Three studies are reviewed in which an in‐depth life‐history approach was used, and in which a strong connection was demonstrated between self‐understanding and resilience. Subjects were civil rights workers in the South, survivors of childhood cancer, and adolescents whose parents had serious affective disorders. Dimensions of the concept of self‐understanding which are evident in all three investigations are explored, and the study of resilience as part of an integrative approach to the understanding of human behavior is outlined.