When you first dive into self-improvement or brain development, you might get suggestions to read a mindset book. Or maybe someone will quote a particular book.
Whatever the case may be, one good decision we can make in our lives is deciding to take up reading in order to improve ourselves. Over the years, there have been numerous authors who have written powerful and inspiring books. These have pushed people to new heights in the development of their mindset. Both young and older alike.
But because there are so many books to choose from, I want to provide you with a comprehensive list of books. These are books that I find powerful and have shaped my life over the years. And I believe they can do the same for you.
Before diving into the list, it’s important to cover why bother reading in the first place. Just because I’ve read plenty of books doesn’t mean others are going to get the exact same experience as myself.
While every person’s experience in reading a book is different, every book has a base value for people. Not only are we improving our reading and comprehension skills, but these books provide extensive knowledge.
We have no idea what is going to resonate with us and help us see things from a new perspective. But all the same, that can change our lives around as we will see our problems differently.
As I said, there are numerous books with vast knowledge for us. Regardless of when the book was published, many mindset books are still appropriate in today’s society. Most – if not all – mindset books are evergreen after all.
Below are some of my top picks for books to consider. They’re not in any particular order so pick the ones that strike your fancy.
1. The Power Of Habit
The first I want to cover is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. After that book, he also published Smarter Faster Better which is another I’d recommend.
But getting back to Power of Habit, Duhigg argues in the book that 40% of our daily activities stem from the habits that we form. In order to prove this theory, Duhigg worked with neurological researchers and conducted studies where people broke several bad habits and tested to see if brain activity changed as a result.
What they found was interesting and led to one clear message:
No matter how many bad habits that you have, you can change them all if you focus on breaking one of them.
Duhigg then translates that into practical uses people can use in business and society.
2. The Happiness Project
For those of us looking for more balance, this is a mindset book you want to pick up. In the book, author Gretchen Rubin conducted a self-experiment for a year.
In it, Rubin broke happiness into 12 sub-categories and every month she focused on one of those aspects.
The insights and the stories that she provided are insightful and inspiring and in the end, it looks like she achieved her balance.
3. Search Inside Yourself
A book written by Chade-Meng Tan, Tan works at Google to this day. He started off as a software engineer but changed roles later on. He’s now a personal growth coach with a focus on mindfulness.
The book focuses a lot on the subject. Specifically, he focuses on emotional intelligence. To Tan, mastering this intelligence is the key to higher productivity, health, and peace.
4. Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff
Written by Richard Carlson, this is an older book but still a great one. In many cases of mindset books, it sometimes pays to have books serve as reminders for things we already know.
In this case, this book reminds us that the small challenges and frustrations do build up.
And the best way to remove them is to not worry so much about the small stuff.
5. Loveability
Written by Richard Holden, Ph. D., this is a mindset book that touches on advice for giving and receiving love — both internally and externally. This book also explores broader definitions of love that we tend to forget.
Holden believes that love is everywhere, even in relationships we’re not fond of. To him, the absence of love is fear rather than hate. Because of this, he offers unique positions to offer love at all levels.
6. The 52 Weeks: Two Women and Their Quest to Get Unstuck, with Stories and Ideas to Jumpstart Your Year of Discovery
Written by Karen Young and Pam Godwin, this can look like a chick non-fiction book but there are some powerful insights for everyone. The idea with this book is two authors set off to go on one new adventure every week for a year.
Each new activity was a small goal, but each one achieved brought the two to realize something:
It was that life is all about learning, experiencing and growing.
This book also covers advice from psychologists and life coaches which is practical and sound too.
7. Prisons We Choose To Live Inside
Written by Doris Lessing, this is a book published in the 80’s that is still relevant today. It’s not so much a book but rather a series of essays based on what Lessing gave back then.
This book goes into explaining how societal groups shape our own perception of reality. From church to politics and government, these groups teach us to define who is good and bad.
From those beliefs, we insist that we are right and that our actions are justified whenever we try to “fix” people or treat others poorly. All in all this book challenges our own perceptions of the world.
8. The Myth of More
In this book, Joseph Novello challenges the belief that happiness brings us pleasure. When we buy a new home, get a promotion or a new car, we are happier.
Novello spends his time digging into these ideas and why these things will never make us happy. Instead, he pushes us to find pleasure in seeking.
This book may come off a bit dry, but there are strong stories, good humour and enough poignancy to keep peoples attention.
9. 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People
As I suggested above, a shift in habits can change your life around. While it’s smart to replace those bad habits with something better, there are other habits that we could adopt. My suggestion is the habits that are outlined in this book.
Written by Stephen R Covey, this book takes the habits from the best leaders around and stuffed them into a single book. But what’s nice about this is that Covey spends time in the book talking about mindset too.
He challenges the reader to change their approach to productivity, time management, and positive thinking. All aspects that fuel a mindset.
10. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
The premise of this book is to challenge your thought process on experiences.
For many of us, our fondest memories are vacation trips we took or a memorable dinner with family. What this book does is shakes those memories and challenges us to have a fondness for other things. Like times we put in more effort at work to achieve a goal.
The book expands on those points and shows us how we can bring flow into our life and use that to achieve great things.
11. Thinking Fast And Slow
Another solid pick is Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman digs into psychology to help us unlock the code of how we come to the decisions that we make.
He starts by breaking down our thought process into two systems and highlighting how each system influences our decision-making.
Regardless of what industry your in or how complicated your decisions have to be, this book will provide help in understanding how we think. This can lead to us making better and smarter decisions.
12. Awaken the Giant Within
The final book I’ll cover is one written by Tony Robbins. He’s a famous speaker and has published several books. For this book, in particular, Robbins provides actionable steps and strategies to help us regain control of our emotional self.
The theory of this book is that when we have control internally, we’ll be able to steer ourselves externally. It’s an interesting read and it challenges you about your own perception of yourself.
Final Thoughts
The list of mindset books to try out is extensive but each one is well thought out. There is a reason why these books take up such a large section in book stores after all.
People are always looking for ways to optimize their life. For many, we feel like we are lacking in some areas and these books can provide the key. And based on the fact that many of these authors have spent years through self-experimentation and/or research, they’re providing great advice!
More Inspirational Books
- 35 Books on Productivity and Organizational Skills for an Effective Life
- 20 All-Time Best Motivational Books to Inspire You
- 25 Best Self Improvement Books to Read No Matter How Old You Are
Featured photo credit: Annie Spratt via unsplash.com
