This recent NYtimes article describes a number of interesting studies that suggest that the act of writing about oneself and one's experiences may change not only the way that people feel about the events that they portray, but may also alter the way that they feel about themselves. This concept is based on the idea that each one of us has a unique, personal narrative that shapes the way that we see ourselves, others and the world around us.
This personal narrative however, is typically quite static in nature. Unfortunately, once most of us have an idea of who we are, what we are good at, as well as what we expect from the world, we rarely seek out opportunities to alter these assumption, even when our assumptions are not doing us any favors. Because a lot of our opinions about ourselves and our world are based on very early, sometimes forgotten experiences, we may feel that these ideas have always defined us, and hence we allow them to continue to do so!
But what if we begin to question the origin of our self concept, thereby challenging our assumptions of what is possible for us? Do we not then give ourselves the chance to redefine who we are, what we are capable of and what we expect from the world at large, by simply being willing to rewrite (or retell) our own personal narrative?
