List of Top 10 Personality Development Books
- The 16 Personality Types: Profiles, Theory, & Type Development
- Personality Development
- The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life
- Social and Personality Development
- The Development of Shyness and Social Withdrawal
- Seven Times Down, Eight Times Up
- The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
- The 5 Personality Patterns
- The Art and Science of Personality Development
- The Development of Personality: Seminars in Psychological Astrology
In this world of cut-throat competition, it has almost become a necessity to build an impressive and strong personality to stand apart. Developing or changing the personality is not an easy task as the behaviour, attitude, communication abilities of any person are formed since childhood. But there are certain aspects that we keep ignoring whether it be finding our inner self or knowing ourselves from within or identifying our personality type. There has been a lot of work done in this field by renowned scholars and experts to help us deep dive and bring about the required changes to improve the overall personality. Here’s a list of top 10 Personality Development books that can be, in fact, referred on a daily basis like a manual to keep changing and improving our personality.
#1 – The 16 Personality Types
Profiles, Theory, & Type Development
Author: Dr. A.J. Drenth
Book Review:
Deep diving the Meyers Briggs typology this book aims to explain the mechanism of the types of personality in a very detailed manner. It can help understand the rationale behind the behaviour of people in certain situations to deal with it in the best possible way.
Key Takeaways
- Compels to identify ourselves and clarify our own identity
- Rooted in the theories of Jung and Myers-Briggs
- Features of each personality types
- Book provides a detailed examination of development or change in personality over the lifespan.
#2 – Personality Development
Author: Swami Vivekananda
Book Review:
This book is a worthy compilation of the complete works of Swami Vivekananda and aims at guiding the readers to attain self-realization which is the ultimate goal of life. Filled with illustrations and guidelines the book is both instructive and provocative enough that it makes the reader feel the sense of urgency to change their personality for better.
Key Takeaways
- Covers the different layers of personality
- Ways of controlling negative emotions
- Teaches to develop a sense of equality
- Unfolds the power of concentration
- Explains why and how pleasure is not the goal
#3 – The Alter Ego Effect
The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life
Author: Todd Herman
Book Review:
Unlike many other self-help books that suggest us to step into an improvised version of ourselves, this book takes a leap forward by explaining why the new version is so important and how to put that into play at different stages of life.
Key Takeaways:
- Insight on how to create and control alter ego.
- Secrets behind the top athletes and executives on using alter ego
- Using creative imagination to find the inner hero and bring it out to the world with the help of alter ego
- Overcoming negativity, self-doubt, and insecurity that hold us back
#4 – Social and Personality Development
Author: David R. Shaffer
Book Review:
A well written self-exploratory book with more than just enough examples. It tries to connect with the reader with its easy and smooth flow, covering the major theories and concepts of social psychology and human development.
Key Takeaways:
- Focused on factors influencing changes in personality in the early ages and adolescence
- Causes, processes, and complexities of developmental change
- Emphasis on cultural influences on personality development
- Based on test theories and field research
#5 – The Development of Shyness and Social Withdrawal
Author: Kenneth H. Rubin, Robert J. Coplan
Book Review:
A definitive reference on shyness and social withdrawal, this book covers an up-to-date review of the major aspects of socioemotional development. The chapters range from the biological moderators of withdrawals to contextual implications and clinical implications. It is a good read for those who seek to get a deeper understanding in peer interactions and shyness.
Key Takeaways
- Development, causes, and consequences of social withdrawal
- Role of biological, family and interpersonal processes in shyness
- The positive aspects of being unsocial
- The impact of social withdrawal on peer relationships and professional front
#6 – Seven Times Down, Eight Times Up
Landing on Your Feet in an Upside Down World
Author: Alan Gettis
Book Review:
Reading this personality development book is like being gently awakened refreshed and carefully guided towards enjoying the present. The book tries to reach to the realm of self-realization, self-responsibility, and self-healing in a very practical and realistic way with the help of interesting short stories.
Key Takeaways
- Lessons to learn acceptance, get rid of unwanted emotions, heal, renew and to change
- A hundred brief stories that convey valuable insights to help feel better and function differently in difficult situations
- Help find the path to enlightened happiness
- Enlightenment is the sense of increasing knowledge and awareness is transformational.
#7 – The Road Back to You
An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
Author: Ian Morgan Cron
Book Review:
The personality development book provides an engaging introduction and a clear explanation of the ancient personality typing tool Enneagram. The author describes how this tool of personality typing is different from others like Myers-Briggs. It focuses on how identifying both strengths and weaknesses, a special gift and deepest fear are important while understanding ourselves.
Key Takeaways:
- The book provides an insight into an ancient personality typing system to describe how humans are connected.
- The spiritual discovery that helps become wiser and more compassionate.
- Teaches a sense of empathy apart from self-discovery.
- Understanding how one operates at its best or worst behaviour.
#8 – The 5 Personality Patterns
Your Guide to Understanding Yourself and Others and Developing Emotional Maturity
Author: Steven Kessler
Book Review:
A well-written self-help book which lets us take a look inside the people to find out their motivation so as to influence them and communicate with them successfully. The book tries to give a perspective for true change that can be used on a daily basis for references in our normal livelihood.
Key Takeaways
- Developing emotional maturity
- Discovering what motivates and matters to people in order to interact with them effectively
- Developing a true to life map for self-improvement
- The map is based on the core of the body and flow of energy
#9 – The Art and Science of Personality Development
Author: Dan P. McAdams
Book Review:
This book is an integrative personality development from the early stages of life through old age. Based on research in neuroscience, traits, motives, goals, and narrative identity the book offers scientifically defensible answers to questions about human nature. The author invites readers to introspect and to ask themselves how they came to be who they are.
Key Takeaways:
- Development of three distinct layers of personality:
- The social actor who expresses emotional and behavioral traits,
- The motivated agent who pursues goals and values,
- The autobiographical actor who constructs a personal story
#10 – The Development of Personality:
Seminars in Psychological Astrology
Author: Liz Greene
Book Review:
An interesting transcript of popular seminars conducted by the author, this book is a perfect blend of psychology, personality, and astrology. It is highly recommended for the intermediate or advanced study on astrology.
Key Takeaways:
- Covers the stages of childhood, parental marriage, subpersonalities
- Examples and insights that explain the deeper meanings of archetypes found in planets
- Unfolding personalities expressed through progressions
- Insights on the implications of planets and sun on the lives of people
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