I won't lie, I'm a sucker for a good self-help book. I find myself buying a new one almost every month. But I'll be the first to admit all I ever do is add them to my shelf, or Apple Book library and never really get around to reading them. It can be a struggle getting into reading, especially when something doesn't grab your attention immediately. So here I am recommending my 5 favourite books that I read from beginning to end and couldn't put down. I believe if you're in an uncomfortable spot in life right now, these books will surely give you the spark and vision you need to get up and keep moving.
My number one tip when reading a self-help book is to apply the knowledge and information that resonates with you as soon as humanly possible. These books will just be another story if you're not doing anything with the information you've been given.
Atomic Habits
For the whole year, I struggled to go to the gym and I couldn't understand why. For 2 years straight I was a consistent gym goer. I would be there 4 days a week, 8am sharp no excuse. When anyone asked me how I do it, I simply replied ''I just do'', as if it was something that came naturally to me. I won't lie, I was even the person that looked at you sideways if I heard you coming up with an excuse as to why you couldn't make it to the gym. I always thought ''If you wanted to, you would''. Until one day, I wanted to, but couldn't. I couldn't get up and go to the gym as easily as I once could. After reading Atomic Habits, I was able to understand my failure to go to the gym was not because I was no longer motivated, It was simply because this task required much more effort than it did in the past. Previously my daughter was at nursery 4 days a week from 8am, I had a car and the drive to the gym was about 2 minutes. My thought process back then was going to the gym is easy, because I'm already up and out early and the gym is on the way to my house, so I have no reason not to go. Because of how easy it was for me to access the gym, and how easily it fit around my morning routine this habit was easy for me to adopt and maintain.
Fast forward to today, my daughter is only in nursery 1 day a week (I have her the rest of the time, all of the time). I no longer have a car and the gym is about an hour's commute away. With all of these factors combined, going to the gym was no longer something I could access with ease and I now faced many obstacles to getting there. After I read Atomic Habits, I was able to understand my circumstances better and was able to put measures in place that allowed me to adopt the habit of going to the gym consistently once again. I moved to a gym closer to my house/my daughter's nursery and I increased her days at the nursery so I wouldn't have to worry about childcare.
One thing I learnt from this book is, adopting a habit is easier if it fits around something you're already doing. Going to the gym should be something that is on the way, not out of the way.
I highly recommend this book if you've wanted to incorporate good habits into your life or simply want to get rid of 'bad' ones. It's an enjoyable read that is easy to get through. You'll learn a lot and find new ways to start doing the things you've always wanted to do.
Ask And It Is Given
Do you believe you can have whatever you want in life? If your response is followed by uncertainty, I suggest getting this book, as it's a good reminder that having whatever you want in life, starts with self-belief and simply asking the universe to present it to you.
This book can be a mouthful and it may take several tries before you're able to read it effortlessly, but once you understand who source is and what they're saying, you won't be able to put it down.
It's easy to wish for things in life, and sometimes all you need to achieve them is a little bit of self-belief. Esther and Jerry's Hicks do a great job of providing practical tips that will allow you to dominate 2023 and start manifesting your wildest dreams.
This book will allow you to understand yourself, the universe and God. It teaches you about being a vibrational being that operates at a frequency and the way to manifest what you want, is to match its vibrational frequency. It will help you understand how your vibrational alignment inevitably attracts the things, people and circumstances in your life.
Grab your copy here
Manifest Now
I gave this book to my mum and within one year she was able to Manifest a first-class degree, get engaged, get a new car and upgrade her career. If that hasn't sold this book to you, I don't know what will. Especially because my mum was someone who had no idea what manifestation was before this.
Idil Ahmed teaches us about manifestation in a way that is soft and caring. She helps us realise who we are and what we are capable of achieving. Manifest Now is packed with a lot of insightful information, and if you're someone who is already into manifestation, it acts as a healthy reminder.
My favourite part of this book is something I hadn't considered before. She talks about how important it is to let go of your manifestation and trust the process. This concept is so simple, yet so powerful. I feel as though many other teachings suggest it is important to hold onto your manifestation and constantly think about it. But when you start to think about that, it doesn't make sense. If you genuinely believe something is going to happen for you, why would you constantly have your mind on it? You should trust and believe so much to the point where you can let it go because you know it will manifest in its own time. This is the definition of having faith.
The Little Money Bible
As we're in a cost-of-living crisis, it was almost inevitable that I would find myself in a place where I was constantly thinking about bills and the rising costs of goods and services. Because I was in this state of lack/worry I found myself attracting more bills and expenses all within the same week. For example, my council tax increased, my car broke down, my daughter's nursery fees increased and I received a hefty bill I was not expecting at all. On top of this, I was receiving bills from a property I moved out of a year ago?!!!!
I decided to read The little money bible and it was the exact reminder I needed that whatever you focus on, you attract more of. The minute I shifted my mind from a state of lack to one of abundance was the minute I stopped attracting bills and instead started attracting more money.
Here are a few notes I made from this book that I think acts as a healthy reminder to those who want to experience more abundance in their life. *Cough cough* you see how I said MORE abundance? that's because you are already abundant and now all you have to do is get more of it.
- Always remember God and keep him at the forefront of your mind because he is the one who gives you the power to create wealth.
- Convince yourself there is no lack, no unfairness and no discrimination. This will stop you from thinking negatively about yourself and the reasons why you aren't where you want to be yet.
- Making money isn't hard. Once you get into the groove of it, you won't be able to stop.
- Don’t be confused about where money is coming from. Be confident in yourself and know it’s you that has been creating it.
- You can't become abundant if you exclude yourself. When you see someone/or something that is of high status and wealth, invoke and speak out loud that that will be you next.
- Do not engage in conversations about lack of money or struggle because this creates uncertainty within you and makes you feel less abundant.
The 12 Week Year
Have you ever set a goal in January and then you woke up one day halfway through the year and realise you'd forgotten all about it? The 12-week year says this happens because we convince ourselves we have all the time in the world to achieve that goal due to having 12 months. What tends to happen is we give ourselves 12 months, do nothing with 11 of them and then in December we try our hardest to achieve all of the things we should have done previously and end up failing.
Giving yourself 3 months to accomplish goals is more effective because the lack of time creates more urgency as we are no longer distracted by the rest of the year. It gives us the chance to focus on what's important and there's a greater chance of sticking to it because there's less time to get bored.
If you are adamant about achieving your highest value goals, I highly recommend reading the 12-week year before getting started, as it will set you up with the right tools to get this done.