Lets talk about Self Help Books 📚
Seven books that are helping to improve my life.
Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality - Earl Nightingale
Hello my friend.
A very warm welcome to my little corner of Substack. Todays publication comes straight from my reading nook. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Have you got a cuppa? Lets chat about books.
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The benefits of Self Help books
Self help books offer practical guidance and strategies to overcome everyday challenges, such as boosting confidence, goal setting and achieving goals, improving relationships and increasing self-awareness.
Some of the benefits you will likely find.
Personal growth and development. Self help books can help one to identify areas for improvement and provide the tools and techniques to adopt and encourage positive change in oneself.
Increased self-awareness. Self help books can help one to gain a better understanding of their emotions, behaviours and thoughts which ultimately lead to greater awareness of not only oneself but others too.
Greater mental well-being. Reading self help books can help you to relax and de-stress, and provide the tools to encourage mental and emotional fitness.
Improved relationships. Self help books focus on improving communication and building stronger relationships, not only with our partners but our family, friends and business associates too.
Increased productivity. Self help books can help you focus on time management, organisational skills and productivity techniques.
Ultimately when you read a self help book you start to believe in yourself more. You can be more, you can do more and experience more. This is how you improve. You dare yourself to do what you haven’t done before so you can experience what you haven’t had before.
If you are looking to make some positive changes in your life then I encourage you to explore the world of self help books.
There are lots of great books out there but today I want to share with you seven of my favourites and why they have become important to me. Hopefully one or two books will make it onto to your bookshelf too.
Atomic Habits -James Clear
People think that when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions: doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call. James calls them atomic habits.
My thoughts …
Atomic Habits is an incredibly powerful book and if you are struggling with forming and keeping good habits, then this is your book. I’d never heard of such terms as habit stacking. Simply attaching the good habit you want to create with a habit that you already do automatically. For example if you want to get into the habit of reading more. You could read a page or two whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. It really is as simple as that. One just needs to repeat, repeat, repeat until it becomes automatic. Fantastic book and highly recommended.
Rewild your Mind - Nick Goldsmith
Weaved through the book is Nick Goldsmith's personal story of using nature to aid his recovery from PTSD. After several tours serving as a Royal Marine Commando in Afghanistan, Nick was left in a dark and desperate place. He tried conventional therapies but found true solace amongst nature, and now enables others to do the same.
My thoughts …
I loved Rewild Your Mind. A book that demonstrates how the power of nature can heal. From forest bathing to foraging, from sleeping under the stars to making herbal tea. Nick shares how nature is aiding his recovery. Whilst one may not have suffered as Nick did, there are many ways nature can help us in our own lives. I venture into a forest or woodland as often as is possible, and it truly does make a difference, nature is extremely grounding and an affective way of resetting ones mind.
I wrote about how nature can heal here.
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying - Marie Kondo and
Minimalist Home - Joshua Becker
Transform your home into a permanently clear and clutter-free space with the incredible KonMari Method. Japan's expert declutterer and professional cleaner Marie Kondo will help you tidy your rooms once and for all with her inspirational step-by-step method.
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One of today's most influential minimalist advocates takes us on a decluttering tour of our own houses and apartments, showing us how to decide what to get rid of and what to keep. Joshua offers practical guidelines for simplifying our lifestyle at home and addresses underlying issues that contribute to overaccumulation in the first place.
My thoughts …
I’ve grouped these together as they are an equally important part of my life. If you have been following me for a while you will know how important these two books have become. Having a decluttered house has played a huge part in how I lead a slower and simpler life. I talk in greater depth about the books here. They have both played an integral part of my journey and I couldn’t have decluttered my home without without them.
Digital Minimalism - Cal Newport
Do you find yourself endlessly scrolling through social media or the news while your anxiety rises? Are you feeling frazzled after a long day of endless video calls?
In this timely book, professor Cal Newport shows us how to pair back digital distractions and live a more meaningful life with less technology.
My thoughts …
Digital Minimalism offers one an opportunity to break free of the addictive nature of our digital spaces. I am sure I am not alone when I say that the number of hours we can spend on our devices can be scarily high.
Cal suggests removing all but our most essential apps from our phones for 30 days and after that time only adding back those that have been truly missed. I loved this idea. It’s so easy to add an app for this and an app for that, and before you know it your phone screen is so full of clutter.
One thing I have done since reading the book is to keep only the essential apps on my home screen and removing all the others. The rest are still in the app library but I have to scroll down the list to find the one I’m looking for. The theory behind this is it makes it more difficult to access the apps so you quickly discover which apps are not necessary and not worth your time trying to find.
Sacred Seasons - Kirsty Gallagher
In this inspirational handbook, moon mentor, soul alignment and spiritual coach, Kirsty Gallagher, takes us through the year season by season to help us reconnect with nature. Sacred Seasons shows us how to find balance and a deep connection with the seasons, the astrological cycles and the lunar phases in order to live well and thrive.
Packed with nourishing moon rituals, crystals and altar set-ups, journal prompts and practices and Kirsty's trademark wisdom, Sacred Seasons will show you how to draw on inspiration from nature's events, including the Spring Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumn Equinox and Imbolc. You'll learn about the Wheel of the Year and the best moments to pause and reflect and look inwards, as well as when to tap into your abundant energy and achieve all your goals.
My thoughts …
Sacred Seasons was the first book I read about seasonal living and I loved it. I refer to this book at the beginning of every lunar phase. In each phase Kirsty talks about connecting with nature, intention setting, rituals, creating a seasonal altar, journal prompts and using crystals. The book is thoughtfully written and is especially interesting if one is new to seasonal living and you want to learn more about the lunar phases and the wheel of the year. Highly recommended.
The Para Method - Tiago Forte
In The PARA Method, Tiago Forte outlines a simple and intuitive system that can be implemented in just seconds but has the power to transform the trajectory of your work and life, without the tedious filing or time-consuming maintenance of other approaches. The PARA Method will bring order to your inbox, filing system, notes app and more - so that you can focus on what really matters, moving forward to achieve your goals.
My thoughts …
The Para Method was a game changer for my digital filing system. If you have a cluttered digital space with what feels like hundreds of folders and you want to simplify your system then I recommend Tiago’s book. He suggests setting up just four categories (folders) to encompass your entire life.
P - Projects - Short term projects that you are working on right now. That may be your latest Substack publication or a book you are working on. It could be a folder of videos or photos you are planning to use for a social media reel. Tiago suggests no more than 10-15 projects in one go to avoid overwhelm.
A - Areas - Long term responsibilities that you want to manage over time. This could be bank statements, wage slips. Insurance documents, warranties etc.
R - Resources - Use this folder for keeping topics or interests that may be useful in the future. Maybe a digital recipe book, some pictures that you may want to use in a future publication, E-books
A - Archives - This folder will perhaps be the biggest of all. It is to store all inactive items from the other three categories. Projects that have been completed. Resources that are no longer needed.
I implemented this system a couple of years ago and I have not looked back, it has truly changed how work. I use this in my day job as well as in my own digital life. The PARA method can easily be adapted for both a laptop or phone/ipad.
I hope some of these books spoke to you. I’d love to hear about some of the books that have made a difference to your life.
I’ve seen a few wonderful publications on Substack where writers have shared their favourite books. Some really interesting books, many of which have made it to my kindle library and a few books are sitting on my bookshelf.
Here are some great book related publications right here on Substack :
If you have any to recommend then please let me know in the comments.
My new decluttering series will begin on March 31st. Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss any. Here’s an introduction in case you missed it.
Until next time.
Debbie xx
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Sacred Seasons - Kirsty Gallagher sounds lovely. Added to my tbr list, thankyou 😊
Several here on my ‘to-read’ pile!