Top 10 Self Work Books
Books are one of the single greatest tools available for doing self work. They offer life-changing insights from the minds of incredible people all over the world of both current generations and generations past. They're a timeless way to capture life lessons based on other peoples experiences both unique and similar to our own.
One of the most wonderful things about being a human is that no one is going it alone. Countless people have lived through whatever struggles you may be going through and made it out the other side. We can learn from one another and share this wisdom through books.
Below are 10 of the latest and greatest books that will help you heal, grow, and become a better human.
This book is written by Vasavi Kumar; a journalist, speaker, podcast host and licensed therapist. If there's one thing she certainly knows well, it's how to get a message across. Vasavi talks about how learning to express your unfiltered thoughts out loud can help you tune into your own internal wisdom and pursue the life you truly want. She offers tips and techniques to help you grow your voice and become more connected to your authentic self.
2. Talking on Eggshells: Soft Skills for Hard Conversations - Sam Horn
This next book also focuses on communication. Connecting with others, authentically representing ourselves and learning how to have tough conversations are essential life skills many people are never taught. Sam Horn is a communications expert hoping to fill in this gap by teaching readers how to keep their cool, and productively deal with touchy conversations, without letting their emotions get the better of them. You'll walk away from this book inspired and empowered with better conflict resolution skills.
3. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life - Jon Kabat-Zinn
Jon Kabat-Zinn's book is not a new release, but rather a potentially life-changing classic read for anyone hoping to live a life less burdened by stress, anxiety and pain. Jon is a retired professor of medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical School and a long-time student of Zen Buddhism. This marriage of Eastern and Western knowledge has created a book with modern applications of timeless wisdom. It will help you learn to use mindfulness as a lens from which to live a more peaceful life.
4. The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices and Rituals to Remember Who You Are - Tracee Stanley
Tracee's inspiring words provide clarity in a hectic world. We're often surrounded by so many voices that it can be hard to hear our own. Using her background of yoga and tantra along with personal stories and life lessons, she helps guide readers towards remembering who they truly are and what they deeply yearn for. Going deep and illuminating these hidden parts of ourselves is a beautiful way to make your life more intentional, liberated, and meaningful.
Using the Taoist principles of the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal), Tisha helps readers pinpoint their weakest element in order to uncover hidden strengths. Each element corresponds to specific strengths, and by working on our undeveloped areas rather than relying on our strong ones, we can become balanced, powerful and unstoppable humans.
6. The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age - Gladys McGarey M.D.
The Well-Lived Life is a heartfelt, practical, and endlessly valuable read from a modern day elder. Dr. Gladys McGarey is informally known as the 103 year old "mother of holistic medicine". She's lived a long and vibrant life full of both incredible and heartbreaking moments. All these years of wisdom have been distilled down to six secrets to help you live a healthy, long and inspiring life, just like her.
This next book's topic may be less spiritual than the others thus far, but it's equally important. It's no secret that modern life is full of endless scrolling and distractions. It's harder than ever to maintain focus, and this is showing up in the form of increased ADHD diagnoses, declining productivity, depression, general apathy and more. Johann Hari outlines the extent of this problem and provides solutions for how to regain focus in a chaotic world.
8. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self - Michael Easter
The next book is a challenge to readers to step outside of their cozy modern day lifestyles. Michael argues that most of us are underchallenged in our lives, and that this can contribute to mental and physical health issues. By expanding the edges of our comfort zones, we can tap into new creativity, joy and meaning.
9. When You're Ready, This Is How You Heal - Brianna Wiest
Brianna Wiest has written several prominent books in the sphere of self-development, always with a compassionate and intuitive lens. Her most recent book examines the reality of healing emotional scars in an everyday, genuine, and relatable way. If you've been carrying burdens from your past, this may just be the book to help you finally learn to release them.
10. Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament - Michael A Singer
Michael A Singer has been writing influential books for over a decade, and his most recent work is a continuation of his previous New York Times #1 Bestseller: "The Untethered Soul". This book delves into some deep questions. How do we find meaning in our lives? What is blocking you from reaching your highest potential? You'll find a wealth of insights from this book that help you better understand yourself and the world around you.
These past few years have been a deeply insightful time for many people as we've all been navigating a rapidly changing world. Writers and readers alike have been pondering some deep questions, and these books all offer unique and invaluable revelations to provide clarity on these pertinent topics. Through intentional reading, self-reflection and a plenty of patience, hopefully we can all get a little bit closer to thriving as our ideal selves in an unideal world.