Is it really possible to change one's personality in a year? The Atlantic journalist Olga Khazan proves it is in Me, But Better, which covers her year-long experiment in personality change.
In recent years journalist Olga Khazan had been heading into an existential crisis. Although 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 Khazan felt 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 approach to life?
Research shows one can alter personality traits by behaving in ways that align with the kind of person one would like to be—a process that can bring greater happiness, better health, and more success. In Me, But Better, Khazan embarks on an experiment to see whether it’s possible to go from dwelling in dread to “radiating joy.” For one year, 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. With a skeptic’s eye, Khazan brings the reader on her journey through the science of personality, presenting evidence-backed techniques to help readers change their minds for the better. Sharply witty and deeply fascinating, Me, But Better offers a probing inquiry into what it means to live a fulfilling life, and how one can keep diving into change, no matter how uncomfortable it feels.