Disclaimer!

This interview asks plenty of personal questions which you are free to be as specific or vague as you like. We are extremely careful with all of your supplied information and allow you the option to exclude your name and email. All your data will remain private within our system, and if you choose to share your personalized output with your friends and family it will only show your non-specific points from within this interview. Thank you again for being part of the Life Story Project!

High Point

Please describe a scene, episode, or moment in time that stands out as especially positive. This might be the high point of your entire life, or just a particularly happy or wonderful moment. Please describe this scene in detail. What happened, who was involved, what were you thinking and feeling? Also, please describe how this fits into your overall life story.

Turning Point

Looking back over your life, can you identify a key turning point that marked an important change in your life story? As before, please describe what happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling. Also, how does this event fit into your life story?

Low Point

The next scene is the opposite of the first one. Thinking back over your life, can you identify a scene that stands out as a low point, maybe even the low point in your life story. Even though it’s unpleasant, please tell me what happened, who was involved, what were you thinking and feeling? Also, please describe how this moment fits into your life story.

Storylines

A storyline is an ongoing source of conflict, struggle, or challenge—or just an area that you’ve given a lot of focus to. We have identified five prominent storylines that occur in people’s lives - identity, love, work, body, and beliefs. Please rank these options in order of importance.

ABCs of meaning

People attribute meaning to their lives in vastly different ways. There are 3 broad categories of meaning, which I like to call the ABCs of meaning: agency, belonging, and cause. Please rank these categories in order of importance.

Agency: autonomy, freedom, creativity, mastery; the belief that you can impact the world around you.

Belief: relationships, community, friends, family; the people that surround and nurture you.

Cause: a calling, a mission, a direction, a purpose; a transcendent commitment beyond yourself that makes your life worthwhile.

The Shape of Life

Looking back over your life story in a slightly different way, what shape embodies your life? This could be an object, a geometric shape, or a line.

Why do we ask this question about shape? Because we've found that the way we think about our lives gives us insight into what we value most in our lives. We've analyzed countless shapes and found that they fall into three broad categories: lines, circles, and stars. Examples of lines include a river, a winding road, a zigzag, and a mountain range; examples of circles include a heart, a house, a basket, and a bowl; examples of stars include a globe, a cross, an infinity sign, a butterfly. Please choose the category that best fits your shape and click through to the end to understand what these say about you.

Almost Done!

Please fill out some information about your demographic. All that is required is your age, email, and ethnicity, however, if you would like to be considered to be interviewed for the Life Story Project, please fill out as much as you can especially your name.