Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
Dr. Eric Berne said that we've all got scripts. The scripts tell us what to say, how to act, and how to feel - or, in Berne's terms, how to structure time and give and get strokes.
Scripts take the form of the responses, attitudes and values that we learned from our parents. They are the voices in our heads.
Scripts restrict and control us.
Contrasted to scripts are permissions. Permissions allow independent action and lead to open-ended, spontaneous lives. Scripts lead to closed lives.
Most people are scripted to one degree or another. Most people have some permissions.
Scripted people tend to stick with their scripts. Some scripted people (maybe smarter people with bad scripts) are prompted to get free and achieve some autonomy. They obtain permission to live. However, this is usually accompanied by a series of existential crises because scripts are hard to break.
Berne seems clear that unhappy, unsuccessful people have bad scripts. He does not seem sure if happy, successful people have good scripts or just permissions to do well.
Berne's book is wide ranging. It is highly organized with many exceptions to the organization. Basic premises are restated in various ways. This report does not attempt to summarize everything. It concentrates on the basic stages of script development.
Link To Complete Report
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