Reading is an excellent personal development method, but it isn’t just the fact that you’re reading a book that makes it effective. You can also choose books that were written specifically to help you in your personal growth.
Here are some of the best personal development books to help you improve yourself and reach your goals.
1. The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil Fiore
In one way or another, we all struggle with procrastination. We know we have a deadline to meet, yet something always seems to stand in our way. Even when we don’t have an immediate time constraint, some of us have a hard time enjoying our down time when we know there is still work to be done.
Neil Fiore’s strategies will help you learn to replace your procrastination habit with a routine that will help you get things done with time to spare, so you can enjoy more of your freedom.
2. Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self Motivation by Edward Deci
If you have ever struggled to complete a task you have completely lost interest in, you might have began to wonder what it is inside us that drives us to push through lack of motivation to get things done. Psychology has plenty of answers, and can even help you begin to use yourself as your own motivational resource.
Edward L. Deci claims in his book that the best way to motivate someone to get something done is to teach them how to be their own source of motivation. His insights will change the way you think about rewarding others for their hard work.
3. Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less by Steve Scott
One major roadblock that often stands in the way of making changes in our lives is that we are too overwhelmed with all the things we want to change. There is no law that says we have to do it all at once. In fact, there is a technique that lets us take on one small change at a time.
Introducing habit stacking, a technique that allows you to adopt new habits into your life without having to make too many large changes all at once. The best part? They don’t take very long to master if you take them one at a time.
4. The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Reward by Jim Leohr and Tony Schwartz
When we are constantly moving, and constantly checking notifications and responding to text messages, it can feel like we are always running out of time. In reality, it might not be the time we aren’t managing well, but the way we are expending our energy. This book teaches you how to find balance in your work and personal life.
5. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity by David Allen
This book is all about separating your emotions from your work. The fear and anxiety you feel about the projects you aren’t dedicating enough time to are hindering your ability to work on things that are more important. Learn to plan ahead, delegate tasks, reduce stress and optimize your productivity.
6. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Making friends isn’t as hard as you thought it was. You can influence the way people think and behave just by using the techniques addressed in Dale Carnegie’s classic guide to interpersonal success both in your personal and professional life.
7. Let Go! by Pat Flynn
This is Pat Flynn’s memoir, which tells the story of how he turned away from the path he had always expected himself to continue traveling down in order to become the successful entrepreneur he is today. Sometimes, the best decision you will make is the decision to let go of the unexpected.
8. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Have you ever been so engrossed in a task that you end up working on it for hours at a time without realizing how many minutes have gone by? This is what psychologists call flow, or a state of work in which your mind is able to put all its focus into one task. It turns out this doesn’t have to be an accidental experience.
This book will teach you how to get yourself into a flow state on purpose, so that you can be more creative and better enjoy the work that you are doing.
9. Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! by Tony Robbins
Feeling out of control is a common, yet very unpleasant experience. There are plenty of things throughout our lives that we cannot control, external stimuli that seems out to make us miserable. There is one definite thing in our lives we will always be in control of, however: ourselves.
This book aims to help you become the master of yourself, dishing out techniques to help you live physically, emotionally, socially and financially healthy no matter the obstacles that come your way.
10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Whether you yourself are an introvert or you know one in your life, you know that their more reserved way of moving about the world is often looked down upon by the more extroverted professionals of the world. What if introverts are more vital to the success of our society than we think they are?
Susan Cain argues that introverts will inherit the earth – sort of – by showcasing introverts from history who have used their quiet personalities to make big changes throughout the world.
No matter the area of your life you are trying to improve, these books are filled with helpful tips and tricks for making the most out of what you have. Regardless of your struggles, you will find your own way around them, and you will be that much more successful because of your dedication to the cause.
