Stuck in Life? 24 Must Read Self Development Books To Add To Your Collection

Hey loves, how have y’all been holding up during this time? Sending love and positive vibes to all of you. I have been focusing on boosting my immune system with specific foods, herbs, vitamins, herbal teas, etc. and only leaving the house if necessary.

One of my pass time is reading. I love reading. There is nothing like sitting back chilling with a herbal tea in one hand and a good book in the other hand.

It is so calming until it feels like you are taking a pause from the world.

Reading inspires me, relaxes me, makes me smarter, helps to activate my creativity muscle, gives me entertainment (depending on what I am reading), etc.

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body-Joseph Addison

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are-Mason Cooley

You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax. All you need is a book-Dr. Seuss

According to Stanborough (2019), reading includes benefits for you on a physical and mental level.

In her article on Healthline, Stanborough (2019) also provided studies that showed how reading:

can strengthened your brain
helps you empathize more
increase your vocabulary
may help reduce cognitive decline caused by age
reduce stress
helps you sleep better
may reduce symptoms of depression
may help you live longer.

Well, will you look at those benefits? How about you read, I read, we all read. Deal? Since we are practicing social distancing and self quarantine, this may be a good time to catch up on some reading and get some of those benefits.

I decided to compiled a list of books to share with y’all that I have enjoyed. Sometimes we feel stuck in life and forget what we are capable of. We need inspiration.

If you are wanting to get unstuck, set aside some time daily to read some inspirational books.

It is important to be mindful of what you are feeding your mind.

I would place these books listed below in the category of inspiration. They have all inspired me in one way or the other.

So, if you are wanting to get some reading in and be inspired, this post is for you.

Here is the list ( the books are not listed in any particular order)

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert-Gilbert takes you on her journey to capture creativity. Through her writing, she inspires you to activate your creative side and what happens everything you give in to your creativity and what happens when you don’t.

GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso-Amoruso talks about how she built her business from the ground up with the start of an eBay store. Through her writing, she shows you how thinking outside of the box and having a take no crap attitude help her get success.

Fear is my Homeboy by Judi Holler-Holler uses empowering thoughts and provides strategical ideas to inspire the reader to embrace fear and not let it control you.

Girl, Wash your Face by Rachel Hollis-Hollis shares her own struggles to help others overcome theirs. She inspires you to create habits that will help you get the life you want.

The One Thing by Gary Keller-Keller encourages you to focus on one thing you to achieved and create steps to support it. He inspires you to let that one thing guide you in your decision making instead of being all over the place. After reading, you will want to stop and re prioritized your tasks to fit your one thing.

You are a Badass by Jen Sincero-Sincero inspires you to believe in yourself. Her language may not doable for everyone but she does a great job with providing mantras and daily lessons to help you see how Awesome you truly are. When you believe in yourself, you go after the life you want.

Vibrate Higher Daily Lalah Delia (currently reading)-Delia encourages you to live an intentional life and participates in activities (pay attention to what you eat, what you watch, what you listen, your environment, etc) that will raise your vibration. She provides you with a guide through self awareness, empowerment, self care, & channeling of energy to help you thrive in life by vibrating higher daily.

Ball Can’t be Life by Latasha Lampkin-I am honored to have this author on this list. I know her. We are both from the Delta of Mississippi. Lampkin inspires you through her transparency as she and her sons journey through the life of playing sports. The motivation and determination that her family possessed is very inspirational. She gives you a thought provoking & different perspective on the sport’s world from the parent’s view as well as her sons.

Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin-Gretchen talks about how you can identify and incorporate ways int your life that help you have happiness. She encourages you through her journey to find out what contributes to your happiness.

Grace not Perfection by Emily Ley-Ley shares how it takes giving yourself grace to be okay with doing and the utilizing the word “No.” She also encourages you with personal experiences to give yourself grace throughout different times in your life. You don’t have to strive for perfection. She shares very helpful organization and planning tips.

Present not Perfect by Shauna Niequist-Niequist shares her personal struggles on how she is working on ways to simplify her life. She encourages you to slow down and appreciate life in the moment.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle-Through self awareness and clarity, Tolle encourages you to get out of your own head and start living in the present. He provides you with a guide to help you stay in the present or get back to present if your mind wander off to the past or future. He encourages you to fully enjoy the present (Now). If you are ready for an awakening, Tolle does a good job on getting you there.

Untethered Soul by Michael Singer-Singer encourages you to practice self awareness when it comes to your thoughts. He provides an exercise for you to do regarding imagining sitting next to someone been told the same thoughts in your head. As a witness, you will realize how untrue and weird they sound. You can control how you react to the thoughts, your emotions, and how you view your world. If you are seeking a path to enlightening, Singer helps with getting you there.

I would say Tolle & Singer book go hand in hand.

Fail Until You Don’t by Bobby Jones-Jones inspires you to keep going when you failed. It is OK to fail just don’t stop. Jones not only shares his personal experiences but he shares experiences of others to encourage you to keep failing until you don’t. If you need a boost of motivation, this book is for you.

Instinct by Bishop T .D. Jakes-Jakes encourages you to get in tune with your core calling so you can become best you. He guides you on a journey to take stock in your life regarding what you do, what you been told to do, what you believe, etc. You began to see how the answers to these questions have shaped how you have live life thus far. If you didn’t have these influences, what would you want your life to look like? This is where Instinct comes in. He guides you on how to use your instinct to get the life you want.

Jump by Steve Harvey-Harvey encourages you through his life experiences and faith in God. He talks about how jumping, taking a change, and not giving up got him where he is today. He doesn’t just share the not so good moments when he started out but he shares the not so good moments after he achieved success and how he made it through them. Jump will make you want to jump after reading it.

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes-I have been a fan of Shonda since the beginning of “Grey’s Anatomy.” In her book, she encourages you to take some time out and say Yes to things in life by sharing her experience.

Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst-Terkeurst uses her life experiences to help you see how rejection had impacted her as a person and how it intertwined in the beliefs and thoughts she had about herself. She takes you along her journey of finding healing through wisdom and biblical scriptures and helps you see how you can find your healing too. Throughout her book, you will find yourself stopping, digging, and self reflecting.

Make it Happen by Lara Casey- Casey inspires you to live a life of purpose by sharing her life experiences. She talks about how she exercised faith in God and some practical steps to help accomplish goals in her life. She focuses on progress not perfection and helps you see how you can too. She provides you with questions to help you reflect and take action.

The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst-Terkeurst encourages you through her life experiences and biblical teachings to learn to choose the best Yes in life. It is okay to say No and not accept every Yes. If you are religious, she inspires you the importance of learning how to discern between what God is calling you do vs yourself.

Like She Owns the Place by Cara Alwill Leyba-Leyba inspires you to have confidence in yourself and believe in yourself. She uplifts you through tips and tools she used to help her through personal struggles. She also provides writing prompts to help you stop, reflect, and dig a little further.

Don’t Settle for Safe Sarah Jakes Roberts-Roberts encourages you through personal experiences how to overcome. She inspires you to embrace your vulnerabilities and be confident in who are. She provides you with practical steps and tools to help you move forward in life.

Black Privilege by Charlamagne Tha God-Charlamagne encourages you to get your power back and better your life. He shares his life experiences and how he got to where he is today. He is funny, raw, & unfiltered.

Love Does by Bob Goff-Goff inspires you through his journey of great adventure. He encourages you to live a purpose driven life. He inspires you to live more like Jesus and show love to others in everyday life.

Okay, y’all. It time to end this post. This evening is beautiful. The sun is shining through the window. I got some lavender oil in the diffuser and my tea is finished steeping.

I will be enjoying a mint medley consisting of peppermint leaves, spearmint leaves, rose hips, lemon peel, & hibiscus. Relaxing, I tell you.

Can you just feel the relaxing and calming vibes through the screen? It’s time to sip this mint medley tea and finish reading Vibrate Higher Daily by Lalah Delia. She did not disappoint.

I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I did.

Wait…before I go, go read Why You Need To Be Your Own Best Cheerleader

Do you have any recommendations? Do share in the comments.

Until Next Time

Source:

Stanborough, R. (2019). Benefits of Reading Books: How it Can Positively Affect Your Life. Retrieved from https: //www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books#strengthens-the-brain