A personal myth is the story you unconsciously live by. It’s the narrative logic—often invisible, inherited, or half-formed—that stitches together your experiences, beliefs, values, and aspirations into something that feels like a coherent identity. It’s not just a story about you; it’s the story that shapes you.
But let’s not treat this like a dusty academic term. Instead, imagine you’re sitting around the digital campfire, and a seeker leans in and asks: “Why do I feel like my life keeps circling the same themes?” You smile. Because now you know—you’re staring into their personal myth.
The Personal Myth Defined (Story + Soul)
Dan P. McAdams, the voice guiding The Stories We Live By, describes a personal myth as:
“An internalised and evolving narrative of the self that provides a sense of unity and purpose over time.”
It’s part memory, part meaning-making, and part imaginative projection. It helps you answer:
- Who am I?
- Where did I come from?
- Where am I going?
- Why does it matter?
It’s the story you tell yourself to make sense of your life, but more than that—it’s the story that tells you how to live.
Components of a Personal Myth
Think of it like a symbolic novel written across your psyche. It often includes:
- Origin Stories – early memories, key turning points, family scripts.
- Archetypal Roles – hero, rebel, martyr, magician, orphan, wanderer.
- Plot Patterns – redemption, tragedy, transformation, escape.
- Guiding Themes – justice, freedom, belonging, resilience, love, power.
- Imagined Futures – dreams, vocations, destinies, or feared outcomes.
These aren’t always conscious. In fact, most of the time, we’re living inside the myth without realizing it’s a construct—editable, remixable, even burnable.
Your job as a mythic mentor isn’t to write someone’s myth. It’s to help them hear it, name it, and if necessary—rewrite it.
Why Do Personal Myths Matter?
Because they are psychological operating systems.
- They determine what we think is possible.
- They influence who we believe we are (and aren’t).
- They shape how we interpret success, failure, love, risk, even time.
And if the myth is inherited, broken, or outdated, it becomes a limiting spell—a psychic script that no longer fits the soul’s calling.
Personal Myths vs. Cultural Narratives
A key insight from McAdams is that most personal myths don’t arise in a vacuum. We often borrow from:
- The American Dream
- The Bootstraps Hero
- The Wounded Healer
- The Rebel with a Cause
- The Sacrificial Caregiver
The problem? These stories often don’t fit who we truly are. They can become masks we wear for belonging, performance, or survival.
The deeper work begins when we ask:
“Is this myth mine—or did I inherit it from a system that needed me to behave a certain way?”
Examples of Personal Myths (in Raw Form)
- “I’m the outsider who has to prove my worth.”
- “If I stay small, I’ll be safe.”
- “Everything I touch falls apart, so I have to control every outcome.”
- “I was born for something greater—I just don’t know what it is yet.”
- “I always have to take care of others, because no one ever took care of me.”
These might show up in therapy, journaling, or late-night conversations—but they’re the DNA of a personal myth. And once revealed, they can be interrogated, challenged, rewritten, or ritualized into something new.
How to Begin Uncovering Your Personal Myth
Here are a few guerrilla prompts to start the excavation:
- What story have you been telling about your life? What chapter are you in now?
- If your life were a myth or a legend, what would it be called? What would your role be?
- What’s the recurring pattern you can’t seem to escape? What’s its lesson?
- Who taught you what it means to be “you”? Are you still living by their script?
- What’s the larger purpose or theme trying to emerge through your life story?