Me, But Better - by Olga Khazan (Paperback)

About the Book

"In the vein of 10% Happier and Year of Yes, The Atlantic journalist Olga Khazan embarks on a year-long experimental romp through the riveting, emerging scientific field of personality change. For years, Olga Khazan had been spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving long-term relationship and her dream job, she often caught herself snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. Her anxious and neurotic overachieving had always been a professional asset, but lately, Olga felt that her brittle disposition would shatter at any moment under the weight of just one more thing. She knew something had to give-but was it really possible to do something as radical as change her personality? In The Personality Test, Olga embarks on a year-long experiment to see if it's truly possible to change your personality, sample size: one. Scientifically, personality consists of five sliding-scale traits: extroversion, or how sociable you are; conscientiousness, or how self-disciplined and organized you are; agreeableness, or how warm and empathetic you are; openness, or how receptive you are to new ideas and activities; and neuroticism, or how depressed or anxious you are. But research shows that you can alter these traits by consistently behaving in ways that align with the kind of person you'd like to be. And that, in turn, can actually make you happier, healthier, and more successful. So, for a year, Olga decides to fake it until she makes it. She reluctantly clicks 'yes' on a bucket list of new experiences, from meditation to improv to sailing, that will force her to at least act happy, healthy, and well-adjusted, in the hope she might actually become those things. With a skeptic's eye, Olga brings readers on her personal journey through the science of personality, presenting evidence-backed techniques to change our minds for the better. Deeply reflective and sharply witty, The Personality Test is a probing inquiry into what it means to live a fulfilling life, and how we can keep diving into change, even against our better judgment"--

Book Synopsis

Is it really possible to change your entire personality in a year? An award-winning journalist experiments with her own personality to find out--and reveals the science behind lasting change in this "hugely readable, deeply researched, and often hilarious" (Oliver Burkeman, bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks) book.

In recent years, Olga Khazan had been spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving relationship and her dream job, her neurotic personality often left her snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. While her overachieving had always been a professional asset, Olga lately felt like her brittle disposition could shatter under the weight of just one more thing--but could she really change her entire personality?

Research shows that you can alter your personality traits by behaving in ways that align with the kind of person you'd like to be--a process that can make you happier, healthier, and more successful. In Me, But Better, Olga embarks on an experiment to see whether it's possible to go from dwelling in dread to "radiating joy." For one year, Olga reluctantly clicked "yes" on a bucket list of new experiences--from meditation to improv to sailing--that forced her to at least act happy.

With a skeptic's eye, Olga brings you on her journey through the science of personality, presenting evidence-backed techniques to help you change your mind for the better. "Hilarious, honest, and packed with cutting-edge research" (Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author), Me, But Better offers a probing inquiry into what it means to live a fulfilling life, and how you can keep diving into change, no matter how uncomfortable it feels.

About the Author

Olga Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change. Her first book, Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World, came out in 2020. She has also written for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, and other publications. She is a two-time recipient of the International Reporting Project's Journalism Fellowship and winner of the 2017 National Headliner Awards for Magazine Online Writing.