Personal Politics: The Psychology of Making It

by Ellen J. Langer

Success -- Psychological aspects. Interpersonal relations.

Genres: Psychology

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Ellen Langer, Yale PhD, Harvard Professor of Psychology, artist. Among other honors, she is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and three Distinguished Scientist Awards, the World Congress Award, the NYU Alumni Achievement Award, and the Staats award for Unifying Psychology, and has authored eleven books and over 200 research articles on the illusion of control, perceived control, successful aging, decision-making, to name a few of the topics. Each of these is examined through the lens of her theory of mindfulness. Her research has demonstrated that by actively noticing new things—the essence of mindfulness—health, well being, and competence follow. Her best selling books include Mindfulness; The Power of Mindful Learning; On Becoming an Artist: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity; and her most recent book, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility.

In addition to other honors, she has been a guest lecturer in Japan, Malaysia, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, and Argentina.

The citation for the APA distinguished contributions award reads, in part, “…her pioneering work revealed the profound effects of increasing mindful behavior…and offers new hope to millions whose problems were previously seen as unalterable and inevitable. Ellen Langer has demonstrated repeatedly how our limits are of our own making.”

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this gem of a book years ago, lent it out, never got it back, and was thrilled to recently find a used copy of it through Amazon. Now, on rereading it after three decades, I'm thrilled that I've forgotten so little of it. It's life advice that served me well through a long career in a difficult field. I highly recommend it!