22 Self-Help Books To Read in 2022
A Look Into the Best Books for Self-Improvement
These past two years have been chaotic. It’s easy to fall into a routine and not bother with self-improvement— but what if you could read a book on the topic? One that could help push you in the right direction?
Thankfully, you can. There is a broad selection of books out there on the topic of personal growth, productivity, and experience. All of these books contain something worth learning about.
22 Self-Help Books To Read in 2022
22. Man’s Search for Meaning
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Man’s Search For Meaning is a work of non-fiction that deals with Viktor Frankl’s experience living in Nazi concentration camps, as well as his psychotherapeutic technique called logotherapy. Frankl never gives the reader a linear narrative of his time in the camps — instead, he is more focused on explaining how the daily struggles of camp life affected the mental state of its inmates. (via LitCharts)
21. Thinking, Fast and Slow
“Odd as it may seem, I am my remembering self, and the experiencing self, who does my living, is like a stranger to me.”
Thinking, Fast and Slow is all about how two systems — intuition and slow thinking — shape our judgment, and how we can effectively tap into both. Using principles of behavioral economics, Kahneman walks us through how to think and avoid mistakes in situations when the stakes are really high. (via Insider)
20. The 4-Hour Workweek
“The question you should be asking isn’t ‘What do I want?’, or ‘What are my goals?’, but ‘What would excite me?’”
In The 4-Hour Work Week, Ferriss promises a way to get all the rewards of working without having to wait until the end of your career. (via Oberlo)
19. Rich Dad, Poor Dad
“When it comes to money, the only skill most people know is to work hard.”
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his “rich dad” — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you. (via Goodreads)
18. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“Creativity is a crushing chore and a glorious mystery. The work wants to be made, and it wants to be made through you.”
By sharing stories from her own life, as well as those from her friends and the people that have inspired her, Elizabeth Gilbert challenges us to embrace our curiosity, tackle what we most love and face down what we most fear. (via Google Books)
17. The Happiness Project
“The things that go wrong often make the best memories.”
The Happiness Project will show you how to change your life, without actually changing your life, thanks to the findings of modern science, ancient history and popular culture about happiness, which the author tested for a year and now shares with you. (via Four Minute Books)
16. The Secret
“There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstances of your life can change!”
The Secret is a self-help book regarding the power of positive thinking by Rhonda Byrne. The book suggests the notion that like attracts the like, which means if you emit positive energy, it will be very beneficial because you will attract positive things to you. (via Kobo)
15. Who Moved My Cheese?
“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
It is the amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life, for example a good job, a loving relationship, money or possessions, health or spiritual peace of mind. The maze is where you look for what you want, perhaps the organization you work in, or the family or community you live in. The problem is that the cheese keeps moving. (via Goodreads)
14. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
“Be disciple of depth in shallow world.”
Deep Work is a guide on how to develop the superpower of deep focus on cognitively-demanding tasks in a distracted world. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate. It covers many examples from real-world experiences and actionable items make implementing these ideas quite straightforward. (via Dan SIlvestre)
13. The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
“Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment.”
People express and receive love in 5 different ways, called love languages: quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. The sooner you discover your language and that of your loved one, the sooner you can take your relationship to new heights. (via 5 Love Languages)
12. The Gifts of Imperfection
“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.”
The Gifts of Imperfection, teaches us not to change ourselves to adapt to expectations, instead, we should embrace and engage with our imperfections. The core insights center on empathy, understanding, and adopting “wholehearted living,” so that we start living for ourselves, and not for other people. (via Briefer)
11. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
As human beings, we have a fundamental need for connection, love, and belonging. Yet, we fear rejection and are afraid we’re not good enough. We try to hide our vulnerabilities, only to create a greater disconnect with our families, communities, and work. Based on 12 years of research, Dr Brene Brown explains the concept of vulnerability, and how embracing it can change how we live, love, lead and interact with others, to bring wholehearted living and fulfilling connections. (via ReadinGraphics)
10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
“Don’t think of introversion as something that needs to be cured.”
Cain argues that modern Western culture misunderstands and undervalues the traits and capabilities of introverted people, leading to “a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness”. The book presents a history of how Western culture transformed from a culture of character to a culture of personality in which an “extrovert ideal” dominates and introversion is viewed as inferior or even pathological. (via Wikipedia)
9. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
The Power of Now shows you that every minute you spend worrying about the future or regretting the past is a minute lost, because really all you have to live in is the present, the now, and gives you actionable strategies to start living every minute as it occurs. (via Four Minute Books)
8. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
“I will no longer allow anyone to manipulate my mind and control my life in the name of love.”
The book offers a code of conduct claiming to be based on ancient Toltec wisdom that advocates freedom from self-limiting beliefs that may cause suffering and limitation in a person’s life. (via Wikipedia)
7. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
“If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.”
You are a Badass aims to help you identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want, blast past your fears so you can take big exciting risks, figure out how to make large sums of money, and learn to love yourself and others. (via Story Shorts)
6. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”
Do you struggle to keep your home and workspace tidy? Or perhaps you’re always short of storage space at home? By using the KonMari Method in this book, you can declutter your living or work spaces once and for all. More importantly, in the process of getting your house in order, you’ll experience a profound mindset shift that fundamentally changes your life. (via ReadinGraphics)
5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
“Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”
A Journey through time to the edge of scientific discoveries that explain why we form habits and how we can change or substitute them for ones we’d like. (via Google Books)
4. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
“Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it.”
Atomic Habits is the definitive guide to breaking bad behaviors and adopting good ones in four steps, showing you how small, incremental, everyday routines compound into massive, positive change over time. (via Four Minute Books)
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
“Start with the end in mind. ”
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is written on Covey’s belief that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions. In order to change a given situation, we must change ourselves, and in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions. (via HubSpot)
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People
“Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.”
The classic guide to greatly improving effectiveness and efficiency by mastering the ability to work with and through the people around you — by self-improvement guru, Dale Carnegie. (via The Art of Living)
1. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
“Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.”
There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives. (via Goodreads)
Bonus: Hyperbole and a Half
“The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing something you don’t like can be overwhelming.”
This is one of my personal favorites. Allie Brosh, through a series of curious drawings, explores her own experiences in a way that is both amusing and heartbreaking. It is easy to see our own thoughts and feelings brought to life through her work. Her second book just released in 2020.
Thanks for reading.
