--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We understand ourselves through stories…" description: "\"We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories out of our lives. Storytellers give people structure with which they can begin to look at th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/bill-harley-67120_giving_we-understand-ourselves-through-stories_760081.png" --- # We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories… ![“We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories out of our lives. Storytellers give people structure with which they can begin to look at their own lives and try to make sense of them.” quote by Bill Harley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/bill-harley-67120_giving_we-understand-ourselves-through-stories_760081.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/bill-harley-67120_giving_we-understand-ourselves-through-stories_760081.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/bill-harley-67120_giving_we-understand-ourselves-through-stories_760081.png) > “We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories out of our lives. Storytellers give people structure with which they can begin to look at their own lives and try to make sense of them.” [Bill Harley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-harley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We understand ourselves by framing experiences as narratives, giving structure that helps interpret and find meaning in our lives. **In simple terms:** Stories help us make sense of ourselves. Key Takeaway Use narrative to interpret life. Themes identity storytelling meaning Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - education - leadership Key Concepts psychology myth cognition Questions to Reflect On - What story do you tell about your past? - How can you reframe a negative experience? A Different Perspective Narratives can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Life story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-story/) [Lives Storytellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-storytellers-5895615/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sense/) [Making Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-stories-333654/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyteller/) [Storytellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytellers/) [Storytellers People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytellers-people-766004/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Understand Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-stories-1811161/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Part of our job as storytellers is to show people pockets of the world that they don't know. The more we understand, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-sheridan/part-of-our-job-as-storytellers-is-to-show-people-pockets-of-the/) [Taylor Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-sheridan/) > [I'm obsessed with this idea of storytellers and people who have a narrative, and sometimes sustain a relationship because they're telling a narrative and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-egoyan/i-m-obsessed-with-this-idea-of-storytellers-and-people-who-have-a/) [Atom Egoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-egoyan/) > [There are millions of women all around the world who are in dangerous, terrifying situations. It's up to us as storytellers to give people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/there-are-millions-of-women-all-around-the-world-who-are-in-dangerous/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [I was inspired by people like Joni Mitchell and Carole King and Stevie and "Storytellers." People that could really change the world with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeli-sande/i-was-inspired-by-people-like-joni-mitchell-and-carole-king-and/) [Emeli Sande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeli-sande/) > [“A shaman and a writer each serve as their communities’ seers by engaging in extraordinary acts of conscientious study of the past and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/a-shaman-and-a-writer-each-serve-as-their-communities-seers-by/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [People who understand everything get no stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/people-who-understand-everything-get-no-stories/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-schank/humans-are-not-ideally-set-up-to-understand-logic-they-are-ideally/) [Roger Schank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-schank/) > [Stories heal us because we become whole through them. In the process of writing, of discovering our story, we restore those parts of ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/stories-heal-us-because-we-become-whole-through-them-in-the-process/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/those-who-truly-understand-their-faiths-understand-the-stories-are/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Behind a woman's smile there is a lot of pain you will never come to understand and stories only she can be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-pheona/behind-a-woman-s-smile-there-is-a-lot-of-pain-you-will-never-come-to/) [Mercy Pheona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-pheona/) > [Here is something you have to understand about stories: They point you in the right direction but they can't take you all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/here-is-something-you-have-to-understand-about-stories-they-point-you/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“The comfortable way to deal with these stories is to say they are about them The way to understand these stories is to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bowden/the-comfortable-way-to-deal-with-these-stories-is-to-say-they-are/) [Charles Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bowden/) > [I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a cataclysmic event - something experienced in fragments, whispers, viewed from around corners - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-understanding-of-a-cataclysmic/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) > [Opera is something you have to educate yourself about. You have to make sure you understand the stories, what was happening politically, socially during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-hashimoto/opera-is-something-you-have-to-educate-yourself-about-you-have-to/) [Jacob Hashimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-hashimoto/) > [In some ways, I don’t feel as if I had a choice. Looking back at my childhood, even before I could read and write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/in-some-ways-i-don-t-feel-as-if-i-had-a-choice-looking-back-at-my/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) ## More by Bill Harley > [In the library I discovered that you could learn by following your nose. And I learned that a book was as close to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-harley/in-the-library-i-discovered-that-you-could-learn-by-following-your/) [Bill Harley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-harley/) > [Every child needs a safe place to fall - a place where he or she can explore things without worrying about failure and judgment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-harley/every-child-needs-a-safe-place-to-fall-a-place-where-he-or-she-can/) [Bill Harley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-harley/) > [Stories are at the very heart of being human; they talk about where we're from, where we are, and where we're going. They're like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-harley/stories-are-at-the-very-heart-of-being-human-they-talk-about-where-we/) [Bill Harley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-harley/) [Explore all 4 Bill Harley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-harley/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories out of our lives. 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