Change Your World

Motivational speakers are wrong when they tell us that our success depends on the power of our own thoughts, feelings, and actions. The entire self-improvement industry puts the responsibility for change on us as individuals, producing few if any long-term changes in our health or happiness. In this mind-bending look at what the science of resilience teaches us about success, Michael Ungar shows that individual growth depends very little on what we think, feel, or behave. A Ph.D. and regular contributor to Psychology Today, Ungar has worked with the World Bank, UNESCO, and the Red Cross. He is one of the world’s leading experts on thriving through adversity. Delving into the latest research, he demonstrates that we share responsibility for our personal well-being with our family and friends, and even our employers and politicians. In fact, the more the odds are stacked against us, the less motivation, positive thinking, and grit are important to resilience and the more we benefit from an environment rich in opportunity. The ethic of rugged individualism and the victim-blaming politics that come with it are red herrings in the science of success. Ungar explores real people’s lives and discovers that the answers lie in the people and the support systems around us. Supportive spouses, caring families, high-functioning communities, nurturing employers, and effective governments are very often the difference between individual success and failure. The good news is that it is easier to change your environment than it is to change yourself. Indeed, Ungar has solid evidence that we can influence the world around us in ways that will make us more resilient both at home and on the job.