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Comment by astrofinch | Hacker News Reader

What book do you estimate has the greatest probability of causing lasting personality change?

"Feeling Good" by David Burns. Sounds like a pop-psych title, but it is not. At 28 years of age, I am fairly certain this is the most important book I have ever and will ever read in my entire life (but then I desperately needed it - it is the user's manual to my brain that has allowed me to debug so much of my problematic thought processes).

I will second this. I read it over 20 years ago, when I was 17, and it changed my life. It is basically a friendly introduction to how to apply cognitive therapy to yourself.

I've read a lot of books in my life that I said "Wow" about, but not many that I still say "Wow" about 20 years later.

I was about to say I envy you for having 10 extra years to apply clearer thinking, but the funny thing is I discovered the book years ago and wasn't interested in getting past the first chapter. It was only when I crashed hard due to some messy circumstances that I realised I needed to go back to it and read it properly (and to perform the exercises!).

I third this. I highly recommend this book, especially to people who are analytically oriented.

I agree with the 'analytically oriented' part, although I've been wondering recently if that description is not just a indication of somebody who's willing to work systematically through something and apply it consistently over a course of time.

People who don't realise that change is difficult will seek out books that promise merely reading something that hadn't known about before and simple attitude shifts will bring about change (hence the market for "The Secret" and its ilk).

I understand this because that was my default thinking too. In time, experience led me to identifying this hidden belief and challenging it. Then I stumbled on my #2 book which describes the model for change that I use: "Changing for Good" by Prochaska et al. Just as with "Feeling Good", there are so many pages I'd read and think "Ahh I know exactly when I fall into THAT trap".

I read "Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives" back in high school, and it made a profound positive difference in the way that I view the world.

I recommended it to my roommate a few years ago though, and I read it again after he was done and found it to be super cheesy and slightly pretentious. My roommate seemed to like it, but I don't know if I would really recommend it to a grown adult anymore.

Seneca Letters to Lucillus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistulae_morales_ad_Lucilium

I'm sure there are a number of books that could make you very angry/bitter/cynical towards your government depending on the country (and depending on whether or not you already feel this way).

Perhaps something about the economics of the drug trade, how the War on Drugs affects it, and some statistics on how effective the War on Drugs has been thus far (for starters).

The Tao Te Ching.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham is in this category.

The Bible.

What about positive personality change?

I do believe there is some positive wisdom to be found in the bible - especially in the teachings of Jesus, and I tell you that as an agnostic atheist. Pity only a tiny fraction of the people who call themselves Christians actually act on those teachings.

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