Books like The Perfection Trap

01

The Willpower Instinct

Kelly McGonigal · Self-help

The Willpower Instinct is based on Kelly McGonigal's popular ten-week science of willpower course at Stanford University's Continuing Studies program.

A kindred psychology read.

02

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S. Dweck · Psychology

Carol Dweck's central claim is simple but far-reaching: people hold one of two basic beliefs about their own abilities.

A kindred psychology read.

03

Lost Connections

Johann Hari · Health

Lost Connections is Johann Hari's argument that depression and anxiety are not primarily chemical imbalances in the brain but responses to social and environmental conditions — disconnection from meaningful work, close relationships, the natural world, a secure future, and status that feels deserved.

Both dig into mental health.

04

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman · Self-help

Four Thousand Weeks is Oliver Burkeman's philosophical attack on the entire project of time management as it is usually practiced.

A kindred psychology read.

05

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

Kristin Neff · Psychology

Kristin Neff makes a claim that many readers initially resist: treating yourself with the same kindness you'd offer a good friend in distress is not self-indulgence, weakness, or an obstacle to high performance.

Shares self-compassion and well-being with The Perfection Trap.

06

The Compassionate Mind

Paul Gilbert · Psychology

The Compassionate Mind is Paul Gilbert's comprehensive account of Compassion Focused Therapy, the approach he developed over decades of clinical work with people whose suffering was heavily compounded by shame, self-criticism, and an inability to feel comforted or to comfort themselves.

Shares mental health and self-compassion with The Perfection Trap.

07

An Unquiet Mind

Kay Redfield Jamison · Psychology

Kay Redfield Jamison is a psychiatrist and professor who has manic-depressive illness.

Both dig into mental health.

08

Authentic Happiness

Martin E. P. Seligman · Psychology

Authentic Happiness is Martin Seligman's founding statement of positive psychology — the scientific study of what makes life worth living.

Both dig into well-being.

09

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being

Martin E. P. Seligman · Psychology

Martin Seligman founded the positive psychology movement and published Authentic Happiness in 2002.

Both dig into well-being.

10

Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry

Randolph M. Nesse · Psychology

Randolph Nesse spent forty years as a psychiatrist and evolutionary biologist asking a question most of his colleagues found strange: why did natural selection leave us so vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and other forms of suffering?

Both dig into mental health.

11

I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't)

Brené Brown · Psychology

I Thought It Was Just Me is Brené Brown's first major book, written from her research on shame as a social scientist.

Both dig into perfectionism.

12

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell · Psychology

Outliers is Malcolm Gladwell's argument that exceptional success is less a product of individual genius or drive than it is of hidden advantages, timing, and accumulated opportunity.

Both dig into culture.