Me, But Better
The Science and Promise of Personality Change
Olga Khazan
- In
- recent
- 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
- neurotic
- overachieving
- had
- always
- been
- a
- professional
- asset,
- but
- lately,
- Olga
- felt
- that
- her
- brittle
- disposition
- could
- shatter
- under
- the
- weight
- of
- just
- one
- more
- thing.
- She
- knew
- something
- had
- to
- give-but
- was
- it
- really
- possible
- to
- change
- her
- entire
- approach
- to
- life?In
- Me,
- But
- Better,
- 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
- (how
- sociable
- you
- are);
- conscientiousness
- (how
- self-disciplined
- and
- organized
- you
- are);
- agreeableness
- (how
- warm
- and
- empathetic
- you
- are);
- openness
- (how
- receptive
- you
- are
- to
- new
- ideas
- and
- activities);
- and
- neuroticism
- (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
- make
- you
- happier,
- healthier,
- and
- more
- successful.So,
- for
- one
- year,
- Olga
- decided
- to
- fake
- it
- until
- she
- made
- it.
- She
- reluctantly
- clicked
- "yes"
- on
- a
- bucket
- list
- of
- new
- experiences,
- from
- meditation
- to
- improv
- to
- sailing,
- that
- forced
- her
- to
- at
- least
- act
- happy,
- healthy,
- and
- well-adjusted,
- in
- the
- hope
- that
- she
- would
- actually
- become
- those
- things.
- With
- a
- skeptic's
- eye,
- Olga
- brings
- you
- on
- her
- personal
- journey
- through
- the
- science
- of
- personality,
- presenting
- evidence-backed
- techniques
- to
- change
- your
- mind
- for
- the
- better.
- Based
- on
- her
- viral
- article
- in
- The
- Atlantic,
- Me,
- But
- Better
- is
- 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.
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