Why Your Stories Matter

“So even if we don’t perceive to like our ancestors, thinking about them still leads to a mental state that boosts intellectual performance and decision-making.”

Apparently, just thinking about our ancestors — ancient to the not so distant — helps us be better problem solvers and live better lives. I just read this most fascinating article about the value of knowing our family’s narrative.

“Recently, a clinical study reported that thinking positively about our family roots boosts emotional confidence and even intelligence.”

Are you a good ancestor? Have you started to record your stories?

“…keep your ancestors close at hand. Every day, think about the people who are responsible for putting you on the planet. Consider their hard work throughout the ages, their resilience in tough times, and their ingenuity.”

Alas, the full article by “Amy Bruckner & The Dream Tribe” is no longer alive on the web.  All the same, consider being a good ancestor by recording and sharing a story from your own family’s history!

As always, I’d be pleased and honored to help, be it in a course I teach or by interviewing you or your loved ones to create an heirloom gift for today, and to pass on to your future generations.

StoryCatcher® for iPhone makes it easy to get started making short video stories if you’re interested in a full “do it yourself” experience. Your loved ones will cherish these stories all time. Plus, you’ll be helping them become smarter and more effective in the process! You can download the app on the Apple App Store.

Blog Post Author:

April Bell is a Professional Personal Historian and founder at Tree of Life Legacies. She has been operating her Personal History Film business in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States since 2008. April utilizes her innate skills as an active listener to connect with others and draw out their stories and authentic, heartfelt values to be preserved and shared for generations to come. Her clients include individuals, families and organizations who value the power of story. In an effort to provide the gift of video storytelling to the world at large via a simple, fun and easy to use tool she and her business partner, iPhone app coder Urs Brauchli, released StoryCatcher® for iPhone on The Apple App Store.

Create A Gift To Their Future-Self

Haven’t you, like me, wondered why most of us don’t remember anything prior to age 3? Well, it turns out, we DO have memories prior to age 3, however, those memories are almost completely forgotten somewhere between the ages of 6 and 9. How fun would it be to record our kids’ memories of these years before they forget them? I recently read a fascinating story on NPR about childhood amnesia.

“Another powerful determinant of whether an early memory sticks is whether a child fashions it into a good story, with a time and place and a coherent sequence of events, (University Research Professor Carole) Peterson says. ‘Those are the kinds of memories that are going to last.'”

S t o r y C a t c h e r | for iPhone is the perfect tool to fashion such a story. Record your child on video, sharing her memories in her own words. Once you’ve filmed her story, add screen text and photos to help round it out. Easily share with family and friends now, plus save it to enjoy for years to come.

Imagine what fun it will be for your child to see himself recollecting his life stories from times that would otherwise be forgotten.

You can download StoryCatcher® for iPhone now by clicking the image above!

“For a long time, scientists thought childhood amnesia occurred because the brains of young children simply couldn’t form lasting memories of specific events. Then, in the 1980s, (Patricia) Bauer (a professor of psychology at Emory University) and other researchers began testing the memories of children as young as 9 months old, in some cases using gestures and objects instead of words.

“At age 3, the children were all recorded speaking with a parent about recent events, like visiting an amusement park or a visit from a relative. Then as the kids got older, the researchers checked to see how much they remembered.

“And they found that children as old as 7 could still recall more than 60 percent of those early events, while children who were 8 or 9 recalled less than 40 percent. ‘What we observed was actually the onset of childhood amnesia,’ Bauer says.”

Listen to the full story here: The Forgotten Childhood: Why Early Memories Fade

Blog Post Author:

April Bell is a Professional Personal Historian and founder at Tree of Life Legacies. She has been operating her Personal History Film business in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States since 2008. April utilizes her innate skills as an active listener to connect with others and draw out their stories and authentic, heartfelt values to be preserved and shared for generations to come. Her clients include individuals, families and organizations who value the power of story. In an effort to provide the gift of video storytelling to the world at large via a simple, fun and easy to use tool she and her business partner, iPhone app coder Urs Brauchli, released StoryCatcher® for iPhone in the Fall of 2013.