The life path of a person, his unique individual life are the subject of study of a wide range of sciences - philosophy, sociology, psychology, history, ethnography, demography, anthropology, social medicine. Not even mentioning that human life has always been and will be the main object of art, no matter what topics it may concern, it always views the world through the prism of a person and his life. Even in ancient times, the first attempts to create an artistic biography appeared (Plutarch, Suetonius, etc.). Although experts attribute its establishment as a special genre to the 17th century, the literary and artistic biographical novel (or story) gradually separated from scientific historical and biographical research. Recently, there has been a certain convergence between them. Biography has become a full-fledged genre of historical research. The Canadian historian A. Wilson rightly compared it to a piano or violin concerto: through the solo of one life, its leading theme, an era is revealed.

The biographer not only describes the life path of a person, but also analyzes it. In biographical directories and indexes, in brackets after the surname through a dash, the year of birth and death of a person is usually given. Sometimes the gap between them is very small, as, for example, in D. Pisarev, M. Lermontov, N. Ryleev, N. Dobrolyubov, and sometimes relatively large (L. Tolstoy, B. Shaw). It is this interval between birth and death that is usually considered the life path of a person.

To show the real fate of a person, it is necessary to find out the essence of his life path, to establish the dependence of this path on time, on the history of society, people, country, to determine the boundaries of free choice, free life creation.

After all, in any case, as we see, fate was connected and is now connected with that which does not depend on his free choice, is outside him. So, it is important first of all to understand whether there is something in a person’s life path that does not depend on him, if there is, then what is it and what forces determine the turns in his life path that are not provided for by the free will of a person? Only by finding this out, we will be able to penetrate the secrets of fate, to comprehend its essence.

We, reading the biographies of great people, correctly understand and evaluate the mistakes and errors in the creativity of our own lives. However, judging others is always easier; it is much more difficult to build your own life. The fact of the matter is that everyone usually has to do it himself, without any prompting: after all, a person most often does not realize that every day, every hour he creates his life. Seemingly insignificant, unimportant, ordinary, everyday decisions or actions can have far-reaching consequences that a person does not even know about. Sometimes one act can change his entire life path.

Building your own life is incomparably more difficult than launching rockets, erecting buildings, laying canals. People who never make mistakes in foreseeing not only the immediate, but also the long-term consequences of their own actions, probably did not exist, do not exist and will not exist. Even the most talented chess player often miscalculates the consequences of his move, and the alternatives to life are much more complicated and less predictable than a game of chess! Creativity of one's own life turns out to be perhaps the most complex of all types of human creativity, and people's life paths themselves are so intricate and tortuous...

Time, practice allow us to understand the main, essential in the events of everyday life and separate it from the secondary. An event on which, as it seemed only yesterday, all life depends, today turns out to be an insignificant trifle, and what we considered a trifle sometimes turns our whole life upside down. Whether a person reflects on his life or recreates the biography of another person, he is distracted from the small, insignificant, selecting the most important milestones that determine it. But precisely from the insignificant, and not from the accidental, for, as we shall see, chance can play a very significant role in life.

What is a life path?

An interesting definition is proposed by A.V. Gribakin, "... the life path is a creative process of step-by-step inclusion of each person in the system of social relations, a consistent change in the ways of life associated with self-realization and approval of individuals."

Stages of the life path do not always coincide with the age periods of people's lives. If they really coincided, then, in fact, the life paths of people would be the same, because each person goes through childhood, youth, adult years and lives to old age (excluding, of course, cases of premature death).

According to B. G. Ananiev, "all human ages exist side by side, being distributed among different individuals."

However, age is not the only characteristic of a life path. Age can be represented as a kind of "vertical" section of a person's life path. At the same time, its segments - childhood, youth, mature years, old age - are different, especially if people belong to opposite classes and live in different historical eras. Naturally, everyone goes through these stages, but each in his own way.

Socially significant periods of human life that depend on them, but do not coincide with them, are “superimposed” on age parameters: preparation for independent work; the labor path of a person and the termination of labor activity. This division does not coincide with age. For example, a young man of 16-17 years old working at an enterprise, in terms of the content of his life activity, is closer to an adult worker than to his peer - a student who is still preparing for independent work.

The foregoing allows us to define a person's life path as a process of gradual appropriation by a person (adequate or inadequate) of social ties and relations, leading to his development or degradation, to actual self-realization or the inability to realize himself in any activity. Of course, like any definition, this definition does not reveal the life path of a person in all its complexity and completeness, but it expresses its essence and, in our opinion, can become a starting point for further analysis.

Labor activity is the most important element of a person's life path, therefore it should underlie his characteristics. The special importance of labor in this case is emphasized by the allocation of a special concept "human labor path". The labor path, the labor biography of the individual synthesizes the paths of human development in other areas of public life, which have relative independence, which is determined by a number of reasons. First, the life path depends on the direction of the individual. Studies show that workers of the same team, workshop, laboratory, etc. may have different orientations. Secondly, a person can have a good working life, bringing him joy and satisfaction, and in one way or another fail to get a family life. Sometimes, on the contrary, the joys of family life or success in amateur art and sports compensate for dissatisfaction with work. Some kind of unequal value of these aspects of the life path is probably characteristic of any person. Everything depends on the volume and intensity of personal life, on the degree of inclusion of social roles in personal life. Age-related changes also do not have the same effect on different sides of the life path. For example, the cessation of employment due to retirement does not mean the cessation of cultural development.

Thirdly, it often happens that the greatest successes in the self-realization of a person are associated not with his professional, but precisely with non-professional activities. For example, A.P. Borodin, much more fully and more effectively realized himself as a composer than as a chemical scientist; A.P. Chekhov - as a writer, and not as a doctor. Naturally, the life path model can be recognized as the most suitable for a given individual if it includes a harmonious combination of all spheres of life, their complementarity, successful self-realization of the individual in many of them, satisfaction of the fullness and richness of life as a whole.

Thus, the life path of a person turns out to be a complex interweaving of age periods and periods of social activity.

As such criteria, it is proposed to consider the psychological changes that occur during the transition to the next age group, the emergence of new interests, needs, and the reorientation of value attitudes.

These changes are important for assessing the life path, they are difficult to empirically analyze, because the person himself most often cannot answer when, how and due to what these changes occurred.

The life path combines the social, event-biographical side of his life with the formation and development of his inner spiritual life and, above all, his worldview.

The formation of personality, the formation and development of personal socially significant qualities is one of the most important characteristics of the life path. But for the life path, the state of human health at various stages of his life is also of no small importance.

The life path of a person in reality is closely connected with his way of life, because these categories serve to analyze and describe his life activity, individual human life. However, if the lifestyle is a characteristic of the life of an individual in a particular period, then the life path is the development of human life in time, a consistent change in lifestyle in connection with the development of the person himself, with a change in the real conditions of his life. A person's lifestyle can change significantly at different stages of his journey.

There is no consensus in the literature about what is considered the beginning of a life path. B. G. Ananiev, for example, believed that it begins "much later" than birth. In some cases, admission to work is recognized as the beginning, omitting the entire period of preparation for activity. This view appears to be inaccurate. Socialization and individualization of the child begins in early childhood. Much in the formation of a person is laid even during this period, A. Tolstoy said that they bring up a child up to 5 years old, and then they have to re-educate him. Biographers rightly begin the description of the life path with a description of the family and the conditions of a person's upbringing. All this speaks in favor of the fact that the beginning of a person's life path is early childhood.

The path of each person is complex and contradictory: it combines the necessary and the accidental, the possible and the realized, the socio-historical and the personal-biographical. Their combinations are purely individual, unique for each individual.

Neither the age-based nor the psychological approach to determining a person's life path can give positive results if it is not based on a general sociological analysis of the dependence of a person's life path on objective conditions - on social relations and the limits of freedom of his active life-creation determined by them.

The path of life is individual and unique for each person. But for all its uniqueness, there is always something in common in the life of all representatives of a given class in the same era: social events that leave no one aside, a community of fundamental interests and needs, are such a common thing.

The heroes of biographical descriptions are usually prominent people - political and public figures, scientists, philosophers, people of art. This tradition has been established since antiquity. For a long time, biographical literature was almost the only source (of course, not counting monuments and documents) from which we draw knowledge about the events of ancient years. Indeed, it is impossible to correctly understand any era without having an idea of ​​its great people who stood at the center of the most significant historical events. The biographies of great people are of invaluable educational value for the younger generation.

Such portraits of people-symbols of a certain time can be called social portraits. One of the new types of biographical research can be called an autobiographical description of a person's life path and its main points.

In modern psychological science, such phenomena as character, life orientation (the meaning of life, life philosophy, "life line"), talent and life experience can be combined in the concept of "human life path". The problems associated with its study, we call biographical. They are closely intertwined with the socio-historical processes of the era. “A person is only a person insofar as he has his own history,” wrote S.L. Rubinstein.

In Soviet psychology, the topic of the life path was first addressed by S.L. Rubinstein, B.G. Ananiev. ON THE. Rybnikov took the initiative to expand research on the genetic psychology of personality (20s). For B.G. Ananiev, the problem of the life path became relevant in the early 30s. in connection with research on characterology, conducted by him at the Psychoneurological Institute. V.M. Bekhterev in Leningrad. S.L. Rubinstein paid attention to the psychological issues of biography, theoretically examining the issues of self-consciousness in the Fundamentals of General Psychology. In the future, various aspects of the life path, the life of the individual were developed in the works of Soviet scientists devoted to the nature of man and his development,,,,.

A life path is “a history of the formation and development of a personality in a certain society, a contemporary of a certain era, a peer of a certain generation.” The historical nature of the personality requires the psychologist to study or at least take into account the historical circumstances of her life. In psychology, a person's biography has always served as a rich source of knowledge about personality, but, more importantly, it is itself subject psychological study.

“The position that development is the main way of existence of a person at all stages of his individual path puts before psychology as one of the most relevant and least studied the task of psychological research of the integral life path of a person” . The ratio of biographical events and moments of the individual's natural life cycle; phases, periodization of life; personality development crises; types of biographies; age features of the inner world of a person; the role of spiritual factors in the regulation of social life; age dynamics of creative productivity; overall performance of the life path; satisfaction with life, etc. - this is a far from complete list of issues related to the very nature of the life path.

The first systematic study of the patterns of the life path was undertaken by S. Buhler and her collaborators at the Vienna Psychological Institute in the 1920s and 1930s. . On the basis of extensive empirical material, she found that, despite individual originality, there are regularities (“regularities”) in the timing of the onset of the optimum of life, depending on the ratio of spiritual, “mental”, and biological, “vital” tendencies. Various types of life development of the individual were also discovered. S. Buhler developed an idealistic concept of human development as a process of gradual formation and change in the spiritual target structures of self-consciousness. The ideas and empirical studies of S. Buhler contributed to the formation of humanistic psychology in the West.

Existentialist, neo-Freudian models of life development were comprehensively and deeply subjected to critical analysis in Soviet science. This criticism is carried out from the standpoint of Marxist methodological principles and is distinguished by a constructive character. In Soviet psychology, a fundamentally different strategy for working out the problems of individual development of the personality has been defined. This strategy was most fully and programmatically outlined for the first time by B.G. Ananiev. He substantiated the project of science on the integral development of man in a single life cycle. This science, according to Ananiev - ontopsychology, should combine age-related psychophysiology, which studies the ontogeny of the psychophysiological functions of the brain, and genetic personology, aimed at studying the actual personal evolution in the process of life. The subject of ontopsychology is the relationship, interdependence of ontogeny and the life path, which determine the main patterns of the integral individual development of a person.

In this integrity, however, B.G. Ananiev clearly distinguished two interacting, but still special forms. First, ontogenesis is the development of the individual and his brain, psychophysiological functions. Ontogeny is programmed genetically, proceeds in the biological time of life. Secondly, the life path, which is built according to social projects in historical time, dates back to historical and biographical events.

Ontogeny with a sequence of phases (birth, maturity and maturation, aging and death) acts as an objective factor in the life path. "The history of the individual and the subject of activity unfolds in the real space and time of ontogeny and is determined by it to a certain extent ...". Objective, social and subjective, personal regulation of life, planning of the life path cannot take place without taking into account the natural terms of life, the degree of maturity of the body and brain, and age-related health restrictions. The very possibility of subjective regulation of life activity does not arise immediately, but gradually, as the brain and its functions mature and, at the same time, as intellect, self-awareness, and character develop in the processes of socialization. Before becoming a subject, a person exists as an object of many social influences. The objective determination of the life path - partly by ontogeny and to a large extent by social circumstances - is not canceled even when a person becomes a subject in full measure. The relationship between subjective and objective regulators of the life path is an important issue in biographical research, the intersection point of psychology and ethics. The psychological aspect of the answer to this question lies in the study of the mechanisms of subjective regulation by a person of his life and thus his own development. These mechanisms actualize the existing structures of self-consciousness, character, life orientation, talent.

To the extent that a person himself organizes and directs the events of his life path, builds his own development environment, selectively treats those events that do not depend on his will (for example, socio-historical macro-events of our time), he is the subject of life. The principle of vital activity developed by K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, , concretizes, in relation to the personality, a more general principle of the unity of consciousness and activity. According to how consciousness is formed and manifested in activity, in life activity integral, “top” structures of the personality are formed and manifested as its subjective regulators - character and talent, life orientation and life experience.

The concept of life activity reflects the active role of a person in his own destiny. The degree of this activity may be different depending on the maturity of the character, its originality. On this basis, one can distinguish between levels of vital activity and related types of personality. (At the same time, however, one cannot abstract from the socio-historical meaning of the values ​​for which the individual lives and fights.) At one extreme is life subject to circumstances, the stereotyped fulfillment of social roles, so to speak, life-automatism. At the other extreme is life-creation, when life activity, embodied in specific forms of social behavior and activity, is directed by the subject in accordance with fundamental relations, attitudes, when life activity is adequate to character and is self-expression. True creative expression must be based on the right reflection circumstances and consequences of their own behavior, on the reflection of the objective laws of reality.

Life-creation takes place in social behavior (actions), in communication, work and knowledge. The life path of a creative person is full of events - events of the environment, behavior, inner life. This eventfulness affects the character and completeness of memories. According to the memories, one can judge the type of personality.

The unity of consciousness and activity is biographically the unity of inner and outer life. In the broad sense of the word, the concept of inner life embraces all phenomena of mental activity. The inner life should be considered as a psychological component of the life path. It not only reflects real events, but is itself a subjective reality - life. Indeed, a spiritual biography can be no less meaningful and significant than an objective picture of life. Sometimes it comes to the fore in the biography as well. For example, Kant's biographers draw attention to the contrast between the dramatic history of the philosopher's thought and the monotony of his private life. A.V. Gulyga writes in this regard: “Kant has no biography other than the history of his teachings ... The most exciting events in it are thoughts.”

The "cell" of the inner life is experience. In "Fundamentals of General Psychology" S.L. Rubinstein noted the universal nature of this phenomenon, considered it a personal, subjective aspect of consciousness as a whole. “Experience,” notes S.L. Rubinstein is primarily a psychic fact, a piece of an individual's own life in his flesh and blood, a specific manifestation of his individual life. It becomes an experience in a narrower, specific sense of the word as the individual becomes a person and his experience acquires a personal character ... A person's experiences are the subjective side of his real life, the subjective aspect of the life path of the individual. In this second sense of the word, experiences can be called biographical experiences. In fact, their subject matter is the events of the biography reflected in the processes of memory, thinking, and imagination. Through them, the regulation of life activity is carried out, and, finally, they themselves can become life events.

Experiences exist in the form of emotionally saturated processes, for example, mnemonic ones, which in the personal-biographical plan act as processes of historical memory - memories. Like any biographical experience, remembrance is included in the life of the individual. In connection with vital activity, memory has been studied much less than in connection with more particular types of activity, say, with learning. The laws of imprinting, preservation, forgetting and reproduction in the system of historical memory have their own specifics, determined by the vital significance of the captured events. So, in contrast to simple forms of memory, there are images in memories that have super longevity, super strength due to the uniqueness of events. Moreover, it is not so much the emotional coloring of the image that is important, but its content, vital significance. “The unpleasant persists especially long and firmly because it is constantly experienced not as a certain suffering, but as a certain “life lesson”. The pleasant is preserved as a certain moment of the advancement of life. This is an old assumption of B.G. Ananiev was confirmed in the experiments of P.V. Simonov. “Memories of faces, meetings, life episodes that were by no means connected in anamnesis with any out of the ordinary experiences, sometimes caused exceptionally strong and persistent, objectively recorded shifts that could not be extinguished when repeated. A more thorough analysis of this ... category of cases showed that the emotional coloring of memories does not depend on the strength of the emotions experienced at the moment of the event itself, but on relevance of these memories for the subject at the moment.

Not only the preservation, but also the forgetting of biographical facts is determined by their vital significance, to which Z. Freud drew attention. Forgetting as an involuntary displacement of an image from consciousness is real. But something else is also real, when a person keeps an event in memory, but deliberately avoids reproducing it, not wanting to hurt himself or disturb his conscience. Memories sometimes require courage.

Memories, embodied in emotionally colored representations, are part of the actual structure of the personality, form the mental "fabric" of its self-consciousness. By summarizing memories, a person's life experience is formed. “Thanks to memory, the unity of our consciousness reflects the unity of our personality, passing through the entire process of its development and restructuring. The unity of personal self-consciousness is connected with memory. Any disorder of the personality, reaching in its extreme forms to its disintegration, is therefore always associated with amnesia, a disorder of memory, and, moreover, precisely of this, its "historical" aspect. Memories are of decisive importance for a person to realize his own life, to master his experience, to regulate his life activity on this basis.

The inner life can also be carried out in the processes of the imagination. For different people, an imaginary life - in dreams, hopes, foresights - has a different meaning. Sometimes it almost completely replaces the real life. Departure from reality into the realm of memories or dreams has the meaning of "protection". However, this style of inner life demobilizes a person, reduces the level of his social activity. It is optimal when the saturated inner life is commensurate with the real life, otherwise it itself eventually depletes. “In order to survive, you must first of all live. From the fullness and strength of life, from the social being of a person depends the nature of human experiences, their depth and truthfulness - the correspondence of life.

Experiences undoubtedly have a mental component as well. “Thinking processes are involved in solving life, moral problems that involve making a choice, building” a behavior strategy. The point of view on a person's life as a chain of tasks typical of a certain age or arising in a collision with various circumstances suggests the inclusion of intellect in the personality structure. Determining the line of behavior or even the line of the whole life is a creative task, addressed to a large extent to the intellect.

It can be seen that the functioning of thinking in solving life problems is in many respects analogous to mental activity in a problem situation that has no biographical significance at all. In both cases, there is a preparatory phase, a moment of insight and subsequent comprehensive justification of the decision. Moreover, even a random impression can play the role of a “hint”. The brightness, unforgettable moments of insight, when the discovery of truth in its moral, vital meaning, testifies that these moments entered the spiritual biography of a person, became events.

The writer Vera Ketlinskaya described the phenomenon of spiritual events very expressively in her autobiographical novel Hello, Youth! She writes: “Three events took place in the spring, as if they were not major, but perhaps epoch-making events play a role in our spiritual life! I still feel those three cases as turning points. In particular, V. Ketlinskaya recalls the impression of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the sounds of which strengthened her idea of ​​a rebellious life. “That disturbing, indestructibly cheerful melody arose ... and again flashed - like a premonition that was not entirely clear to me - a moment of awareness of my fate.” A concrete impression (here aesthetic) evoked experiences that have a biographical meaning (“awareness of fate”). Not the music itself, but the experiences that arise under its influence, made up the essence of the event. Aesthetic experience here contributed to the determination of the life orientation of the individual, and therefore it indirectly influenced the course of life, and therefore became an event in it.

Psychologists have to study and understand the special qualities of all mental processes as experiences. In the flow of inner life, memory becomes a memory, imagination - a dream, thinking - a means of comprehending the essence of life's tasks, inner speech - the voice of conscience (B.G. Ananiev persistently drew attention to this ethical function of speech back in the 40s) In this, biographical significance, the human mind acquires a new quality: “The ability, developed in the course of life by some people, to comprehend life on a grand scale and recognize what is truly significant in it, the ability not only to find means for solving randomly emerging problems, but also to determine the very tasks and the purpose of life is to truly know where go in life and why,- this is something infinitely superior to any scholarship, even if it has a large stock of special knowledge, this is a precious and rare property - wisdom" .

The experiences of strong, talented people rise to the level of passions in the best sense of the word, i.e. to passions inspired by noble ideas (pathos). Great deeds ripen in the boiling of such passions - this is evidenced by the biographies of outstanding scientists, writers, revolutionaries. More than once doubts have been expressed about the possibility of a scientific, psychological study of deeply personal experiences, especially passions - these phenomena are attributed entirely to the department of art, fiction. For example, P.V. Simonov strongly insists on this. He draws pessimistic conclusions about the scientific independence of the psychologist. “The subjective side of the inner world of the individual,” he writes, “is not ... the subject of science in general. Departing from the related disciplines pursuing him on the heels - neurophysiology, ethology, anthropology, sociology, etc., the psychologist at a certain moment finds himself in a territory where he feels himself inaccessible to representatives of these branches of knowledge.

Relieved, he looks around and discovers that he is in the territory of ... art. Real difficulties in understanding the depths of personality should not, however, be perceived as the fundamental impotence of science in this area. Biographical research in psychology testifies in favor of science. Without turning to the full-blooded inner life with its passions, scientific psychology still looks incomplete, "cut off at the most interesting place."

Experiences are a dynamic effect of the entire personality structure, which is most integrally represented in character and talent (B.G. Ananiev). The dynamics of inner life in its biographical meaning is permeated with ideological motives, it bears the seal of the worldview, the philosophy of life of the individual. In experiences, the value aspect of self-awareness is revealed, personal relationships are actualized, including those to oneself, generalized in reflexive character traits - pride, self-esteem, honor. Reflexive properties, “although ... and are the most recent and dependent on all others, complete character structure and provide it integrity. They are most intimately connected with the goals of life and activity, value orientations, attitudes, performing the function of self-regulation and development control, contributing to the formation and stabilization of the unity of the individual.

Reflective character traits are stable properties of self-consciousness, which in the personal-biographical plan acts as an awareness of oneself as a subject of the life path, responsible for one's destiny - unique, inimitable, the only one. Self-awareness correlates, on the one hand, life plans and potentials of the individual, on the other hand, real achievements in creativity, career, personal life. A mature person understands the natural nature of his path, builds a concept of life, linking the past with the present and future. Self-consciousness is impossible without knowledge of one's own being, accidental and necessary in it, actual and potential, actual and possible. The depth and adequacy of this knowledge is largely determined by the intellectuality and, if you like, the talent of a person.

Character - the integration of personality traits, genetically associated with its tendencies. The system of potencies is integrated in the structure of abilities, and moreover, in talent (see). The psychology of talent is more than the psychology of ability. It's not just the different levels of these potentials. Talent is the unity of abilities based on the worldview, life orientation of the individual. Talent is the effect of individualization of abilities, their fusion with character. Following B.G. Ananiev, we believe that in the concept of "talent" it is not so much the level of abilities that are its components that is important, but their originality, compliance with inclinations, awareness and self-regulation. Character and talent in relation to the life path act as its subjective factors, regulators of the life process, social life. Primarily, however, they themselves are the product of biographical development. The fate of a talented personality, the possibility of its flourishing, the individual features of the structure of talent, the area of ​​application of creative forces depend on historical time, on the class affiliation of the individual, and on the circumstances of the social environment of development. The history of creative activity is inseparable from the civil and personal fate of a person. This is why psychological studies of talent and character studies invariably turn to biographical material.

Being dependent on biography, talent, in turn, leaves an imprint on the fate of the individual. Awareness of one's talent reinforces self-esteem, promotes responsibility for its implementation and development, encourages a person to live in accordance with his vocation. Thus, talent acts as a kind of life imperative. Moreover, a person is aware of the social function of his talent, his duty to solve urgent problems of social life and thereby respond to the demands of modernity. In other words, a person realizes not only his potentials and vocation, but also his social, historical mission - destiny. This happens not only with great people, but with every conscious subject with a sense of social responsibility and a sense of history. Everyone contributes to the historical process, and everyone is irreplaceable to some extent.

Talent, being an imperative of life activity, also serves as its instrument. In literary criticism, the correct idea has been expressed that talent in life-creation is no less valuable than in special types of activity. So, in the new book by Yu.M. Lotman about Pushkin, the poet's life is regarded as a work of genius. "Pushkin entered Russian culture not only as a Poet, but also as a brilliant master of life, a man who was given an unheard of gift to be happy even in the most tragic circumstances." Creativity of life, self-worth worthy of the years lived - the main thesis of G. Vinokur's old work "Biography and Culture".

So, the multilateral connections of the personality structure, represented by talent and character, and the life path determine the place of these integral formations in the circle of biographical problems: they are the result of the life path and its regulators, moreover, they are the basis of life creation.

The study of biographical phenomena has not only theoretical but also practical significance. Understanding the patterns of life and life path, a person can better imagine the best option for his own development, determine his life path. Understanding the role of the individual in planning and implementing the life path contributes to a more responsible attitude towards it, the desire to set serious life goals and achieve their implementation.

Human life is a continuous movement. The line along which a person moves is the path of life. It consists of events that take place throughout life. In other words, it can be called destiny. Each person has his own destiny, which he builds himself. Some people believe that nothing depends on them, and they go with the flow of life, maybe this is so, because there is no confirmation or refutation of this. In any case, a person makes a certain contribution to his own destiny. Well, for people who want to choose their own path in life, a few tips will help.

If you want to choose a life path and not make a mistake, you will have to give yourself the right to make a mistake, because without trying, it is impossible to understand whether it suits you or not. In addition, life goals can change with age and there is nothing surprising if this question interested you at the age of 30, 40 or 60 - the life path can change several times in a life, because only those who do not develop do not change.

Do not forget about the ancient teachings, no matter how strange they may seem. If you pay attention to some exotic stories, you can see that the person himself has nothing to do with choosing his fate. It is formed long before his birth.

Stress has a negative impact on the choice of a life path, since a person who is in an insecure state will not be able to concentrate and make the right choice. An irritated person is very unbalanced, so his opinion is not confident and inaccurate. Depression not only worsens the nervous system, but also negatively affects the life position.

The choice of a life path directly depends on your mood, so you need to smile more often and look positively at all situations. Even from the slightest joy, you need to be able to “squeeze out” all the pleasure. If something did not go according to plan, it is worth remembering the proverb: everything that is not done is for the better.

Almost every person is familiar with the phrase: if you often repeat a thought, then it is realized. Maybe this is so. This option should not be ruled out. If a person wants something, thinks about it, moves towards its realization, then it must be fulfilled. People do everything to fulfill their desires, and only the confident and purposeful manage to fulfill them.

But do not exclude the option that a person chooses his life path. After all, he commits actions that later decide his fate. Also, a significant contribution to the fate of a person is made by others. They can both positively and negatively influence his development, help him in choosing a life position, or vice versa.

Choosing his life path, a person sets himself a goal, to which he approaches throughout his life. The main thing is to correctly set this goal and not retreat in any case. It's important to never stop. Only in this way can success be achieved.

How to choose a life path and not make a mistake

The search for the meaning of life has been of concern to people for many centuries. But, neither the great sages, nor philosophers, nor ordinary people, could not give an answer to this question. In life, we constantly have to make a choice: profession, university, place of work, spouse. How to find your life path so that after many years you do not have the feeling that life has been lived in vain.

First of all, decide what exactly you want from life. It can be a strong, friendly family, a fast-paced and successful career, monotonous everyday life, devoid of violent emotions, or, conversely, a life full of passions and dangerous adventures.

Sometimes we just follow the desire of others (for example, parents), who determine the fate for us. It is not right. Everyone has the right to make their own choices and mistakes. Intervention, even if not by an outsider, can cause significant harm to the psyche and self-esteem. The habit of shifting responsibility for your life to others cannot lead to anything good.

To choose a life path and not make a mistake, decide for yourself what exactly gives you pleasure. Perhaps this is what will push you on the right path in life. Maybe you enjoy painting, or playing music, or talking to children, maybe you like treating people or just doing good deeds. This will be a hint on how to find your life path.

Try to devote as much time as possible to what you love. Do not put duty above your own interests, so you can forever give up your happiness.

Take risks, do stupid things, don't be afraid to change your life. Open your life to something new.

Which movie or literary hero impresses you the most, with whom do you associate yourself. To choose a life path and not make a mistake, select a few options, this will help to establish what you really want from life.

Don't shy away from problems. Overcoming obstacles will only harden you on the difficult path to the intended goal.

And remember, it's never too late to change your life path. Even if at the age of sixty you realized that your life did not suit you at all, and you were doing something completely wrong, you should not despair. It is never too late to change ourselves, and by changing, we ourselves change the world around us.

And finally, do not forget about your loved ones, because their fate is inextricably linked with yours, therefore, they are not at all indifferent to what life path you have chosen for yourself. And if somewhere, in something you made a mistake and regret it, do not be afraid to admit your mistake and move forward.

How to find your creative path

Sometimes it seems to us that all talented people have absorbed talent with their mother's milk and do not spend absolutely any effort to achieve creative heights. This is not entirely true, every talented person is talented in his own way, and it takes years of hard work to develop natural abilities. How to find your creative path? Undoubtedly, every person has talent, but how to find it?

We can live without being aware of the existence of talent in ourselves, and therefore we do not realize the creative abilities and energy inherent in us by nature. It is very good if parents from childhood direct the child on a creative path, engage in his aesthetic education, send him to an art or music school. It is easier for teachers to figure out what the baby is most inclined to.

If the development of creative abilities in childhood was not given enough attention, talent can oversleep for quite a long time. How to understand that you have not realized your creative potential.

The first sign of the need for creativity is boredom. Everyday affairs do not give you pleasure, but you are also reluctant to do anything else. In this case, you need to realize your internal resources, and determine what kind of creativity you have a penchant for.

There are several ways to find your creative path.

You need to remember what you were fond of in childhood, what business brought you joy and pleasure. Get out of your head thoughts about the profitability of this business, just enjoy the process. A new hobby will be a great vacation and fill your life with energy and happiness.

If the first method did not help, try turning to your subconscious. Psychologists say that in our subconscious you can find the answer to almost any question, you just need to ask it correctly and hear the answer. Take a comfortable position, relax and look inward. Mentally ask the question that concerns you. Don't expect an answer right away. It may arise as some idea or thought after a few days.

If the previous two options did not bring results, you should use this technique. To choose your creative path and not make a mistake, just watch the people around you and note for yourself what you admire or just like. Write down all the things that fascinate you, and after a while look at the notes you have made and choose what exactly you would like to devote your time to.

Do not give up in the face of difficulties, only hard work can achieve mastery.

The life path is an individual history of a person. As noted by B.G. Ananiev "a subjective picture of the life path is built according to individual and social development, measured in biographical and historical dates." The specificity of the life path lies in its historical nature, understood as the inclusion of a person's life in the historical process. On this occasion, S.L. Rubinstein writes: "Not only humanity, but every person is to some extent a participant and subject of the history of mankind and in a certain sense writes history himself."

And in order to understand his life path, a person must consider and answer the questions: "Who would I be? What have I done? Who have I become?"

As S.L. Rubinshtein, it would be wrong to think that in his deeds, in the products of his activity, his labor, a person is only revealed, being already ready before and apart from them and remaining the same after them as he was. A person who has done something significant becomes, in a certain sense, a different person. Of course, in order to do anything significant, you need to have the internal capacity to do so. However, these possibilities and potencies stall and die if they are not realized; only to the extent that a person is subjectively, objectively realized in the products of his labor, does he grow and form through them.

When we see how much of himself a person has invested in what he has done, we feel that behind the work there is a person whose personality is of interest. Thus, "in the activity of a person, in his practical and theoretical affairs, - notes S.L. Rubinshtein, the mental, spiritual development of a person is not only manifested, but also improved." This is the key to understanding the development of personality - how it is formed, making its life path.

The first and largest in terms of its theoretical potential was the formulation of the problem of the life path by S. Buhler, who made an attempt to integrate biological, psychological and historical life times in a single coordinate system. She outlined three aspects of the study of the life path of the individual:

study of the objective conditions of life, the main events of life and behavior in these conditions (biological and biographical aspect);

study of the history of the formation and change of values, experiences, evolution of the inner world of a person (historical and psychological aspect);

study of the history of human creativity, products and results of its activities (psychological and social aspect).

The driving force behind the development of personality is, according to S. Buhler, the innate desire for self-fulfillment, self-fulfillment - the realization of "oneself". The concept of self-realization is close in meaning to the concept of self-realization. But self-realization is only the beginning of self-realization.

The life path in the concept of S. Buhler is considered as a process consisting of five life cycles (phases of life). Each phase of life is based on the development of target personality structures - self-determination.

The first phase (from birth to 16-20 years) is considered a period preceding self-determination, and, as it were, is taken out of the life path.

The second (from 16-20 to 25-30 years) is the period of a person's trials in various activities, his search for a life partner, i.e. his attempt to self-determine, to predict his future.

The third phase (from 25-30 to 45-50 years old) is the period of maturity. During this period, his expectations from life are real, he soberly assesses his capabilities, his self-esteem reflects the results of his life path as a whole, the first results of his life and his achievements.

The fourth phase (from 45-50 to 65-70 years old) is the phase of an aging organism. A career is coming to an end or nearing completion. Adult children leave the family, biological decay sets in.

The tendency to dreams, memories increases, the setting of long-term goals of life disappears.

The fifth phase (65-70 years before death) is old age. Most people leave their professional activities, the inner world of the elderly is turned to the past, they think about the future with anxiety, anticipating a near end.

All life cycles are interconnected. The fact of the beginning of activity is of fundamental importance for the life path of the individual. As noted by B.G. Ananiev, the development of a person from birth to maturity coincides with the change in upbringing, education and training of an emerging personality and is perspectively focused on preparing a person for independent life. In genetic terms, this preparatory phase is very important, since education is the main form of social management of the process of personality formation, the subject of cognition and behavior. "During this period, a person's readiness for independent work, self-government is also formed."

The most detailed and recognized in psychology periodization of life cycles belongs to E. Erickson, who distinguishes eight stages in the life path of a person. Each stage is accompanied by a crisis, which is a turning point in life, resulting from the achievement of a certain level of mental development and a change in relations with other people and the world. As a result, a person acquires something new, characteristic of a given cycle of personality development. These personal neoplasms themselves do not arise from scratch, their appearance is prepared at the previous stages of personality development.

Being formed, a person acquires not only advantages, but also disadvantages. In his concept of personal development, E. Erickson describes only the extreme lines of personal development: normal and abnormal. In their pure form, they are rare, but they contain possible intermediate options for a person's personal development.

In accordance with the theory of E. Erickson, the foundations of personal development are laid at the first stage (stages of trust - distrust), which lasts from birth to 18 months. During this period, social interaction develops, the positive pole of which is trust, and the negative pole is distrust. The degree of trust depends on the care shown to the child, affection, attention to his needs, etc. Lack of loving care, proper attention and care develop distrust, timidity and suspicion. Trust-distrust the child carries with him to other stages of development, and in subsequent stages the child may overcome the initial distrust, but may also lose trust in others.

The second stage (autonomy of shame) lasts from one and a half to three to four years. During this period, on the basis of the development of motor and mental abilities, the independence of the child develops. He strives to do everything himself, is active. The main positive result of development at this stage is the achievement of a sense of independence. But vital activity can also be flawed, as a result of which the child is faced with disapproval from others. Too strict or inconsistent external control makes the child doubt the significance of his personality, form shyness, self-doubt and a sense of shame.

The third stage (initiative - guilt) begins at about four years (up to 6 years). During this period, the child has the first ideas about how he can become a person. The cognitive activity of the child, curiosity develops intensively. The plans that he constantly makes and which he is allowed to carry out, contribute to the development of the initiative. But if the parents show the child that his initiative, curiosity is undesirable and harmful, the games are stupid, the questions are intrusive, he begins to feel guilty and takes this feeling of guilt and humility to the next stages.

The fourth stage (industriousness or inferiority) lasts from about six to eleven years of age. During this period, the child is included in a systematic organized activity, which he carries out independently. During this period, the child is trying to win recognition, earn approval, carrying out educational, labor activities. He develops industriousness. But if diligence is not formed in a child, then the level of development of skills in educational, labor activity is lower than in others, low status in situations of joint activity contributes to the emergence of a feeling of inadequacy, incompetence and inferiority.

Fifth stage (personal identification or role uncertainty). During the transition to the fifth stage (12-18 years old), a teenager matures physiologically and mentally, he forms new views on the world, a new approach to life and himself. There is an active search for oneself, playing various roles. In search of personal identity, a person decides what is important to him, develops norms for assessing his own behavior and the behavior of other people. This process is associated with the realization of one's own value and competence, the development of plans for the future. If a person successfully copes with the task of psychosocial identification, then he gets a sense of who he is, where he is and where he is going. Failure to identify can lead to status uncertainty, confusion of roles, self-doubt, problems in self-determination.

The sixth stage (intimacy-isolation) begins at 20 and ends by 45 years. By closeness, E. Erickson understands not only physical closeness, but also the ability to take care of another person, establish trusting relationships, and love. Success or failure at this stage depends on how well the person has gone through the other stages. Social conditions can make it easier or harder to achieve intimacy. But if a person does not achieve intimacy, loneliness becomes his lot - a state of a person in which he has no one to share his life with, no one to take care of.

The seventh stage (general humanity - self-absorption). This stage covers the period from 45 to 60 years. E. Erickson calls universal humanity the ability of a person to be interested in other people, to think about the life of future generations. A person feels pride in his children, satisfaction with a full and varied life, he creatively works on himself. This period is characterized by high productivity in various fields. The one who has not developed a sense of belonging to humanity focuses on himself, his main concern is the satisfaction of his needs, his own comfort.

The eighth stage (fullness of life-despair) is experienced during aging, after 60 years. This is the stage when a person achieves wholeness, he feels the fullness and usefulness of his life and the realization that life was not in vain. Death is inevitable, but not terrible.

If a person is not satisfied with the life he has lived, realizes the meaninglessness of his existence, then he ends his life in fear of death and in despair.

B.G. Ananiev noted that the desire to express the milestones of a person's life path in chronological dates is justified. Each phase of the life path: preparatory, start, culmination, finish - characterize the change in the subject of activity, personality. However, the conditionality of the average values ​​of the climax does not require proof. Decreased productivity of a scientist, artist, engineer, writer, etc. can be temporary, and after a decline or a creative decline, a new upsurge, a new climax comes. In addition, there is a certain dependence of the climax on the start, and the start on the upbringing of the personality. To the same extent, we can assume the existence of a connection between the climax and the finish.

The life periodization of a personality and its life structures are dependent on the personality itself, on its capabilities and the meaning of life. The meaning of life is a generalization by a person of his tasks, opportunities and place in life, i.e. human life concept.

The implementation by the individual of his life plans, tasks is the self-actualization of the individual. Self-actualization is "full use of talents, abilities, opportunities, etc." - notes A. Maslow. He wrote: "I imagine a self-actualized person not as an ordinary person to whom something has been added, but as an ordinary person from whom nothing has been taken away." He names the characteristics of a self-actualized personality:

a more effective perception of reality and a more comfortable relationship to it;

acceptance of oneself, others, nature;

spontaneity, simplicity, naturalness;

task-centered (as opposed to self-centered);

autonomy, independence from culture and environment;

constant freshness of the assessment;

a sense of belonging, unity with others;

deeper interpersonal relationships;

difference between means and ends, good and evil;

philosophical, non-hostile sense of humor;

democratic character structure.

Self-actualization, as A. Maslow notes, is not the absence of problems, but the movement from transient and unreal problems to real problems.

Self-actualization plays an important role in the entire life path of the individual and at the same time determines it.

Many authors believe that a self-actualizing personality is a person who has the freedom to create himself and his life, turning the most routine activity into a holiday, into an exciting game. E. Fromm defined freedom as the ability to make a conscious choice. One of the steps to freedom is the ability to love. Many people do not know, do not understand that we cannot love others until we love ourselves. And to love yourself is to accept yourself with all the weaknesses and shortcomings. The same attitude should be with other people. We, on the other hand, are subject to illusions that one can love only for perfection, therefore love is replaced by power over a person, by the desire to correct others.

Thus, a person striving for self-actualization has a positive life path, which is characterized by faith in himself, in his Self, adequate self-assessment of his qualities, a high level of self-management by his actions and deeds. The beginning of the path to self-actualization is the development of the ability for self-knowledge, self-respect and self-confidence.

As we have seen, a person is not born as a personality; he becomes a person. This development of the personality is essentially different from the development of the organism, which takes place in the process of simple organic maturation. The essence of the human personality finds its final expression in the fact that it not only develops like any organism, but also has its own history.

Unlike other living beings, humanity has a history, and not just repeating cycles of development, because the activity of people, changing reality, is objectified in the products of material and spiritual culture, which are transmitted from generation to generation. Through them, a succession is created between generations, thanks to which subsequent generations do not repeat, but continue the work of the previous ones and rely on what their predecessors have done, even when they come into conflict with them.

What applies to humanity as a whole cannot but apply in a certain sense to each individual. Not only humanity, but every person is to some extent a participant and subject of the history of mankind, and in a certain sense he himself has a history. Every person has his own history, since the development of the individual is mediated by the result of his activity, just as the development of mankind is mediated by the products of social practice, through which the historical continuity of generations is established. Therefore, in order to understand the path of one's development in its true human essence, a person must consider it in a certain aspect: what was I? - What I've done? - what have I become? It would be wrong to think that in one's deeds, in the products of one's activity, one's labor, a person only reveals himself, being already ready before and apart from them and remaining the same after them as he was. A person who has done something significant becomes, in a certain sense, a different person. Of course, it is also correct that in order to do something significant, you need to have some kind of internal capabilities for this. However, these possibilities and potentialities of a person stall and die if they are not realized; only to the extent that a person is objectively realized in the products of his labor does he grow and form through them. Between the personality and the products of its labor, between what it is and what it has done, there is a peculiar dialectic. It is not at all necessary that a person exhaust himself in the work that he has done; on the contrary, people about whom we feel that they have exhausted themselves by what they have done usually lose purely personal interest for us. At the same time, when we see that no matter how much a person has invested himself in what he has done, he has not exhausted himself with what he has done, we feel that a living person is behind the deed, whose personality is of particular interest. Such people have an internally freer attitude towards their work, towards the products of their activity; without exhausting themselves in them, they retain inner strength and opportunities for new achievements.

The point, then, is not to reduce the history of human life to a series of external affairs. Least of all, such a reduction is acceptable for psychology, for which the inner mental content and mental development of the personality are essential; but the essence of the matter is that the very mental development of the personality is mediated by its practical and theoretical activity, its deeds. The line from what a man was at one stage of his history to what he became at the next runs through what he has done. In the activity of a person, in his deeds, practical and theoretical, the mental, spiritual development of a person is not only manifested, but also accomplished.

This is the key to understanding the development of personality - how it is formed, making its life path. Her psychic abilities are not only a prerequisite, but also the result of her actions and deeds. In them, it is not only revealed, but also formed. The thought of a scientist is formed as he formulates it in his works, the thought of a public, political figure - in his deeds. If his deeds are born from his thoughts, plans, plans, then his thoughts themselves are generated by his deeds. The consciousness of a historical figure is formed and develops as an awareness of what happens through him and with his participation, like when a sculptor's chisel carves a human image from a block of stone, it determines not only the features of the depicted, but also the artistic face of the sculptor himself. The artist's style is an expression of his individuality, but his very individuality as an artist is formed in his work on the style of his works. The character of a person is manifested in his actions, but in his actions he is formed; the character of a person is both a prerequisite and the result of his real behavior in specific life situations; conditioning his behavior, he is in the same behavior and develops. A bold man acts boldly and a noble man behaves noblely; but, in order to become brave, you need to do bold deeds in your life, and in order to become truly noble, you need to commit deeds that would put this stamp of nobility on a person. A disciplined person usually behaves in a disciplined manner, but how does one become disciplined? Only by subordinating your behavior from day to day, from hour to hour, to unswerving discipline.

In the same way, in order to master the heights of science and art, certain abilities are needed, of course. But, being realized in some activity, abilities are not only revealed in it; they are formed and developed in it. Between the abilities of a person and the products of his activity, his labor, there is a profound relationship and the closest interaction. A person's abilities develop and work out on what he does. The practice of life provides at every step the richest factual material, testifying to how people's abilities are developed and developed at work, in study and work.

For a person, his biography, a kind of history of his "life path" is not an accidental, external and psychologically indifferent circumstance. It is not for nothing that a person’s biography includes, first of all, where and what he studied, where and how he worked, what he did, his works. This means that the history of a person, which should characterize him, includes, first of all, what he mastered in the course of education from the results of the previous historical development of mankind and what he himself did for its further advance - how he joined in the succession of historical development.

In those cases when, being included in the history of mankind, an individual performs historical deeds, i.e. affairs that are included not only in his personal history, but also in the history of society - in the history of science itself, and not only the scientific education and mental development of a given person, in the history of art, and not only the aesthetic education and development of a given personality, etc. - she becomes a historical personality in the proper sense of the word. But every person, every human personality has its own history. Every person has a history insofar as he is included in the history of mankind. It can even be said that a person is only a person insofar as he has his own history. In the course of this individual history, there are also "events" - key moments and turning points in the individual's life path, when a person's life path is determined by the adoption of a particular decision for a more or less long period.

At the same time, everything that a person does is mediated by his attitude towards other people and therefore is saturated with social human content. In this regard, the things that a person does usually outgrow him, since they are public affairs. But at the same time, a person outgrows his business, since his consciousness is a social consciousness. It is determined not only by a person's attitude to the products of his own activity, it is formed by his attitude to all areas of historically developing human practice, human culture. Through the objective products of his labor and creativity, a person becomes a person, because through the products of his labor, through everything that he does, a person always correlates with a person.

Behind every theory there is always, ultimately, some kind of ideology; Behind every psychological theory is some general conception of man, which receives in it a more or less specialized refraction. Thus, a certain concept of the human personality stood behind traditional, purely contemplative, intellectualized psychology, in particular, associative psychology, which depicted mental life as a smooth flow of ideas, as a process flowing entirely in one plane, regulated by the clutch of associations, like an uninterruptedly working machine in which all parts attached to each other; and in exactly the same way, its own conception of man as a machine, or rather, an appendage to a machine, lies at the basis of behavioral psychology.

Its own concept of the human personality is behind all the constructions of our psychology. This is a real living person of flesh and blood; internal contradictions are not alien to him, he has not only sensations, ideas, thoughts, but also needs and drives; there are conflicts in his life. But the sphere and the real significance of the higher levels of consciousness are expanding and strengthening in him. These higher levels of conscious life are not externally built on top of the lower ones; they penetrate deeper and deeper into them and rebuild them; human needs are increasingly becoming truly human needs; without losing anything in their natural naturalness, they themselves, and not just the ideal manifestations of man built on top of them, are increasingly turning into manifestations of the historical, social, truly human essence of man.

This development of man's consciousness, its growth and its rooting in him, take place in the process of man's real activity. Human consciousness is inextricably linked with reality, and efficiency - with consciousness. Only due to the fact that a person, driven by his needs and interests, objectively objectively generates ever new and more and more perfect products of his labor, in which he objectifies himself, all new areas, all higher levels of consciousness are formed and developed in him. Through the products of his labor and his creativity, which are always the products of social labor and social creativity, since man himself is a social being, a conscious personality develops, its conscious life expands and strengthens. It is also a whole psychological concept in a folded form. Behind it, as its real prototype, looms the image of a human creator who, by changing nature and rebuilding society, changes his own nature, who in his social practice, generating new social relations and in collective labor creating a new culture, forges a new, truly human the shape of a person.

It can be noted that the evolution of scientific ideas about the life path of a person to a certain extent reflected the social situation in our society. The concept of the life path and the idea of ​​the subject of life were proposed by Rubinstein in the mid-1930s, but then they disappeared from the horizon of psychological science for a long time. They did not develop further in Soviet psychology because of the social atmosphere that made up the characteristics of our society and influenced the development of the humanities: the denial of any role for the individual. Rubinstein turned to solving these problems in the 1950s, during the most difficult period of his life and the life of society, when these scientific problems became acute social problems. In the 60s, the Soviet psychologist B. G. Ananiev took up specific studies of the life path [See: Ananiev B. G. Man as an object of knowledge. L., 1969. The studies of B. G. Ananiev were continued by his students (see: Karsaevskaya T. V. Progress of society and problems of the biosocial development of modern man. M., 1978; Loginova N. A. Development of personality and its life path / / The principle of development in psychology. M., 1978). For him, the main characteristic of life is the age of a person. Age, according to Ananiev, connects the social and biological into special "quanta" - periods of the life path ... .. In the life path, he singles out cognition, activity and communication through which the personality is manifested and studied. Ananiev introduced the concept of social achievements of the individual and singled out several periods of her life: childhood (upbringing, training and development), youth (training, education and communication), maturity (professional and social self-determination of the individual, creating a family and carrying out socially useful activities). The period of maturity is the "peak" of a career. The last period is old age, i.e. withdrawal from socially useful and professional activities while maintaining activity in the family sphere.

But since in the public consciousness of those years, due to the tendency towards standardization, towards the unification of people, the idea of ​​the typical life of all people dominated, it was also reflected in the concept of Ananiev, who, on the one hand, sought to emphasize the individuality of a person, but on the other, he still could not move away from the trend of unification, standardization of life. The concept of the life path, according to Ananiev, took into account the social and age periodization of life rather than the personal one itself. He failed to reveal the individual aspect of life because he did not turn to the study of the activity of the personality itself, which forms its own, unique life line. At the same time, Ananiev's concept was a necessary prerequisite for the subsequent discussion of the question of the typical and the individual in the life path of the individual.

Today we have the opportunity to reveal the individual characteristics of a person's life path. But for this it is necessary not only to establish the correspondence of certain stages, events and circumstances of life to certain features and traits of the personality, but to reveal the causal relationship of activity, personality development and changes in her life. We cannot dive into the description of the individual life story of each person, because each story is unique. In addition, the initial dependence of the individual on the objective characteristics of life as a social process remains. But a person is included in the totality of the causes and consequences of his life, not only as dependent on external circumstances, but also as actively transforming them, moreover, as forming, within certain limits, the position and line of his life.

Personality does not just change throughout the life path, not only goes through different age stages. As the subject of life, it acts as its organizer, in which, first of all, the individual character of life is manifested. Individuality is not only the uniqueness of life, which is usually emphasized by the concept of fate as supposedly independent of man. The individuality of life consists in the ability of a person to organize it according to his own plan, in accordance with his inclinations, aspirations (they are reflected in the concept of “life style” [See: Life style of a person. Kyiv, 1982.]). The less a person thinks through, comprehends his life, the less he seeks to organize its course, determine its main direction, the more, as a rule, his life becomes imitative, and therefore similar to the life of other people, standard.

Different people are the subjects of life to different extents, because they strive to varying degrees and can really organize their lives as a whole, connect its separate plans, spheres, and single out the main direction. The organization of life is sometimes associated with planning, with understanding life prospects, the future. Of course, planning is one of the important components of the organization of life, but it is not limited to one planning, foresight. As already noted, modern social life presents a person with many unrelated requirements, he always finds himself in different situations that in one way or another require him, if not participation, then presence. The ability to organize life lies in not succumbing to this life flow, not to dissolve and drown in it, forgetting about your own goals and tasks. Therefore, the organization of life is also the ability to connect and implement cases, situations in such a way that they obey a single plan, concentrate on the main direction, give them a desirable definite course.

People differ precisely in the degree of influence on the course of their own lives, mastery of numerous life situations that can “split” a person into unrelated parts. At one time, the Soviet psychologist L. S. Vygotsky introduced the concept of “mastering” lower mental functions to designate higher mental functions. For us, the concept of the subject of life presupposes an ever-increasing degree and expanding space of such “mastery”, appropriations. First, the child masters his actions to give them the right direction, then through actions - mastering situations, then on this basis - building relationships, and through their regulation, the possibility of organizing life as an integral process, taking into account its variability and resistance, increases more and more.

The ability of a person to regulate, organize his life path as a whole, subordinate to his goals, values, is the highest level and the true optimal quality of the subject of life. It simultaneously allows a person to become relatively independent, free in relation to external requirements, pressure, external "temptations". But this is only an ideal, but in reality, different people show a different measure of the integrity of the life path, a different degree of correspondence of the personality's actions to its values, intentions [See: Tome G. Theoretical and empirical foundations of the psychology of the development of human life // The principle of development in psychology. M., 1978.].

Some people depend on the course of life events, barely keeping up with them, others - foresee, organize, direct them. Some fall under the power of external events, they manage to involve in communication alien to their character, and even in affairs. They easily forget about their own goals, plans, doing unexpected things for themselves. Others, on the contrary, live only by plans, dreams, create their own logic of the inner world, go into it, so that external events have no meaning for them. They are also unable to organize their real lives. Such a different nature of the ability to organize life makes it possible to distinguish certain types of personalities from the point of view of their way of life. With this approach, we will no longer see an infinite number of different characters and an infinite number of individual manifestations of the moods of each person, but differences in an essential basis - the ability to organize life, the ability to concentrate one's forces and actions at a decisive moment, to coordinate situations and events in the main direction. Therefore, we consider different ways of organizing life as the ability of different types of individuals to spontaneously or consciously build their own life strategies.

Types of human activity are the ways, characteristic for him, of connecting the external and internal tendencies of life by the personality, turning them into the driving forces of his life. One can trace how in some these tendencies coincide (in whole or in part), support each other, while in others they turn out to be disunited. Some mainly rely on socio-psychological tendencies, i.e. surrounding people, using social situations; others - on internal opportunities, rely on their own strength in life, act independently; still others combine external circumstances and internal trends in an optimal way; the fourth constantly resolve contradictions between them. Under all conditions, this typology reveals not just the properties of each character, the mental characteristics of the individual. First of all, it allows you to compare the features, the way of the life movement of the individual, to reveal the ability to solve life's contradictions. The coincidence of external and internal tendencies in the life of a person or their clash, opposition characterize the way of organizing life and the type of personality.

The life goals and tasks of a person of one type turn out to be entirely focused on resolving life contradictions, which, strictly speaking, she herself creates by the inconsistency of her actions or, on the contrary, by excessive activity, suppressing the initiatives of others. She cannot solve them, because she is unable to change her way of life and understand that she herself is the cause of them. Another type of personality is involved in conflicts, which, although they unfold in a particular group (in the family, in the production team), are an expression of deeper social contradictions. In this case, a person either gains experience and social maturity, which then contribute to the organization of personal life, upholding its values, or is “ground up” by an insoluble conflict and then tries to separate his personal life from public life.

The highest personal qualities, such as consciousness, activity, psychological maturity, integrativity, are manifested and formed in the life path of the individual, in the specific process of its change, movement, development. The activity of the personality is manifested in how it transforms circumstances, directs the course of life, forms a life position. The dynamics of a person's life ceases to be a random alternation of events, it begins to depend on his activity, on his ability to organize and give events the desired direction.

The life path is subject to periodization not only by age (childhood, youth, maturity, old age), but also by personal, which, starting from youth, already ceases to coincide with age. One person goes through one social stage at an earlier age, another at a later age; the young man turns out to be wise as an old man, and the old man turns out to be youthfully immature. The personality acts as the driving force of vital dynamics, intensity, content of his life.

Its quality as a subject of life is manifested not in arbitrary actions, actions (I do what I want), but in actions that take into account the resistance of circumstances, their discrepancy with the direction desired for the individual, their opposition. Therefore, inner intentions, goals are tested for strength in life, and a person must be aware of their strength.

The Georgian school of psychologists has concretized these general considerations on the following example. A group of young people formed a certain idea of ​​the future profession, they made their choice, there was an attitude to enter the institute. The other group did not have such an attitude, since they had little idea of ​​the profession, their abilities, and opportunities. But how strong this attitude is, how much it not only exists in the mind, but also determines the nature of life actions, how much it resists external adverse events, it turned out to be possible to reveal only when young people began to take exams at the institute. Really stubborn, persistent organizers of their lives can be called those young people who entered this institute for several years in a row, despite previous failures, and finally realized their goal.

Psychologists have identified many personal characteristics that seem to confirm the presence of activity in a person: these are motivations for action, claims, abilities, intentions, orientation, interests, etc. But the difficulties of psychologists in the study of personality have so far been associated with the fact that these characteristics and personality traits have been studied on their own, outside of life's application, often under artificial conditions or by artificial methods. This is not to say that these methods did not provide knowledge about personality. However, the real criterion for the activity of a person (motives, desires, intentions) is her ability (or inability) to realize these aspirations in actions, in deeds, in her life path.

It is necessary to constantly identify how the intentions, claims, personality traits are expressed in the life manifestations of the personality and what consequences certain ways of life have for the inner world and personal makeup, how its motives, character change, how abilities develop. For example, do failures build character or weaken or break it? In other words, it is necessary to know to what extent the life practice of a person (and not her individual actions) corresponds to her intentions, plans, and values. The degree of coincidence or discrepancy between life practice and the values ​​of one's "I", abilities, aspirations of a person can serve as an indicator of the integrity or disunity, inconsistency of personal structures, the prospects or regressiveness of their development. That is why the study of personality and its life path is important both for psychological science and for people who realize, apply, test their abilities, character, inclinations in real life achievements [See: Activity and life position of a person. M., 1988; The life path of the individual. Kyiv, 1987].

We call all the listed abilities to organize life, to solve its contradictions, to build value relations a life position, which is a special life and personal formation. The method of self-determination of a personality in life, generalized on the basis of its life values ​​and meeting the basic needs of the personality, can be called a life position. It is the result of the interaction of the individual with her own life, her personal achievement. Being such a result, the life position begins to determine all subsequent life directions of the individual. It becomes the potential for its development, the totality of its objective and subjective possibilities, which open up precisely on the basis of the position taken by a person, a kind of support, a fortress.

In the 1970s, the concept of an active life position appeared in socio-political literature. Sociologists have tried to define this concept through a set of roles that a person performs in life, but this designation does not reveal how a person realizes his life roles (it is important not only that a woman is a mother, but what kind of mother she is; it is not important that a person is a teacher, but what kind of teacher he is, etc. [See: Sardzhveladze N. I. Personal position and representation of the life path among young people // Psychology of personality and way of life. M., 1987.]). In our opinion, the life position of a person is the totality of his attitudes towards life. (Psychologist V. N. Myasishchev developed a theory of personality, in which it is defined through a set of relationships.) But a person’s relationships are not only her subjective opinions and views, they are ways of her relationship with other people and reality. V. N. Myasishchev understood relationships as a set of subjectively significant for the individual, and a life position implies not only the existence of subjective relationships, but also their effective, practical implementation by the individual in life.

Above we talked about one of the main attitudes to life - about responsibility. In addition to this relationship, which can be called a kind of life principle, there are many other relationships: relationships with other people (including relatives), which are distinguished by either indifference or care; attitude to work, to one's profession, to oneself (more specifically, to the place that one managed to occupy in society, in the professional sphere), etc. Feeling fear of life's difficulties, a person can take a contemplative life position, move away from the problems of loved ones, shy away from helping them, caring for them. His professional position may turn out to be similar: to work to the best of his ability, not to set any tasks, to do only what is required. Unfortunately, such life positions have been the most typical in recent times.

The position of another type of personality consists, for example, in a clear separation of one's own life world, tasks that are interesting to him, important affairs for him from the affairs and interests (official, family, etc.) of those around him. He consistently and actively implements the relations that are significant for him (connections, contacts), while he maintains the insignificant ones “for the sake of appearance”. This position of a young man is sometimes encountered by a woman; she seeks in vain to strengthen, to win his attitude towards herself, not realizing that he can have the same relationship with anyone else in her place. This person will easily change one job for another, one friend for another, if the new environment will help him achieve his goals. This is an egocentric (if not egoistic) life position.

For a long time and persistently, psychologists and even sociologists (for example, Moreno) tried to single out and study subjective relations as the main factor, i.e. likes and dislikes of people. However, with this approach, the real relations of people fell out of sight, and scientists were captured by subjectivism, since sympathies and antipathies are often unreasonable and even unconscious. Although they affect life relations, they cannot replace the real objective relations of people (business relations of people, as a rule, are not built on sympathy or antipathy). “Life,” wrote Rubinstein, “is a process in which man himself objectively participates. The main criterion of his attitude to life is the construction in himself and in others of new, more and more perfect, internal, and not just external forms of human life and human relations ”[Rubinshtein S. L. Problems of General Psychology. S. 379.].

The life position of a person can also be determined through its activity, but then it is important not only to reveal activity as a psychological feature of the personality itself and its consciousness, but also to show how it realized its capabilities, abilities, its consciousness in its life position. It is about how much she applied her abilities, to what extent she consciously lives.

Above were examples of fairly consistent positions. However, their bifurcated, contradictory variants are also possible. A person considers himself a principled person, likes to talk about his principles, but he really uses his professional position for his own benefit, he can deceive, let him down, do it out of spite. His "double game" ultimately leads to one loss in addition to material acquisitions (the respect of relatives and colleagues is lost, the strength of professional status, professional skills, authority, etc.).

Another type of contradictory position is manifested in a kind of life “throwing”: a person either decides to advance his affairs (dissertation defense, “career”), then closes himself in the family circle, postponing the first until “better times”, then abandons both, deciding start life "again", changes family, job. The position of such a person (and himself) is unreliable, unstable, chaotic, although in every undertaking he undertakes to “settle”, “arrange”, “organize” everything. He will never know until the end what he wanted and what he achieved in life.

Life position has an initial objective characteristic - the participation of the individual in areas where social life is most intense, promising, where many opportunities are concentrated. Some people start life with what others achieve only towards the end of their lives. This is the cultural environment, and educational opportunities, and a more or less favorable social situation in which they find themselves, regardless of their will and efforts. But there is also a “poor social environment”, or an environment devoid of significant opportunities and events. Getting into such conditions, a person finds himself in a hopeless life position, which objectively does not contribute to his development. But it also depends on a person as a subject whether he achieves higher successes, whether he achieves more optimal conditions. Personality as a subject of life is characterized by aspiration, focus on developing, more optimal areas of life, the need for one's own development.

When we talk about the role of social conditions in the life of an individual (with equal principles of labor, rights, freedoms, etc.), they can also turn out to be more or less favorable for his development (on time and in the best educational institution, education received, favorable opportunities for mastering a profession, etc.) [See: Parygin B.D. Scientific and technological progress and the problem of self-realization of the individual // Personality psychology and lifestyle.]. More favorable conditions, in turn, can increase the activity of a person who implements them more intensively (than another under the same conditions) in professional activities, supplementing them with their own personal efforts and abilities, which together form an active life position.

However, many examples can be cited from the life of the families of prominent scientists, artists, i.e. people who provided their children with the initial optimal conditions for development, from which it is clear how the protection of parents when entering an institute, a job, etc. paralyze their own motivation, the needs of a young person. These favorable conditions still have to be “consistent”, coincide with the internal needs, opportunities, and activity of children. Sometimes a young person gets so much that it closes the prospect of his own development and movement for him, deprives him of the motivation to achieve, the need to live at his own peril and risk. That is why it is necessary to talk about the proportionality of objective and subjective moments in life relations and the position of the individual.

And in the absence of favorable social conditions, a person can, thanks to his activity, achieve a promising life position (break out of the provinces, from the professional traditions of the family, enter the best educational institution in the country, master the profession perfectly, combine study and work, etc.).

A life position is not only life relationships, but also a way of their implementation that meets (or does not meet) the needs, values ​​of the individual. A person may have active life aspirations, high moral values, but the way of organizing life (sometimes inability, sometimes fear, sometimes passivity in implementation) may contradict these initial “good intentions”, his life position turns out to be inconsistent with these aspirations, needs. Then he either begins to justify himself in his own eyes, or tries to change this position.

S. L. Rubinstein gives an analysis of his life position in his diaries. Due to the sudden illness of his father, who lost the practice of law and the opportunity to provide for the family financially, he very early (at first morally and psychologically, and then practically in life) became the eldest in the family, the support of his parents and brothers. The position of seniority and the responsibility associated with it became his leading position for the rest of his life, determined his relationship with both those close to him and those "far away", manifested itself both in his personal and scientific life.

A life position is a way of social life developed by a person under given conditions, a place in a profession, a way of self-expression. Unlike subjective relations (meaning, picture, and even the concept of life), a life position is a set of realized life relations, values, ideals and the found nature of their implementation, which determines the further course of life.

If the basic life relations of a person are integrated, meet his initial intentions, then his position is characterized by integrity, purposefulness and even harmony. If the main relationships are not interconnected, and the way they are implemented does not correspond to them, then such a life position can be called unstable, uncertain, and the person is insecure. Such a person is not ready for life changes, surprises, life difficulties.

There are such options for a life position when it is divorced from real life. This happens with creative individuals when they cannot realize themselves in science or art, or with people who purely outwardly, superficially participate in practical life and actually take a position of non-participation. Their life relationships are random, but this is masked by their own illusions.

A life position is a certain established formation that has its own relatively fixed structure, which does not exclude its variability, the possibility of development. A life position can be characterized at different levels of concreteness, ranging from the empirical-descriptive to the essential-abstract. An important characteristic of it is the contradictions in life, which, as a result of this or that position, are either aggravated or smoothed out. For example, a person is maximally active, but cannot realize it in this way, and, conversely, a person lacks readiness, activity, maturity, it would seem, in the most optimal life situation. Easily obtained material goods corrupt the personality, develop a dangerous illusion of all-accessibility and permissiveness, form an attitude towards an easy life. Life position is characterized both by contradictions and by the method of their solution (constructive, passive, superficial, etc.), which shows whether a person is able to combine his individual psychological, status, age-related capabilities and claims with the conditions of life, whether he is able to consistently compose these terms.

In the era of stagnation, the life positions of many people, paradoxically as it may seem, did not conflict with social demands due to internal compromises that people (consciously or unconsciously) made. However, the personal price they had to pay for this compromise consisted in deep personal losses and in the degradation of the personality. Taking the position “just to survive”, “get by”, people, while maintaining well-being in life, lost their own goals, ideals, courage and breadth of nature, became small townsfolk. Wanting to preserve the possibility of creativity and self-realization in art, a person fell into dependence on people alien to art, believed incompetent assessments, found himself bound by mutual responsibility with those who speculated on his talent and gradually lost his creative inspiration, turned into an artisan.

Abulkhanova-Slavskaya K. A. Strategy of life. - M .: Thought, 1991. - p. 10-75