The Best Self-Help Books to Read for Personal Growth

Lately, I have introduced a new habit of reading self-help books every single day.

It can be just a few minutes before bed, but I make sure to do it.

I find that reading such books may not always provide me with new information, but it always improves my productivity and motivation.

I want to spend some time learning every single day. It is the only way to grow as a person and improve.

But keep in mind that reading about improving yourself, is not actually improving yourself.

Make sure you treat self-help books as a tool that will help you introduce changes in your life.

If you do not actually implement anything and try out what you learned to better your life, all that reading is in vain.

Books can also give you new ideas, and open your mind to new opportunities.

You start learning about concepts and ideas that might lead to big changes in your life.

People who stop learning, stop progressing.

And that is never a good place to be.

If I have enough time to watch YouTube and Netflix series, then I have enough time to spend 1 hour a day learning.

That can be in the form of books, but also in the form of audibles, courses, videos, and podcasts.

Choose what you consume

There is a lot of attention-seeking, shallow content on the Internet.

You could spend hours and hours watching short videos without really learning anything.

What’s worse, the content you consume can also make you feel less worthy, dissatisfied with your life, and sad.

You need to be really selective when you choose the content you want to consume.

It is extremely important to just focus on what is truly important to you, and silence all the other noise.

For me, learning is extremely important.

Not all self-help books are the same, but I find that even if I do not read the whole book, I always gain something useful from them.

Here are several books I read recently that helped me improve my life:

Deep Work by Cal Newport

“Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on.
Cal newport

Deep Work opened my eyes to the fact that we mostly spend our days on shallow work and distractions. The book outlines clear rules for focused work in a distracted world.

And absolutely everyone can benefit from learning how to go deep, and how to really focus on important things.

He gives very practical tips on how to start introducing deep work into your routine, and how to learn to focus in this very distracted environment we live in today.

This is one of the best self-improvement books I have read, and it shows how our lives can change if we just introduce a few positive habits.

I wrote about this book in another post, feel free to check it out.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.
James clear

A few months ago, I read Atomic Habits by James Clear, a book that taught me how to create and sustain new habits.

For years I struggled with introducing new habits into my routine. One of them is exercise, I seemed to fail every time I tried to exercise regularly.

The book contains some advice that is common knowledge, however, there are some tips that I found very useful. And once I applied them, I noticed real, lasting changes in my routine.

I guess that if you already have very good habits and do not struggle with regularly keeping up with exercise or good nutrition, you might not find this book useful.

However, if you struggle with this, then I would recommend reading it.

You can also check out some powerful takeaways from this book in my post Building Habits.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control – myself.
Stephen covey

This book is a bit more difficult to read. And I spent months reading it, chapter by chapter.

Sometimes I was overwhelmed, and other times I gasped in surprise at some things he wrote about.

It is not a book you can read just before bed when you are sleepy. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you’ll want to study this book, not skim it.

Perhaps even take notes while reading it.

It contains valuable advice about your life, values, vision, and relationships with others.

I wrote several posts based on this book: Setting goals – Begin with the end in mind and Sharpen The Saw – Living A Balanced Life.

The most important takeaway from this book is to first think about what is truly and deeply important to you. To focus on what really matters and not get distracted along the way.

I highly recommend this book to those who are patient and who can read a more complex book.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F#ck by Mark Manson

Many people may be to blame for your unhappiness, but nobody is ever responsible for your unhappiness but you. This is because you always get to choose how you see things, how you react to things, how you value things.
mark manson

Perhaps the style of this book might not suit you, but it contains some very useful advice.

I would say this book is geared towards younger people, the language is simple and direct.

Almost like you are reading a blog post.

However, do not be deceived by the language and style of this book, it offers some deep insight and valuable lessons.

The author advises us to embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop avoiding painful truths, it is then that we begin to find the courage and confidence.

I see a lot of criticism online about this book, some say that it is repetitive and contradictory, but I think that it is interesting and insightful. I also liked that it was simple and easy to read.

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed
William H. McRaven

This small book offers valuable lessons on leadership, resilience, and the power of small actions to make a big difference.

Making your bed each morning may seem like a small and insignificant task, but it sets the tone for the rest of the day and brings a sense of discipline and accomplishment.

This book left a deep impression and forever changed my habits. I always make my bed when I get up, I do not think I skipped a day after I had read this book.

But it is of course much deeper than just making your bed.

The writer shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his long Naval career but also throughout his life.

I recommend this book thoroughly, I think it is easy to read and it is very insightful.