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Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can ... - WordPress.com

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McAdams studies the stories thatpeople tell about themselves. We allwrite our life stories as if we were novelists,McAdams believes, with beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs,conflicts, turn<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>ts, andend<strong>in</strong>gs. And the way we characterizeour past setbacks pr<strong>of</strong>oundly <strong>in</strong>fluenceshow satisfied we are with our currentlives. Unhappy people tend to see setbacksas contam<strong>in</strong>ants that ru<strong>in</strong>ed anotherwise good th<strong>in</strong>g (“I was never thesame aga<strong>in</strong> after my wife left me”),while generative adults see them asbless<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> disguise (“<strong>The</strong> divorce wasthe most pa<strong>in</strong>ful th<strong>in</strong>g that everhappened to me, but I’m so much happierwith my new wife”). Those wholive the most fully realized lives—giv<strong>in</strong>gback to their families, societies, andultimately themselves—tend to f<strong>in</strong>dmean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> their obstacles. In a sense,McAdams has breathed new life <strong>in</strong>to748/929

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