I read a lot, and I accredit my love of reading to helping me achieve many of my goals and successes in life. Reading helps me maintain focus and motivation to strive for more self-love and self-improvement. It helps me de-stress, stay curious, learn to love and accept myself and stay interested in life. I’m a self-development and personal growth book junkie so I’ve put together this list of some of my favorite books, or at least the ones that have impacted me over the last couple of years. I attribute some of these books to helping speed up my own healing on my journey. This list will continue to be updated as I continue to read more books.
We have years and years of negative self-talk built up that we need to tear down and reframe. In situations like these, I turn to learning. There are no limits to the knowledge you can gain through daily reading. It gives you an unlimited supply of knowledge, boundless growth, and life-changing ideas right at your fingertips!
Make It A Habit
One of my favorite and cherished habits is waking up at 4:30 to read and write for an hour over coffee. (Yes, I drink coffee!! I try hard to limit it to one cup a day). I know 4:30 am isn’t realistic to most people but could you get up just 30 minutes earlier than you have to? Could you cut your TV time in half and replace it with reading time in the evenings? Could you listen to books while you commute? If you think you don’t have time to read but would like to read more, I encourage you to take a look at your day. There is always time. Make reading a priority and its easy to fit it in. 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there can really add up.
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and prayer is to the soul. We become the books we read." – Mathew Kelly
Tips for making reading a habit:
- Commit. Commit to reading 10 or 20 pages a day, split up if you have to (although five is okay to start with if you really don’t yet enjoy reading).
- Schedule it. Schedule reading times into your day.
- Be accountable. Join a book club or get a friend to be book partner with.
- Be prepared. Always have a book with you, either on your phone, an audiobook or stash a printed book in your bag.
- Plan ahead. Spend a bit of time researching what books you want to read and choose 1-2 for each month.
We must focus on learning to heal our relationships with ourselves and our bodies. There are books designed to help you work on your relationship with yourself, living in the present, forgiveness, and overall just building an amazing life for yourself! The key is to learn from those who have already done what you want to do. We don’t always have to reinvent the wheel.
There are books out there for anything that you want to achieve. Whether you’d like to learn to love yourself, transform your relationships, increase your self-confidence, improve any area of your life, head to your local bookstore or do what I do and head to the library or Amazon. You’ll find a plethora of books on any area of your life you want to improve.
Begin With The End In Mind
Before you pick out a book to read, ask yourself why you are reading that book – What do you want to gain from it? – and keep that outcome in mind. Then you have to think about committing to implementing what you’ve learned and taking action. It may be tempting to stay in a state of “learning” and not “doing” or “implementing.”
It’s only when we put the things we are learning into action that our time spent investing in personal development becomes rewarding. Reading and learning may feel like action but really isn’t. Well, we could say its intellectual action. You’re thinking about doing something, but you’re not actually doing something.
I encourage you to not just learn about the concepts from these books but to actually start applying what they are teaching you.
Some Books I Recommend
- The Power Is Within You by Louise Hay
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown (really all of her books are amazing!)
- Thank and Grow Rich by Pam Grout
- You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
- The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
- The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
- Oola Find Balance in an Unbalanced World by Dave Braun and Troy Amdahl
- The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
I highly recommend re-reading good personal development books. Rarely can we read a book once and internalize all of the value from that book. It takes being exposed to certain ideas, strategies, or techniques over and over again until they become ingrained in your subconscious mind.
If you’re looking for support and coaching to live your healthiest life…I invite you to schedule a call with me. I would love to link arms and walk alongside you on your journey.
Now, I’d love to hear from you. Do you read self-development books? What has been your favorite? Let me know in the comments.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not to be construed as medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition. These statements made have not been approved by the FDA, nor should they be taken as a substitute for medical advice from a licensed physician.
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