Book review: "Personality Isn't Permanent"
- Liubov Lomonosova
- Jun 9, 2020
- 5 min read
Back in December I met my favorite author, and now my mentor, Dr. Benjamin Hardy at one of the motivational event, where he was a speaker. When I saw him I got so excited and told him how much I loved his transformational articles and his earlier book "Willpower Doesn't Work". What surprised me how authentic, intelligent and humble he was. In our conversation I told him about my life transformation, impact of my environment and how one little action can completely transform you as person, on what he replied, that he is writing a book about personality and how it changes over the lifetime. I got so excited and couldn't wait to read his new book. Today I just finished reading "Personality Isn't Permanent" and now would like to share my thoughts about that transformational book with you.
"Personality Isn't Permanent" consists from many stories of people, that help you relate and understand different life situations, as well as from insights from actual science based researches. Step by step author breaks common myths.
As a person who completely transformed life, I found a lot of science based explanation of what had happened to me. Dr. Benjamin Hardy talks about psychological tests and how people shape their behavior around those tests. For example, I never wanted to define myself as introvert or extravert, because I thought that depending on situation I can be one or another. For a while I couldn't make sense of it, but after reading that book I understood that it is possible. We need to be flexible, our mindset has to be flexible.
Stereotypes and various psychological tests limit us and restrict our possibilities. Instead of labeling ourself we need to be open. Instead of relieving our past over and over again we need to look towards our future and create it.
“Authenticity” these days is usually another way of saying, “I have a fixed mindset. I am a certain way and shouldn’t be expected to do anything but what comes immediately naturally and easy for me. I shouldn’t have to do anything but what feels good, right now.” — Benjamin Hardy
We need to go out of our comfort zone and follow our dreams. Instead of thinking that you might fail, give yourself a chance and try. Who do you want to be? What will make you happy?
"Your vision needs to be something that is way above your current reality. It needs to inspire and excite you. It needs to give you motivation and hope. It needs to be something that will stretch and change you. It needs to be big enough that when you look back, you’ll be shocked by where and who you currently are." - Benjamin Hardy
Another discovery from that book was that over time our personality is changing and not just once, but constantly, depending on our situation and our environment. You today and 10 years ago are strangers. And I 100% agree with that. 10 years ago I lived in Ukraine and had office job, different lifestyle and different preferences. Today I live in the United States, I am successful runner and running coach. My lifestyle is completely changed, my preferences, hobbies, clothes even food that I like are different now.
What I loved the most about this transformational book, that it is not just educates you, breaks common stereotypes, but also teaches you how to change your views and how to start transforming your life, it gives you a hope and a plan. After each section of the book you'll find questions to work on in your daily journaling, which will help you open up and reframe your past and create your vision for your future.
If you love motivational, transformational and self-development books, I highly recommend to read "Personality Isn't Permanent".
Here you can find first chapter of the book for free
You can purchase book "Personality Isn't Permanent" here https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607021/personality-isnt-permanent-by-benjamin-hardy-phd/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Willpower Doesn’t Work. His blogs have been read by over 100 million people and are featured on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Cheddar, Big Think, and many others. He is a regular contributor to Inc. and Psychology Today and from 2015-2018, he was the #1 writer, in the world, on Medium.com. He and his wife Lauren adopted three children through the foster system in February 2018 and, one month later, Lauren became pregnant with twins, who were born in December of 2018. They live in Orlando.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In Personality Isn’t Permanent, Dr. Benjamin Hardy draws on psychological research to demolish the popular misconception that personality—a person’s consistent attitudes and behaviors—is innate and unchanging. Hardy liberates us from the limiting belief that our “true selves” are to be discovered, and shows how we can intentionally create our best selves and achieve big goals instead. He offers practical, science-based advice to for self-reinvention, including:
Why you should never be the “former” anything—defining yourself by your past successes can be just as damaging to your potential to grow as being haunted by past failures
How to design a desired vision of your future self and make decisions based on what the future you would want
Why personality tests such as Myers-Briggs and Enneagram are not only psychologically destructive but are no more scientific than horoscopes
How to tap into what psychologists call “pull motivation” by narrowing your focus on a single, definable, and compelling outcome.
ADVANCED PRIASE
“Personality Isn't Permanent is possibly the best self-help book I've ever read, and a book that will redefine the genre. After this book, it's no longer good enough to talk about untested theory—Hardy backs everything up with both amazing stories and cutting edge, tested science, while still making it actionable to anyone. Best part: this is the book that destroys all the useless personality test peddlers that infect the world."
—Tucker Max
"In Personality Isn’t Permanent, Dr. Hardy crushes an outdated paradigm and gives you the process to create a bigger, bolder future."
—JJ Virgin
"Ben Hardy is proof of what he writes about. He keeps getting better and better--and so can you."
—Ryan Holiday
“Personality Isn’t Permanent provides a robust science-backed roadmap for helping you rewrite your self-limiting stories—and to keep writing and editing them for success throughout your lifelong journey."
—Dr. Steven G. Eisenberg
“As the saying goes, the future isn’t what it used to be. Benjamin Hardy illustrates this truth perfectly in Personality Isn’t Permanent, providing both method and motivation to frame your future as the best version of you.”
—Harvey Mackay
POTENTIAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Anyone who isn't embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn't learning enough.”—Alain de Botton
Why are personality tests like Myers-Briggs and Enneagram unscientific and harmful?
What are the other pervasive and destructive societal myths of personality?
Why is it important to understand that your former, current, and future selves are totally different people?
How do “labels” negatively impact people’s perception, identity, and goals?
How does trauma negatively impact your personality and limit your future?
What are the most effective and science-based ways for making radical changes in your life?
If you have any questions, please email: schedule@benjaminhardy.com
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