Me, But Better - by Olga Khazan

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.

Olga Khazan was spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving relationship and dream job, her neurotic personality often left her snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. Lately, her brittle disposition felt ready to shatter under the weight of just one more thing--but could she really change her entire personality?

Personality consists of five sliding-scale traits: extroversion (how sociable you are), conscientiousness (how self-disciplined you are), agreeableness (how empathetic you are), openness (how receptive you are to new things), and neuroticism (how anxious you are). Research shows you can alter these traits by acting like the kind of person you'd like to be. In Me, But Better, Olga embarks on a year-long experiment to see if it's possible to start "radiating joy" instead of dwelling in dread--trying everything from Zip-Zap-Zopping toward extroversion in improv to surfing her way to openness, even if she spends more time wiping out than hanging ten.

Sharply witty and deeply fascinating, Me, But Better candidly explores what it means to live a fulfilling life, and how to keep growing, no matter how uncomfortable it feels.

About the Author

Olga Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author, previously, of Weird. She is a two-time recipient of journalism fellowships from the International Reporting Project and the winner of the 2017 National Headliner Award for Magazine Online Writing.