At the beginning of every new year, people get to enjoy that fresh feeling of a blank slate, or a new beginning. Sometimes it’s just the little push you need to get started on – and hopefully complete – your personal goals. It’s a time to think about what you’ve been up to the past year and where you’d like to go in this one.
Here are a few books on self-improvement to check out if you’re looking for a new perspective in 2016:
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Providing an introduction to “flow,” a new field of behavioral science that offers life-fulfilling potentialities, this study explains its principals and shows how to introduce flow into all aspects of life, avoiding the interferences of disharmony.
Rising Strong by Brené Brown – The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. Brown tells us what it takes to get back up, and how owning our stories of disappointment, failure, and heartbreak gives us the power to write a daring new ending.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell – Identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires and why the Beatles earned their fame.
10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in my Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing my Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris – A spiritual book written for–and by–someone who would otherwise never read a spiritual book, 10% Happier is both a deadly serious and seriously funny look at mindfulness and meditation as the next big public health revolution.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg – Identifies the neurological processes behind behaviors, explains how self-control and success are largely driven by habits, and shares scientifically-based guidelines for achieving personal goals and overall well-being by adjusting specific habits.
Get it Done: From Procrastination to Creative Genius in 15 Minutes a Day by Sam Bennett – Helps creative people make progress toward their goals with 15-minute exercises. Addresses procrastination, lack of focus, and time-wasting habits, as well as writer’s block, fear of failure, and self-sabotage.
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller – Offers advice on living a better life by cutting down on distractions, building momentum toward a goal, and coping with stress.