own life story. It influences how they see themselves in past, present and future.
- People tend to remember facts more accurately when they’re told in a story (unlike this post which is most certainly a list)
- The research was conducted on mostly 30-somethings who were asked to tell their life stories in two hours.
- Those with mood problems had mostly good stories but with very memorable bad aspects like the pride of a college graduation tainted with the cutting remark of a classmate.
- “Generative adults” who are characterized by civic-mindedness and high energy levels associated larger traumas with wonderful recoveries. IE: being down about a bad divorce but bouncing back and finding a wonderful new mate.
- Those who had reduced psychological well-being tended to see their moods and behavior problems as part of their own character as opposed to a villain to be defeated. Those treating it as a villain and not part of their intrinsic person tended to recover more quickly and thoroughly.
This long article boils a lot of research down to the following logic:
- We all have our own life story that we use to formulate our self image in the past, present and future.
- That story is not factual, its shaped by ourselves and can be changed.
- If you can change your life story to a more positive one, you’ll expect yourself to have more positive experiences in the future.
- IE: Instead of viewing yourself as a stupid loser for doing poorly in school, change the story to you being an independent thinker, unable to be constrained by the mundane and inflexible educational system.
- Feeling that you’ve made changes starts a momentum of change that allows you to feel real progress and improvement.
