I read alot when I was a child. At home, our library is filled with books from my sister and my childhood - at least those my mother got back after loaning to others. I LOVED Enid Blyton books and loved reading Childcraft encyclopedias and regular encyclopedias. I remember just going through them, even though the information was outdated. *cue laugh emoji* I think that my love for reading the encyclopedias and Childcraft books is the reason I love documentaries – it’s my favourite category of series and movies. Anyway, when I went to secondary school, the emphasis was more of reading for school and not for the love of it. I tried to get back to loving books after college, but fiction never seemed to work for me, as it did in my childhood.
One of my co-workers at the time brought The Alchemist to the office one day and was telling me about it and loaned it to me for a bit. Since I didn’t get a chance to finish it at the time, I decided that I would buy it because I loved it so much. So, in my quest to become the best version of myself, I bought The Alchemist and my reading journey began all over again, with self-help books.
Before I go on, I just wanted to remind you that my views on self-help books are subjective. Just like my point in my second IGTV video, it all depends on you.
But my thing is, how can you knock it before you try it?
I have a sort of self-help book collection because I’m still on my quest of being the best version of myself. And to be quite honest, self-help books and motivational videos allow me to do just that.
From the various books I’ve purchased and read, here’s what I’ve found out:
They’re all basically the same
Like motivational videos, all self-help books give the SAME information. I personally find it funny when I’m reading a book and they mention a previous book that I’ve read, to make their point. The main ideas in self-help books include, setting a routine for yourself, spending time alone, being organised, having the right people around you, making sacrifices now for the brighter tomorrow, things on love and happiness and honestly, the list goes on.
You have to find the one that works for you
While they all have similar messages, the way authors express their thoughts differ. Before buying any book, I usually read reviews on Amazon to see if I could get a feel of the book from there. The way someone writes may not appeal to you and therefore you may just not receive the message well. This has happened to me and recently happened to a friend of mine. I recommended ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ by Mark Manson. Personally, I loved it. Yet, she told me that she found it hard to read.
Repetition helps cement the message
The reason I continue reading these types of books, is because it is a form of confirmation for me. I get a new fire when reading from a different perspective because of the new analogies used. Just like studying for an exam, reading the message from these books over and over makes my progress more consistent. Further, it is even better, since I try to implement the lessons from the books into my day to day life. The most recent one that has had a big impact on my life is ‘The Miracle Morning’ by Hal Elrod. It’s basically about starting your mornings in the best way possible. Some of the concepts he mentioned I already did in my life but implementing them with his recommendations were absolutely mind-blowing.
It’s amazing how we are already doing things for our own growth, but just implementing aspects based on the recommendations of someone else can really make your growth skyrocket.
Personally, I think that self-help books are 100% worth it. If you’re struggling to figure out where to start in becoming the best version of yourself, find a book that works for you! This may be a trial and error situation, but once you get the one that works for you, you can gain so much from it.
Those I’ve read so far:
I also wanted to give an honorary mention to two that aren’t self-help books, but I love!
ME to WE which I got at WEDay UK2019. I’m not sure under what category it is, but I loved the flow of it and the stories from various people.
Eat That Frog is a productivity book. If you’re trying to be more productive/organised, I would recommend it. I think I’m going to try to read it before school starts again, but it helped a lot during lockdown when I was working on assignments.
If you read self-help books and have some good ones you can recommend, please let me know :)