Experiences

The Life Story Challenge

Overview Video

This discussion will focus on the different experiences you have had in your life. In this discussion, each person will have the opportunity to share some of the experiences they have had in the past.

Pre-Discussion Preparation

We have included the following activities to help you prepare for the discussion: 

  • Think about the deeply formative experiences that have impacted your life. Try to trace the effects of these experiences, for good or bad, both on the direction your life has taken and your sense of self.  

  • You may also want to read the discussion questions and contemplate your answers to them in preparation for the upcoming conversation with your group members.

Discussion Questions

Below are a series of questions that may help facilitate your discussion. There is no need to answer every question; instead, feel free to focus on the questions that members of your group seem most excited about.

  • What do you think makes an experience a deeply formative experience? What qualities does it need to have?

  • How did core experiences change the trajectory of your life? 

  • How can you create meaning from the challenging events you have experienced? What are some ways to overcome any pain or distress from the experiences?

  • Do you think core experiences are often accompanied by changes in relationships? On a personal level, did certain core experiences change your relationships? If so, in what way? Why do you think these experiences had that effect?

  • You may have noticed that the people in your group shared core experiences about a similar topic or during a similar period of life. Why do you think that is? What other patterns have emerged throughout this discussion involving core experiences?

Post-Discussion Activities

Below are two activities that you can complete after the discussion to deepen your learning and to prepare you to write your life story: 

  • Identify the core experiences that you want to be certain to include in your life story. You may even want to write them down, so you can remember them when you start crafting your life story.

  • Record any important takeaways from both your own thoughts and those shared by others during the discussion.

Overview Video Research

  1. Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., Fenster, J. R., & Blank, T. O. (2008). Meaning making and psychological adjustment following cancer: The mediating roles of growth, life meaning, and restored just-world beliefs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(5), 863–75. doi: 10.1037/a0013348

  2. Singer, J. A., Blagov, P., Berry, M., & Oost, K. M. (2013). Self-defining memories, scripts, and the life story: Narrative identity in personality and psychotherapy. Journal of Personality, 81(6), 569–582. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12005

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