Reinventing Your Life by Jeffrey E. E. Young Summary

Reinventing Your Life is a breakthrough self-help book by psychologists Jeffrey E. Young and Janet S. Klosko that helps readers identify and overcome 11 common "lifetraps"—self-defeating emotional patterns rooted in childhood experiences. Based on cognitive therapy and schema therapy principles, the book provides diagnostic questionnaires, case studies, and step-by-step strategies to break free from negative behaviors like abandonment anxiety, emotional deprivation, and feelings of failure without drugs or long-term traditional therapy.

Jeffrey E. Young, Ph.D., is an American psychologist and founder of schema therapy who serves on the faculty at Columbia University's Department of Psychiatry and directs the Cognitive Therapy Center of New York. Janet S. Klosko, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive behavior therapy and schema therapy. Together, they combined their expertise to make therapeutic principles accessible through practical, actionable guidance in Reinventing Your Life.

Reinventing Your Life is ideal for anyone experiencing repetitive relationship problems, irrational self-esteem issues, anxiety about abandonment, chronic feelings of unfulfillment, or patterns of putting others' needs above their own. The book particularly helps those feeling trapped in self-destructive cycles who want to understand the childhood roots of their behaviors. It's valuable for readers seeking practical psychology tools and anyone interested in cognitive therapy approaches to personal growth.

Reinventing Your Life has sold over 100,000 copies and receives overwhelmingly positive reviews, with readers describing it as "life-changing" and "revolutionary". The book provides comprehensive diagnostic tests, meaningful case histories, and actionable strategies that thousands have successfully used for immediate and long-term results. While it requires commitment and patience rather than quick fixes, readers consistently praise its practical approach to understanding childhood origins of negative patterns and achieving lasting personal transformation.

Lifetraps are self-defeating behavioral and emotional patterns, also called schemas, that people internalize during childhood and carry into adulthood. According to Jeffrey E. Young and Janet S. Klosko, these destructive patterns underlie various emotional problems and keep people from achieving happiness and fulfillment. Lifetraps manifest as recurring relationship issues, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and self-sabotaging behaviors that feel familiar yet harmful. The book identifies 11 common lifetraps that create cycles of negative thoughts and actions.

Reinventing Your Life addresses 11 common lifetraps including:

• Abandonment (fear of losing loved ones)
• Mistrust and Abuse (expecting betrayal)
• Emotional Deprivation (belief needs won't be met)
• Dependence (inability to function independently)
• Social Rejection (feeling unworthy of acceptance)
• Failure (belief you'll inevitably fail)

The book also covers vulnerability to harm, subjugation, unrelenting standards, and entitlement. Each lifetrap includes diagnostic questionnaires, childhood origins, and specific change techniques.

Reinventing Your Life uses a comprehensive seven-step therapeutic approach combining experiential, cognitive, and behavioral techniques. The process includes identifying your specific lifetraps through questionnaires, understanding their childhood origins, challenging negative beliefs by writing cases against them, expressing emotions through letter-writing exercises, and implementing behavioral changes starting with manageable steps. Jeffrey E. Young and Janet S. Klosko provide self-reflection exercises, journaling prompts, and strategies for confronting past traumas to break self-destructive cycles.

Schema therapy is an innovative psychological approach founded by Jeffrey E. Young that extends cognitive therapy to address deeply ingrained emotional patterns formed in childhood. Reinventing Your Life is the popular self-help book based on schema therapy principles, making this therapeutic approach accessible without professional intervention. The book translates schema therapy concepts into practical exercises readers can follow independently, focusing on identifying schemas (lifetraps), understanding their origins, and using experiential and cognitive techniques to create lasting change.

Reinventing Your Life provides diagnostic questionnaires for each of the 11 lifetraps to help readers assess their tendencies and identify applicable patterns. The book includes self-reflection exercises, journaling prompts, emotional monitoring techniques, letter-writing activities, and behavioral change strategies. Readers also receive detailed case examples, self-assessment tools, and step-by-step programs for change using experiential methods like connecting with your inner child and cognitive approaches like documenting cases against lifetraps.

Reinventing Your Life offers breakthrough principles of cognitive therapy without requiring drugs or long-term traditional therapy sessions. Jeffrey E. Young and Janet S. Klosko provide readers with self-directed tools including diagnostic tests, case studies, and actionable strategies they can implement independently. The book emphasizes understanding childhood origins and changing thought patterns through structured exercises rather than extended professional counseling. However, it requires significant commitment and patience, with readers doing the mental and emotional work themselves.

Reinventing Your Life explains that lifetraps originate from unmet emotional needs during childhood, often involving experiences with parents, caregivers, or peers. Common origins include abandonment by caregivers, abuse or betrayal, emotional neglect, overprotection that prevents independence, rejection by peers, and conditional love based on achievement. The book emphasizes that understanding these childhood roots—through self-reflection and questionnaires—is essential for recognizing how these patterns developed and persist into adult relationships and behaviors.

Some readers find Reinventing Your Life repetitive and challenging to complete, noting the book can feel lengthy despite its valuable insights. The approach requires significant mental and emotional work, time, and perseverance rather than offering quick fixes, which some find demanding. Critics also note the book needs strong commitment to follow through with exercises and implement changes effectively. However, most readers acknowledge that while the process is tiring and requires dedication, the results justify the effort invested.