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The Possible Self: A Leader's Guide to Personal Development
Sometimes success isn’t enough—discover how to achieve lasting, whole-life fulfillment through a simple five-stage plan that corresponds with the five key parts of ourselves.
We’re often told that the key to success in life involves advancing in our careers, but why do feel so stuck and unfulfilled when everything seems to be going right?
Adult development expert Maja Djikic explains that in order to discover our purpose and achieve real, lasting change, we need to move beyond narrowly targeted ideas and strategies like changing our mindset or slightly altering our behavior, and instead go deeper and focus on our innate desires.
Djikic claims that sustained change can only happen when all five parts of ourselves move in the same direction and at the same time. She introduces a transformational system called the Wheel of Change—a simple, five-segment plan that corresponds with the five key parts of Desires, Actions, Emotions, Thoughts, and Body.
By understanding the mechanisms of these five integral parts, you will be able to escape the paradox of success without happiness and move towards your own path of fulfilling self-development.
We’re often told that the key to success in life involves advancing in our careers, but why do feel so stuck and unfulfilled when everything seems to be going right?
Adult development expert Maja Djikic explains that in order to discover our purpose and achieve real, lasting change, we need to move beyond narrowly targeted ideas and strategies like changing our mindset or slightly altering our behavior, and instead go deeper and focus on our innate desires.
Djikic claims that sustained change can only happen when all five parts of ourselves move in the same direction and at the same time. She introduces a transformational system called the Wheel of Change—a simple, five-segment plan that corresponds with the five key parts of Desires, Actions, Emotions, Thoughts, and Body.
By understanding the mechanisms of these five integral parts, you will be able to escape the paradox of success without happiness and move towards your own path of fulfilling self-development.
208 pages, Paperback
Published March 5, 2024
23 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 20, 2024
This book revealed to me why so many other self help books fail to deliver lasting results. Namely, other books focus on only one aspect of the wheel of development. Further, this book is short and sweet without all the fluff that usually fills self help books. The techniques are practical and actionable. I will be adding it to my top books.
March 16, 2024
This is a book that’s relevant for everyone. The author lists self-development techniques that are clear to follow. I know I will be reflecting and re-reading this book several times and applying the techniques to truly benefit from it!
You’re. Not. Done. Yet.
You’re. Not. Done. Yet.
March 17, 2024
my dad had this book lying around so i thought id give it a read because i was too lazy to grab my book upstairs lol
here are my thoughts:
pros
- love that this is written by a psychologist who included lots of references (i find a lot of self-help books don’t do this enough)
- loved the writing style
- i liked how this combined psych theories and findings into a new approach
- it also included actionable things you can do to make a change
cons
- i felt like i wasn’t in the demographic to read this book which def explains my rating (this book is meant for people who feel stuck in their life and want to find ways to feel joy/worthiness/motivation/etc whereas im really still finding what i even want in life so i felt like a lot just didn’t apply to my current situation) that said, i will be re-reading this once im done grad-school or maybe even before that when my life starts to have more shape if that makes sense
- like many self-development books, it’s written for people that may not have a psych background and/or don’t read much recreationally, so it felt kind of over explained at times which made me bored
- lots of metaphors which im not a fan of when it comes to this genre
overall: very well written, and a really interesting perspective! just wasn’t a good fit for me and where i am!
here are my thoughts:
pros
- love that this is written by a psychologist who included lots of references (i find a lot of self-help books don’t do this enough)
- loved the writing style
- i liked how this combined psych theories and findings into a new approach
- it also included actionable things you can do to make a change
cons
- i felt like i wasn’t in the demographic to read this book which def explains my rating (this book is meant for people who feel stuck in their life and want to find ways to feel joy/worthiness/motivation/etc whereas im really still finding what i even want in life so i felt like a lot just didn’t apply to my current situation) that said, i will be re-reading this once im done grad-school or maybe even before that when my life starts to have more shape if that makes sense
- like many self-development books, it’s written for people that may not have a psych background and/or don’t read much recreationally, so it felt kind of over explained at times which made me bored
- lots of metaphors which im not a fan of when it comes to this genre
overall: very well written, and a really interesting perspective! just wasn’t a good fit for me and where i am!
June 6, 2024
I truly enjoyed reading this book and reserved it for home reading as opposed to subway or vacation reading because I felt that there were powerful messages in it.
It did not feel like a preachy self-help book trying to teach you something your mind is resisting. Instead, it invites you on a journey of self-exploration where you have to do all the work outside the confines of the pages of this paperback. I plan to do that.
This book, with its techniques and examples, felt to me like a blueprint for self-guided therapy sessions around the topics of core wants, sticky emotions, closed constructs, and relearning.
I would have only preferred if the cover did not refer to the book as "A Leader's Guide ...". I do appreciate that as a nod to the Rotman setting which was part of Professor Djikic's motivation to create this book. However, I feel that it does the book less justice than it deserves. It's not just for leaders, current and aspiring, it's for everyone.
It did not feel like a preachy self-help book trying to teach you something your mind is resisting. Instead, it invites you on a journey of self-exploration where you have to do all the work outside the confines of the pages of this paperback. I plan to do that.
This book, with its techniques and examples, felt to me like a blueprint for self-guided therapy sessions around the topics of core wants, sticky emotions, closed constructs, and relearning.
I would have only preferred if the cover did not refer to the book as "A Leader's Guide ...". I do appreciate that as a nod to the Rotman setting which was part of Professor Djikic's motivation to create this book. However, I feel that it does the book less justice than it deserves. It's not just for leaders, current and aspiring, it's for everyone.
July 22, 2024
interesting Book on Healing and Reshaping Yourself
I am not sure what I expected when I began reading The Possible Self. Perhaps I was looking for how to make incremental improvements in my desired directions. Instead, this book seems to be aimed at people who are frustrated in their current positions and want to make dramatic changes to their lives.
While the book presents several exercises, I did not do any of them. Instead, I kept reading, gaining an over of the process.
Given that the book does not seemed to be aimed at me and that I did not do the exercises, why did I give the book a five-star rating? I gave the book a high rating because for those who are seeking dramatic changes, The Possible Self may be their answer. And for those individuals, I recommend this book.
I am not sure what I expected when I began reading The Possible Self. Perhaps I was looking for how to make incremental improvements in my desired directions. Instead, this book seems to be aimed at people who are frustrated in their current positions and want to make dramatic changes to their lives.
While the book presents several exercises, I did not do any of them. Instead, I kept reading, gaining an over of the process.
Given that the book does not seemed to be aimed at me and that I did not do the exercises, why did I give the book a five-star rating? I gave the book a high rating because for those who are seeking dramatic changes, The Possible Self may be their answer. And for those individuals, I recommend this book.
December 7, 2024
I read this book during fall/winter and in terms of content and approach is amazing. Very simple but thoughtful practice tools to understand yourself better and go inside multilayers of yourself in the past and future. The author is exploring whatever she believes that. I recommend to read.
September 21, 2025
Had a lot of "aha" moments reading this book - probably one of the best 'self-help' books I've ever read. Have been feeling "stuck" in my personal development for a while and this helped me understand why.
July 18, 2024
Excellent.
August 5, 2025
My teacher at Rotman. Great approach.
December 23, 2025
I really enjoy the workshop we did with the author. However the book didn’t do it for me. I rarely enjoy self-help books, so I may not be the right public for this book, but it felt like a collection of oversimplified ideas packaged as deep insights. I also felt some of her advices lacked nuance.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews