Personal history

Personal history is the way a person understands his or her own experiences and combines them into a story about himself or herself.

Definition

Personal history includes memories, interpretations, relationships, breakthroughs, wounds and the meanings given to experiences. It is not a simple record of facts, because memory and narrative always organize the past. Working with personal history involves distinguishing what happened from the conclusions that a person draws from it about himself and the world.

Key ideas

Missing key ideas.

Practice and life

Choose one important memory and write down two layers: facts and the interpretations you built on them.

Common misunderstanding

It is a mistake to treat your personal history as a judgment. The past influences man, but its meaning can be re-understood and integrated.

Questions for self-reflection

No questions for self-reflection.

Sources

No sources.