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.

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