class 5. the you that notices what kind of person are you?
TRANSCRIPT
PSY 299: Adjustment to College and Life
Class 5
The You that Notices
What kind of person are you?
Warning: Minds won’t like this
When we take our stories about
ourselves to be literally true,
we guard, protect, defend them
WITH OUR LIVES.
We work to construct our worlds in a way that confirms the truth of our self-labels.
Have you ever watched a documentary of Africa?
Your Mind, the Documentary Maker
• 150,000 hours of footage of YOU– Your thoughts, feelings, sensations,
memories, experiences, interactions• Condensed down to a 5-minute story
– A few familiar words to describe you– A well-worn story about why you are that way
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The Documentary of You
Now let’s watch the documentary.To begin with, close your eyes, and run
that self-description through your mind. Turn to your partner and for 1 minute tell
them about yourself…And notice what you don’t tell them!
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The Documentary of You V.2
Another one-minute documentaryThis time, completely different set of facts
All true- this is still nonfictionNew scene selectionsNew editing
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The Documentary of You V.3Add one more minute to your documentaryWeave the facts into a storySame facts, this time give reasons
How did you come to be this person?What experiences shaped who you are?What was your family and childhood like?
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The Documentary of You V.4Same facts, NEW reasons
How did you come to be this person?What experiences shaped who you are?What was your family and childhood like?
Weave the facts into a completely different story about how you came to be the person you are
The stories can be real or imaginary, but always plausible
The Documentary of You: Synopsis
• The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
• In reality, your mind is telling you a story.– True, but not the whole truth– Scenes are selected to maintain the truth and
coherence of the story– The story is not YOU
Who YOU are Not
The trouble with stories
• Our stories focus our attention on what is important and relevant
• But what if you don’t like the story?– How will that affect what scenes from your
past you pay attention to?– How will that affect how you act in future
scenes?
Stories claim to explain causes of our past behavior
I slept all day. I am a lazy person.
Result: The only way to change your
future is to change your past.
Stories can influences our future behavior
• The reason for we do next– I ‘m the life of the party.
• I have to pretend everything is fine when it isn’t.
• The justification for what we DON’T do– That person would never like me because I’m
not attractive enough• I should just stay home. I’m not going to talk to
them.
The Stable You
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The Benefits of Being You
• You are the one thing that has been constant throughout your whole life.
• You don’t need to change YOU.• You CAN change what you do, in spite of
the storyline you’ve been following
Writing the Next Scene
• Think about your role in the documentary about you.
• In order for that person to be the person you want to be, what bold moves would you have to make?
• How could you take a step in that direction this week?
Commitment
I, ________________________, commit to doing
________________________ this week.
___________ might try to get in my way,
but I am willing to experience these
without struggle in order to fulfill my
commitment to myself.