It was a tough year.
Now, with a new year in front of us—one that has already revealed that challenges don’t simply stop or reset when the calendar turns over—we have to get serious. We have to get serious about reading, the tried and tested way to wisdom, so that we might gain easily what others have gained by difficult experience.
This new year, I encourage you to jump out of your comfort zone and pick several of these to add to your library and read this year.
Here is the list of some self-help books that you may want to read.
1. Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk in the Vedic tradition to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Drawing on ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us.
2. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Green lights mean go! We don’t like yellow and red lights, but sometimes they give us what we need.Catching greenlights is about skill, intent, context, consideration, endurance, anticipation, resilience, speed, and discipline. We can catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the red lights are in our life, and then change course to hit fewer of them. Catching greenlights is also about timing, the world’s and ours. We can catch them by sheer luck by being in the right place and the right time.
This is a book about how to catch more yeses in a world of no’s.
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear
This is one of the most useful book on changing your habits, more than The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.
4.The Greatest Secret (2020) by Rhonda Byrne
The Greatest Secret (2020) is a sequel to the worldwide best seller and self-help phenomenon The Secret, which inspired millions to better their lives by using the laws of attraction. In this installment, we learn an even greater secret: who we really are, and how we can use that knowledge to achieve everlasting happiness.
5.The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason, discusses the secrets of wealth used by the ancient civilisations of the world. The book deals with different areas of finances including how to plan financially for your life, how to deal with your personal wealth and finally how this impacts your life.
The Richest Man In Babylon is just as relevant today as it was in 1926 when it was published. It is undeniably a personal finance classic.
The book chronicles how practical money management and wealth-building lessons were used by Arkad, who had a humble background as a son of a merchant but grew to become the richest man in the ancient city of Babylon. Arkad achieved this feat by riding on the wisdom he gathered from the rich money lender called Algamish.
6.The Archer by Paulo Coelho
In The Archer, Paulo Coelho introduces us to the Way of the Bow, as a master of archery imparts practical lessons for life. Tesuya was once renowned for his prodigious gift with a bow and arrow, but he has since retired from public life. But when a young man comes asking questions, he begins to share what his art taught him—about risk-taking, courage, and embracing the unexpected.
7.The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen. R. Covey
Covey shares with us seven habits one should adapt to become truly effective in whatever you would like to achieve.
Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds. He stresses the fact that we need to go through a paradigm shift – a fundamental change in how we perceive the world and ourselves.
This book can be read as a guide, with practices and everything, to go through the stages in order to make such a shift happen. Part shock-therapy, part ageless spiritual wisdom, Covey’s book is packed with wisdom that actually makes a difference.
8.Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy is one of the best books on productivity and overcoming procrastination. Full of actionable tips, it covers the twenty-one most powerful principles on personal effectiveness. These methods, techniques, and strategies are practical, proven and fast-acting. You can apply many of these ideas to your personal life as well.
9.Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman explores the mysteries of intuition, judgment, bias, and logic in the international bestseller Thinking, Fast and Slow. His award-winning book explains the different ways people think, whether they’re deciding how to invest their money or how to make friends.
Kahneman’s experiments in behavioral economics, in collaboration with cognitive psychologist Amos Tversky, led to a theory of two systems of thought: the fast thinking used when ducking a blow, and slow thinking that’s better employed for making major life decisions.
Applying these psychological concepts to different facets of our lives, Kahneman demonstrates how to better understand your own decision-making, and the choices made by others.
10.Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor. E. Frankl
Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl reflects on his experience in the Nazi Concentration camps and discusses logotherapy, a school of thought contending that humans are motivated by the search for meaning, not power or pleasure. Frankl shows us that no matter what happens in our lives, we have the ability to choose our response and find meaning in our suffering.
Viktor teaches this principle by telling the story of how he survived and endured unimaginable tragedies during the Holocaust and came out on the other end with an impressive mental fortitude and ability to find meaning in his experiences.
11.Top Visionaries Who Changed the World by George Illian
What if you could sit down to dine with some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and have a conversation with them? What would you ask them? What insights would they give to you?
Find inspiring life and business lessons from visionaries such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Anthony Robbins, Elon Musk and Oprah Winfrey. If you don’t have the passion for what you are doing, then you will not make it very high in your field. Read about success and failure from businessmen who have built some of the most valuable foundations of the world. Learn to think like a winner!
12.See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar
Born from these humble beginnings, Zig became a global leaders in the realm of positive thinking and self improvement. Zig Ziglar wrote See You at the Top as his own how-to guide on living a life of happiness, health and wealth.
The book is cleverly written with many great stories to illustrate his points. Throughout the book, Zig uses the imagery of a flight of stairs next to an elevator that is ‘out of order’.
The idea is that while each step gets you closer to the ultimate goal of a happy purposeful life, the steps must be taken in order and there are no shortcuts (as the elevator is ‘out of order’, you have to take the stairs). Zig’s 6 steps to success and happiness are Self Image, Relationships with others, Goals, Attitude, Work and Desire.
13. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
The Celestine Prophecy contains secrets that are currently changing our world. Drawing on the ancient wisdom found in a Peruvian manuscript, it tells you how to make connections between the events happening in your own life right now…and lets you see what is going to happen to you in the years to come.
The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystalize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life…and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimism as you head into tomorrow.
14.What to Say When You Talk to Your Self by Dr. Shad Helmstetter
What to Say When You Talk to Your Self Summary author says that every person each of us is programmed from birth on, author says that as much as 75 percent and more of our programming may be negative and it is working against us, author has also shared ways to erase and replace past mental programs with healthy, new programs that can be positively life-changing, and this book is considered by many as one of the most important and helpful personal growth books.
What to Say When You Talk to Your Self Summary contains various chapters and shows various techniques which can reverse your negative programming and can fill your life with new and vital energy, in this book author says to learn to talk to yourself, learn the words-the right words-and use them, make success a permanent way of life with what to say when you talk to yourself.
15.Inner Engineering By Sadhguru
In the modern world, even though we have access to more facilities than ever in history, but most of the people are still living in stress.
People are alive but they are not happy. Our minds are filled with so much stress and pressure that it is making people insane.
We often forget ourselves running after so-called fancy things facilitated to us by the world.
All we need to understand is our own selves. To understand oneself one should be able to align its body, mind, and energies.
The method that is used by yogis and saints from centuries is revealed in this book called “Inner Engineering” written by “Sadhguru”.
Comment and let us know the names of the self-help books which you think is a must read.
