The Top 5 Self Help Books to Read this Year

Posted on 1/19/2023, 9:27:07 AM

Have you been feeling unenlightened, let down, or stuck in your ways?

Are you ready for a change? For insight and inspiration?

Then maybe it’s time to look into some personal development books to shake things up. These five books by top business leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives will challenge your assumptions and shape you into a better you.

Read on to learn more about what each one can teach you about living a good life.

#1: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is an internationally recognized spiritual leader whose work and teachings are influenced by key insights from Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and New Age thought.

If you struggle with stress or anxiety, Tolle’s The Power of Now can help you break out of your rut. Tolle persuasively argues that the only “real” time is now and that stress originates from worrying about either the past or the future.

To reach greatness in your life, according to Tolle, you need to move away from your ego and the pain of the past and into the fullness of now. Taking up space in your own life begins with owning and feeling your way into your presence today.

#2: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

What’s in a habit? That’s the question Charles Duhigg seeks to answer in his influential personal development book, The Power of Habit.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We crave routine and seek it out, even when those routines are harming us.

Duhigg digs deep into the science of habits and how our minds work to sustain the momentum we’ve already established in our lives. To shift that momentum, he says, we’ll have to create new routines and replace the ones we have.

Duhigg’s plan can help you replace the destructive or time-wasting habits in your life with productivity, creativity, and forward-thinking movement. If you’re ready to change your life from the inside out, starting with your daily habits, this is the book for you.

#3: Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis

Tired of saying “I’m sorry?” at work, school, and home? Tired of feeling guilt and shame about being a woman with lofty ambitions? So was Rachel Hollis. That’s what inspired her to write this guide for women who want to move beyond societal expectations and live the lives of their dreams.

Hollis’ book encourages women to ignore the popular messaging that suggests they can’t have both careers and families. If you’ve always wanted to cast off cultural expectations and live the life you deserve, you’ll find plenty of inspiration here.

Women should stop dreaming, Hollis says, and start doing. With a detailed guide to goal-setting and leadership development, Girl, Stop Apologizing can help you shape your vision for the next ten years of your life and beyond.

#4: Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

“You never say yes to anything.” This was the sentence, from Shonda Rhimes’ own sister, that inspired Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal writer/showrunner Rhimes to start saying “yes” in her own life.

Despite her immense success, Rhimes realized that she was afraid of new opportunities. She avoided building better networks because she feared being a woman of color in the boys’ club of Hollywood. She avoided saying “yes” to play and fun because she was worried of wasting time or failing. She avoided saying “yes” to her own boundaries because she was afraid of how she’d come off.

Rhimes’ guide to living your best life will help you learn what saying “yes” looks like for you, whether it means being more assertive or stepping up to the plate to take on new responsibilities. A life without fear or avoidance is a gift, she suggests, but it’s one you can give yourself.

#5: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

Mark Manson’s irreverent, bestselling personal development book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, will help you care less and accomplish more.

How? By separating the nonsense and fluff of life (anxiety, others’ opinions about you, and pursuits that don’t fit your values, for example) from what really matters, Manson argues that you can finally find the happiness you’ve been chasing so relentlessly.

He urges readers to think about what they really care about and devote their lives to it, rather than wasting precious time and energy on chaos and fruitless efforts. Finding your truth and pursuing it to the exclusion of everything else requires a lot of work. But it’s worth it: It will give you back the power you’ve given away to things that didn’t matter.