Book & podcast collection

Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change

Journalist Olga Khazan investigates whether adults can intentionally change their personalities. Drawing on psychology research and her own experiments with acting against familiar tendencies, she examines the Big Five traits and the habits, roles, relationships, and life events that can gradually reshape them. The book avoids both fatalism and the fantasy of instant self-reinvention: personality is relatively stable, but it is not immovable. Khazan combines personal narrative with science to show what meaningful change looks like, why some efforts last, and how people can become more like the selves they want to be without rejecting who they already are.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 2025
Format: Print edition
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9781668012543

Subjects

Personality Behavior Change Psychology

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Interview with the Author

4 available interview links

1. The Rich Roll Podcast — Me, But Better: Olga Khazan On The Science of Personality Change, Challenging Fixed Mindsets, & The Big Five Traits That Shape Your LifeChecked

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2. Behavioral Grooves Podcast — Can You Change Your Personality? | Olga KhazanChecked

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3. Politics and Prose Presents — Olga Khazan — Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change - with Daniel H. PinkChecked

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4. SAM&PAM's Book Radar — Can You Actually Change Your Personality? Exploring Olga Khazan's Me But BetterChecked

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