Take Charge of Your Life: How to Get What You Need with Choice-Theory Psychology

by William Glasser

A game changer for anyone ready to become the captain of their own ship.

Dr. Phil McGraw, host of the nationally syndicated series Dr. Phil

Take Charge of Your Life urges readers to stop blaming and start accepting responsibility for choices.

Jeannine Chartier Hanscom, ForeWord Reviews

Are you seeking a happier and more satisfying life? In Take Charge of Your Life, author Dr. William Glasser explains choice theorya science of human behavior and principles for regaining and maintaining a life you controland how it can help you find personal freedom from relationship-destroying external control.

Take Charge of Your Life, a revision of his 1984 book Control Theory, explains choice theory using personalized examples and illustrative stories that allow you to learn how to improve your relationships and take charge of your actions. Topics include marital and relationship problems, parenthood, addictions, pain management, and psychosomatic disorders. For each situation, Dr. Glasser ties behavior to the pictures people create in their minds of what they want. He explains how the pictures got there and how people can choose new behaviors to get what they really want.

In Take Charge of Your Life, Glasser offers a real model of empowerment. He shows how you can become a part of the equation that adds happiness and connection to the world in which you live now and to the world of future generations.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to his book ‘Reality Therapy’, which shows the importance of breaking illusions and facing the reality, as the first step toward taking charge of life. I wish I had read this book when I was an adolescent, when it was so easy to blame everything on others and the system, and consider myself as a victim.

The book really shows the importance of making the correct choices in life, and, no matter how old we are, it’s never too late.

The chapters called ‘The pictures in our heads’, ‘The values in our cameras’, and ‘What makes us behave’ are really eye-opening. They sent me into deep thoughts, and I saw that, at the age of nineteen, when I decided to change my life, these were the reflections I’ve had, on my own. Thank God for that.

And, now this book helped me see everything in retrospective, put them together.

The other three chapters I found particularly useful are ‘Conflict’, ‘Criticism’, and ‘Choosing to be Healthy’.

[Sam Dye · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Glasser MD is a rebel psychiatrist and is extremely intelligent and creative. He reminds me of Viktor Frankl MD who was a contemporary of Freud promoting meaning in life (logotherapy) as the key to mental health vs Freud's analytical theories. Glasser will make you uncomfortable but you will learn what is in your control and why our whole society nearly is based on our control of others instead of giving others choices and making our choices with personal responsibility. That sentence doesn't do this book justice, but you will be rewarded page after page with insights to your and others poor choice of control theory vs choice theory.

[Book Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everybody who wants to improve any relationship, even within himself, should read this book. Even If you want to have a better view of people and your own behavior, If you want to change something in your life and to realize that you always have a choice, this book is it. Glasser's choice theory relly opened my eyes and made me take more responsibility over my life.

[Alanna McKeown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Take Charge of Your Life, William Glasser explains Choice Theory and argues that we are responsible for our own behaviors and the choices we make in order to meet our needs. The book focuses on how taking control of our decisions can improve relationships, mental health, and overall life satisfaction. I liked how the book encourages personal responsibility and gives practical examples that make the psychology easier to understand. The main motif I see in this book is control vs. responsibility, especially the idea that real change comes from controlling ourselves rather than trying to control others. Overall, I wouldn’t reread this book, but I would recommend it to people interested in psychology or self-improvement because it offers a useful perspective.

[Amber Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it before you decide!

I’ve seen a lot of people online comment on (and criticize) Dr Glasser’s Choice Theory who haven’t actually read his books. All I can say is read the whole thing before you make up your mind about this book. As a mom & wife this has helped me so much to improve my relationships with my family. As a future teacher, it has helped me to plan what I want my classroom to look like and how I will make sure my future students’ need are met. I’m very grateful I encountered Dr Glasser’s name in the course of my studies. This book is a game changer.

[EstelleLiterature · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teenager, when you hear the word 'control', you freak out. An earlier version of this book had the word 'control' in its title, which pushed me back. A later version then came in replacing 'control' with 'choice' and I read it. The book resonated with me at that time for the choices I had to make.

Those choices then determined my life's course. And they aren't difficult to make. I reread this book after my parents died and once more after a significant life-turning event. On every occasion, this book has helped me shun life's over-trodden path to make choices that fit my needs.

[R. Walraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Glasser had a profound impact on my teaching. Yes, every child can learn and learn to enjoy learning. As profound is this book on taking control of one's life, taking responsibility for one's actions. It's direct. You can apply what he suggests or just keep whining about life. It's a choice!

[John Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is to smart for such a cheesy title - the title sounds cheap and trivial but the book is actually very good. If I was the author I would consider working with the publisher on a new title and re-release.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Control theory (internal control) - was something I’ve been doing for a long while, was interesting to see that it was “a thing”. Good book/ useful points but much longer than it needed to be. Jammed with a lot of examples to illustrate his points.

[Siobhan Roche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It really got me to look at how I overthink everything when there is no need to at all. It has taught me so interesting concepts that I will begin to use in my everyday life.

[Ric Raftis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Read

Like most psychology based books, it all boils down to common sense. The author presents these theories and practices very well through the book and use good examples. Pleased I read it.

[Michelle Stockard Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for anyone wanting to change their mindset. Glasser introduces choice theory which is basically that we have a choice in the way we treat others and ourselves. The proponent is that we have a 'picture' in our minds of the way we want to be or of how we want others to be and all we have to do is change that picture to change what's in our mind. This is choice theory. Basically, it's about learning to stop blaming external sources for the way our lives, or people in our lives, are and look on the inside to change the way we think about things. He gives examples of how the theory can be applied to relationship problems, parenting, and more. In all, this book is a useful tool for anyone looking to change their thinking and, ultimately, their lives.

[Pam Seale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well outlined description of Choice Theory Psychology and how it can improve simple and complex problems ini relationships. Don't expect a self-help book. Do expect to grow in understanding the way we humans relate.

[Simone]

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