How our life narrative shapes aging

Our life is always a narrated life. Four psychologists from the universities of Buffalo and Chicago have now examined the meaningful power of life narratives at the transition from middle age to mature age. Kristen Johnson and her colleagues conducted one-on-one conversations with 143 sixty-year-old women and men in which the respondents reflected on milestones and difficult phases, values ​​and insights in their lives, and about getting older. Four years later they were invited back to the interview. The psychologists identified five narrative characters.

1. Initiative

This dimension called agency describes the extent to which a person feels autonomous and is convinced that they have the power to shape their life. Pronounced agency expressed something like this: “I will not give up or give in to old age. I will be active and do things as long as I can.” This sounds more resigned to people who feel more at the mercy of life: “I’ve grown up, become more jaded. I no longer have this idealistic I-can-save-the-world mentality.”

In questionnaires, those involved also provided information about various aspects of their well-being. Initiative – as well as connection, self-realization and unity – often went hand in hand with a good psychological state. In addition, people who described their lives as a work of their own making were also satisfied with their physical health, fitness and appearance. Either this is an (objective) result of their active lifestyle, or their generally positive (subjective) self-image also includes their body: I ​​think I’m okay!

2. Connectedness

To what extent does a person feel connection, intimacy, love, belonging, friendship, and being cared for in their life, and how important are these things to them? This is what the narrative dimension aims to do communion. Some respondents felt they were surrounded by helpfulness: “I see that there are a lot of people who care, who lend a hand. Brotherhood, friendship, it’s all out there.” Others felt isolated or rejected: “If I had family support – a husband, my children around me, my granddaughter – then getting older wouldn’t be so bad. But knowing that you have to go through it alone makes a big difference.”

Relationships are generally attributed to women as the elixir of life, while men are assumed to believe that what counts most for them is energy and autonomy. To their surprise, however, the researchers found no gender differences agency and communionnor in the three other narrative patterns. Gender is apparently less important for the way we tell our lives than is often rumored.

3. Self-realization

The term coined by Abraham Maslow self-actualization – usually translated as “self-realization” – explores the extent to which a person follows their own compass, i.e. pursues their inclinations and exploits their “potential”. Respondents who followed this narrative thread were mostly satisfied with their life path; they described themselves as fulfilled and in harmony with their inner self.

A woman named “Sharon” by the researchers observed that over the years she became less and less concerned about what others thought of her. She is now more at peace within herself. For example, she dresses in such a way that it her please and not an imaginary male viewer. “You don’t have to impress anyone anymore,” was a typical statement. “You are who you are. And that gives you a lot of freedom. Aging is a kind of empowerment.” She doesn’t see aging as moving toward an end, another person said, but as “a continuous opening of life.” Respondents whose life narrative lacked self-realization often lacked satisfaction and self-esteem: “I’m afraid of my own shadow. I always tell myself that I’m my own worst enemy. I’m constantly looking down on myself.”

4. Unity

The dimension closure outlines the extent to which a person is able to deal with difficult life experiences and integrate them into the overall picture of their own life instead of separating them out like foreign bodies. It’s about accepting defeats, bad decisions, separations, losses and other adversities as part of your own story. “I’ve become a lot wiser,” someone said, “and that has a lot to do with my life experiences. All of these experiences are dear to me.”

At the threshold of old age, this acceptance primarily affects health restrictions. A participant with the pseudonym “Roger” mentioned that he no longer comes to play tennis as regularly. On the one hand, he lost some of his fitness, and on the other hand, his familiar match partners died. But he has come to terms with what is still possible and is enjoying it.

Respondents with a closed biographical narrative felt connected to themselves on their life path and felt their lives were fulfilling. On the other hand, if someone was not at peace with the past, it often clouded their view of what was to come: “On my birthday I always think that next year will be worse. It’s worrying and sad to know that there is so little time left.”

5. Self-exploration

Exploratory processing stands for “the depth of self-reflection in a life narrative”: What shaped me and how? “Today I see myself as a woman first and African American second. If I had stayed on the south side of Chicago, I would be black first and woman second. That has made a big difference in my life.” “I’m not particularly introspective,” said someone at the other end of the scale, “I just live my life.”

Unlike the other four narrative domains, self-exploration had no influence on how well the narrators felt psychologically or physically – but that does not mean that it was useless. Self-reflection was the only one of the five dimensions that increased in the four years between the two conversations. The focus shifted towards the search for meaning, and death was now mentioned much more frequently.

Your feedback on this article to the editors
keyboard_arrow_right