--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stories help shape the way we see…" description: "\"“Stories help shape the way we see ourselves in the world. They help tell us who we can be and what we can achieve.”\" — Nicola Yoon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fad/nicola-yoon-2072_stories_stories-help-shape-the-way-we-see-oursel_489987.jpg" --- # Stories help shape the way we see ourselves in the world… ![“Stories help shape the way we see ourselves in the world. They help tell us who we can be and what we can achieve.” quote by Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fad/nicola-yoon-2072_stories_stories-help-shape-the-way-we-see-oursel_489987.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fad/nicola-yoon-2072_stories_stories-help-shape-the-way-we-see-oursel_489987.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fad/nicola-yoon-2072_stories_stories-help-shape-the-way-we-see-oursel_489987.jpg) > ““Stories help shape the way we see ourselves in the world. They help tell us who we can be and what we can achieve.”” [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories shape self‑identity and potential by providing models of who we can become. **In simple terms:** Stories help us see possibilities for ourselves. Key Takeaway Read and reflect on narratives. Themes identity storytelling potential Mood reflective optimistic Type literary motivational When to use this quote - education - personal development - creative writing Key Concepts psychology literature self‑concept Questions to Reflect On - Which story resonates with your aspirations? - How can you write your own narrative? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on stories may limit personal experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Help Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-tell-884169/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-help-1253664/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) [Tell Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-achieve-2099316/) ## Related quotes > [“Stories serve multiple purposes. At a basic level they are great entertainment, which is essential for living a happy and healthy life, but on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-f-wilson/stories-serve-multiple-purposes-at-a-basic-level-they-are-great/) [Dean F. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-f-wilson/) > [The only thing standing between you and your goal is the BS Story you tell yourself as to why you can't achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-standing-between-you-and-your-goal-is-the-bs-story-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, or cannot achieve. Do. Not. Allow. It.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/don-t-let-anyone-tell-you-what-you-can-or-cannot-do-or-cannot-achieve/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [Don't let anyone tell you that you can't achieve your dreams. Give it your everything, otherwise you'll never know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbles/don-t-let-anyone-tell-you-that-you-can-t-achieve-your-dreams-give-it/) [Bubbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubbles/) > [“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do or achieve. Do what you want to do and be who you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/don-t-let-anyone-tell-you-what-you-can-and-can-t-do-or-achieve-do/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [I hope that when children read my stories that they evoke images for children. I four stories can help children use their own imaginations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/i-hope-that-when-children-read-my-stories-that-they-evoke-images-for/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [“I can’t protect you from the stars, but I can tell you stories that may help at night when they are staring at you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hines/i-can-t-protect-you-from-the-stars-but-i-can-tell-you-stories-that/) [Karen Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hines/) > [I would also suggest that any aspiring writer begin with short stories. These days, I meet far too many young writers who try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-would-also-suggest-that-any-aspiring-writer-begin-with-short/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Stories help me. To live. To work. To find the meaning hidden in every dream, ever leaf, every drop of dew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stories-help-me-to-live-to-work-to-find-the-meaning-hidden-in-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything’s a story, kid. Stories are what help us make sense of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-daniels/everything-s-a-story-kid-stories-are-what-help-us-make-sense-of-the/) [Jeff Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-daniels/) > [I'm interested in stories that help me, people navigate in this broken world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/i-m-interested-in-stories-that-help-me-people-navigate-in-this-broken/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [“Stories help you understand your life, she’d say. Stories can heal. And I think she’s right, because why do old guys back from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/stories-help-you-understand-your-life-she-d-say-stories-can-heal-and/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“Find the stories that help you comprehend the incomprehensible. Find the stories that make you stronger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-davis/find-the-stories-that-help-you-comprehend-the-incomprehensible-find/) [Eleanor Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-davis/) > [“Stories help us remember what we never want to forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emory-r-frie/stories-help-us-remember-what-we-never-want-to-forget/) [Emory R. Frie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emory-r-frie/) > [“We create stories to help us shape a chaotic world, to navigate inequities of power, to accept our lack of control over nature, over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-dorst-j-j-abrams/we-create-stories-to-help-us-shape-a-chaotic-world-to-navigate/) [Doug Dorst J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-dorst-j-j-abrams/) ## More by Nicola Yoon > [“I’m desperate to prevent her tears, but not because I’m noble or anything. I’m kind of a contagion cryer. You know how when one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/i-m-desperate-to-prevent-her-tears-but-not-because-i-m-noble-or/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“What did you get?' I lean my head back against his chest. 'Seashell necklace for my mom. Pineapple ashtray for Kara.' 'Why do people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/what-did-you-get-i-lean-my-head-back-against-his-chest-seashell/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Listening to the magnified sound of my own breath is peaceful and strangely euphoric. I'm being reassured with every breath that I'm more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/listening-to-the-magnified-sound-of-my-own-breath-is-peaceful-and/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Human beings are not reasonable creatures. Instead of being ruled by logic, we are ruled by emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/human-beings-are-not-reasonable-creatures-instead-of-being-ruled-by/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Maybe he (or she-but who are we kidding? God's definitely a guy. How else to explain war, pestilence, and morning wood?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/maybe-he-or-she-but-who-are-we-kidding-god-s-definitely-a-guy-how/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“I didn't think you were real". "That's OK. Some day's I'm not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/i-didn-t-think-you-were-real-that-s-ok-some-day-s-i-m-not/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Almost everything in the night sky gives off light. Even if we can't see it, the light is still there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/almost-everything-in-the-night-sky-gives-off-light-even-if-we-can-t/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Once you become part of the world, the world becomes a part of you, too”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/once-you-become-part-of-the-world-the-world-becomes-a-part-of-you-too/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“love: a chemical history. ...The second stage, attraction, is governed by dopamine and serotonin. When, for example, couples report feeling indescribably happy in each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/love-a-chemical-history-the-second-stage-attraction-is-governed-by/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“If the person who's meant to love you forever can suddenly stop, then what is there to believe in?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/if-the-person-who-s-meant-to-love-you-forever-can-suddenly-stop-then/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“How can he not share his newfound joy with his fellow man? And it is joy. There’s a pure kind of joy in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/how-can-he-not-share-his-newfound-joy-with-his-fellow-man-and-it-is/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“America’s not really a melting pot. It’s more like one of those divided metal plates with separate sections for starch, meat, and veggies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/america-s-not-really-a-melting-pot-it-s-more-like-one-of-those/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“And now my life doesn’t make sense anymore. I almost wish I hadn’t met him. How am I supposed to go back to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/and-now-my-life-doesn-t-make-sense-anymore-i-almost-wish-i-hadn-t-met/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“As if there were no last time And there is no next time And this time is the time that counts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/as-if-there-were-no-last-time-and-there-is-no-next-time-and-this-time/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“All love ends," she says. "Maybe," I say. "But it has to start somewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/all-love-ends-she-says-maybe-i-say-but-it-has-to-start-somewhere/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) [Explore all 161 Nicola Yoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) ## More Stories quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) [Hubert Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-laws/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I think it's actually kind of sweet how there is a reciprocal effect that our stories can have on each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-think-it-s-actually-kind-of-sweet-how-there-is-a-reciprocal-effect/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Browse all 19,094 Stories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Stories help shape the way we see ourselves in the world. 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