The Road to Self-Improvement: How Self-Help Books Can Help You Get There
What are self help books?
Self help books (i.e. IKIGAI) are antidotes to our day to day life problems, be it related to relationships, family, career, success, failure, habits, etc. How lovely is it that there exists a self help book for almost every problem you can possibly face in this century. Self help books are results of an author’s dedicated research and experience in a particular topic. Self help books elaborate not just the most practically approachable solution but also the reasons for problems. Oftentimes, we think that we understand what the problem actually is. But most of the time we are wrong. We miss on a lot of clues and causes of our problems without realizing it. So, the best thing to do when we are stuck is to pick up a self help book.
Benefits of reading self help books:
- Self help books don’t have a target audience. They are for everyone. They work for all.
- They are easy to understand, just like guides, with step by step solutions.
- Almost every self help book contains scientific and psychological facts relating to that particular problem.
- For example, you want to lose weight. People advice you to exercise. You hear them but don’t listen to them. However, when you read a self help book about fitness or healthy living you ought to take action. That’s because your brain is focused while reading. Every time, while reading about fitness, your brain is absorbing that information. That’s the reason, many people read self help books again and again.
- Every self help book is a tried and tested experiment. The solutions suggested have already worked for the author. It might work for you as well.
- While reading a self help book, you will always realize how little knowledge you had about the world and the human mind.
Which are the bestselling self help books?
Rich dad poor dad – for financial stability
Miracle morning – to become a morning person
Inner engineering – for well being
How to win friends and influence people – for social skills
The positive way to change your life – for a positive mind set.
Recommending you five more self help books for different areas of your life:
Who moved my cheese – to deal with Change
“Change is the only constant”. A short, simple story which teaches you a profound truth about life. Cheese is a metaphor used for what we desire in life, be it money, relationships or success. The story has four characters- two mice, Sniff and Scurry, who like their name always sniff and scurry any change occurring in their lives. They observe every little up coming change, accept it and adapt according to it and hence they are always satisfied. Unlike the other two characters Hem and Haw. These two aren’t as alert as sniff and scurry. They like to stay in their comfort zones. Hem or those people who don’t change themselves and discourage others as well. Haw initially denied changing himself but as time flies, he realises that he was wrong. He heads out on his journey to find new cheese defeating his fears and learning new lessons all the way. A classic guide for everyone who has a Hem and Haw in them.
The subtle art of not giving a f*ck – for Happiness & Positivity
The whole thing about being happy and positive all the time is an evil resting on our shoulders all the time. Author and superstar blogger Mark Manson points out exactly what is wrong about this being positive- all-the-time approach. In the authors words, “ Life is shitty and it is going to stay that way”. Our job is to come out and face our fears instead of camouflaging with society’s so called good value system. Let’s be real, the way you are the, way you want to be. You don’t need any validation from anyone. “It’s your life and you have limited f*cks to give so choose your f*cks wisely”. A bold eye opener.
Eat that frog – for Procrastination
A frog is a metaphor for any undesirable task. The idea is to complete that task first so that you have a feeling of getting done with the worst. This one sitting guide helps you to get your to do lists tick marked. It dives deep to the root cause of procrastination and then effectively explains step by step how to gain control over it. The reasons for procrastination aren’t the same for everyone. The book gets a plus for giving diverse tactics for different areas of procrastination. Every chapter presents a new idea and altogether the book contains 21 impactful ways to win your game against procrastination. The best thing about the book is that it directly gets to the point without simply spouting unnecessary philosophy. A quick read applicable to all struggling with time management and getting things done.
Ikigai – To live a long Healthy life
The people of Japan have practiced ikigai- their reason to live, their passion for centuries. Undoubtedly one can find people living more than a century in Japan. The authors bring you this stress bursting book packed with ideas about living a healthy, happy and long life. The book contains wisdom from people of Japan, the ones who have grown old but are still young at heart. Their idea of life, words of wisdom, experiences, diet and traditional practices are presented to you in a well crafted manner.
Atomic habits – For better Habits
ATOMIC HABITS All people are the same only their habits differ. Ever imagined why you are unable to execute what you have in mind? What stops you from performing good habits and getting rid of bad ones? Successful people and others have only one thing uncommon and that is their habits. Allow this book to take you on eye opening journey of the tricks and hacks of habit formation. Habits are oceans made up of atomic changes as droplets. Each atomic change might look insignificant in the beginning but many such atomic changes makeup a habit.
Self help books are power packed doses of wisdom which you need from time to time. You needn’t pick them only when you feel burdened with life problems. Make it a habit to pick a new self help book every month. Because they are mind refreshers. They are eye openers. They are life changers.
