Changing The Self

This book examines the varieties of self-exchange and factors that can influence it. It takes a much-needed step toward linking the concerns of the academic self-researcher and the consumer of research pertaining to changing the self. Throughout the book, understanding and accounting for change in the self emerges as a vitally important concern across a wide range of human experience.

Self Change: Social Psychological and Clinical Perspectives examines cognitive and motivational factors affecting the intention to seek change, processes involved in the initiation and maintenance of change, the role of social networks as facilitators or inhibitors of change, and measurement and assessment of personal change. At any given moment millions of people are contemplating changing various aspects of themselves; a general theory on volitional change is sorely needed. This book, which is of interest to social psychologists, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists, to researchers and practitioners, is a significant contribution to a more thorough understanding of self change.

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 20 million copies sold! Translated into 60+ languages! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; design your environment to make success easier; get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

′This is a superb book; beautifully written, lucid, and engaging, with illuminating critical discussions of the concept of reflexivity, psychoanalytic perspectives, and Foucaultian analysis, locating these theories in up-to-date research and discussions about class and gender. This book will be indispensable as an aid to students looking for an introduction to concepts of the self set in contemporary everyday contexts that they can relate to. But it will also be useful to teachers and researchers looking for orientation in a complex and burgeoning field of literature and research′ - Ian Burkitt, University of Bradford ′Matthew Adams provides a clearly written and concise summary of key theoretical accounts of the meaning of social change for psychic life and the experience of self... Self and Social Change is a terrific book. If looking for an accessible introductory text, look no further′ - British Journal of Sociology How does social change influence selfhood? What are the fundamental positions in social theories of the self? How are social changes interwoven with our ability to choose our identities and lifestyles? This accessible and assured book gives readers a new take on the fundamental question of the relation between the individual and society. By offering a thorough, informed and critical guide to the field, Adams demonstrates how global economic and employment structures, neo-liberal discourse, the role of emotion, irrationality and ambiguity are factors that impact upon the shape and resilience of the self. Anyone interested in the question of identity and its relation to cultural, social, economic and political contexts will find this book a God-send, making it ideal for students and lecturers in cultural studies, sociology, social psychology and communications.

In the climate of self-improvement that pervades our culture, there is an overwhelming amount of information about treatments for everything from alcohol abuse to sexual dysfunction. Much of this information is exaggerated if not wholly inaccurate. As a result, people who try to change their own troubling conditions often experience the frustration of mixed success, success followed by a relapse, or outright failure. To address this confusion, Martin Seligman has meticulously analyzed the most authoritative scientific research on treatments for alcoholism, anxiety, weight loss, anger, depression, and a range of phobias and obsessions to discover what is the most effective way to address each condition. He frankly reports what does not work, and pinpoints the techniques and therapies that work best for each condition, discussing why they work and how you can use them to make long lasting change. Inside you’ll discover the four natural healing factors for recovering from alcoholism; the vital difference between overeating and being overweight; the four therapies that work for depression, the pros and cons of anger—and much more. Wise, direct, and very useful, What You Can Change and What You Can’t will help anyone who seeks to change.

Are you tired of being told by others--self-help books included--what you should do? Drs. Allan Zuckoff and Bonnie Gorscak understand. That's why this book is different. Whether it's breaking an unhealthy habit, pursuing that dream job, or ending harmful patterns in relationships, the key to moving ahead with your life lies in discovering what direction is truly right for you, and how you can get there. The proven counseling approach known as motivational interviewing (MI) can help. Drs. Zuckoff and Gorscak present powerful self-help strategies and practical tools that help you understand why you're stuck, break free of unhelpful pressure to change, and build confidence for developing a personal change plan. Vivid stories of five men and women confronting different types of challenges illustrate the techniques and accompany you on your journey. MI has a track record of helping people resolve long-standing dilemmas in a remarkably short time. Now you can try it for yourself--and unlock your own capacity for positive action.

For the first time in one volume self-harm, substance abuse, eating-disordered behavior, gambling, and Internet and cyber sex abuse—five crippling, self-destructive behaviors—are given a common conceptual framework to help with therapeutic intervention. Matthew Selekman and Mark Beyebach, two internationally-recognized therapists, know first-hand that therapists see clients who have problems with several of these habits in varying contexts. They maintain an optimistic, positive, solution-focused approach while carefully addressing problems and risks. The difficulties of change, the risk of slips and relapses, and the ups-and-downs of therapeutic processes are widely acknowledged and addressed. Readers will find useful, hands-on therapeutic strategies and techniques that they can use in both individual and conjoint sessions during couple, family, and one-on-one therapy. Detailed case examples provide windows to therapeutic processes and the complexities in these cases. Clinical interventions are put in a wider research context, while research is reviewed and used to extract key implications of empirical findings. This allows for a flexible and open therapeutic approach that therapists can use to integrate techniques and procedures from a variety of approaches and intervention programs.

Lessons for a new generation of leaders on teamwork, meetings, conversations, free food, social media, apologizing, and other topics. When designer and computer scientist John Maeda was tapped to be president of the celebrated Rhode Island School of Design in 2008, he had to learn how to be a leader quickly. He had to transform himself from a tenured professor—with a love of argument for argument's sake and the freedom to experiment—into the head of a hierarchical organization. The professor is free to speak his mind against “the man.” The college president is “the man.” Maeda has had to teach himself, through trial and error, about leadership. In Redesigning Leadership, he shares his learning process. Maeda, writing as an artist and designer, a technologist, and a professor, discusses intuition and risk-taking, “transparency,” and all the things that a conversation can do that an email can't. In his transition from MIT to RISD he finds that the most effective way to pull people together is not social networking but free food. Leading a team? The best way for a leader to leverage the collective power of a team is to reveal his or her own humanity. Asked if he has stopped designing, Maeda replied (via Twitter) “I'm designing how to talk about/with/for our #RISD community.” Maeda's creative nature makes him a different sort of leader—one who prizes experimentation, honest critique, and learning as you go. With Redesigning Leadership, he uses his experience to reveal a new model of leadership for the next generation of leaders.