Before the summer of 2019, you would have never caught me reading a book just for the simple pleasure of it. What started off as an idea to help pass the time on my one hour train ride to my internship flourished into a love for reading and the beginning of my self love journey. If you're looking to make 2021 the year you learn how to be kind to yourself and embrace the beauty of your present circumstances, here are my top five books to help you do just that.
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
If you begin with any book, let it be this one. If you're hesitant to pick up a
book categorized as "self-help" just as I was, this one is a great one to start off
with. Reading this book felt like having a hilarious yet straight forward best friend
encouraging you to be the badass that she knows you are. It's funny, yet powerful.
In it, Jen Sincero helps you to recognize how you might be self-sabotaging
yourself and then how to create a life you love.
2. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
This book teaches how beautiful it is
to let go of what other people think, the
need to be perfect, fear, and the need for
certainty. Those lessons combined with
her emphasis on the importance of
boundaries helped me to realize the
ripple effect that occurs when you begin
to embrace these habits. I've learned that
when I allow myself to be vulnerable and
imperfect, I experience more meaningful
and genuine connections with those who I
allow in my life.
3. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
If you asked me what two books have changed my life, I would answer "You
Are a Badass and The Four Agreements." If you classify yourself as an overthinker,
this book is a must-read. In it, Don Miguel Ruiz introduces the source of self-
limiting beliefs that create a less-then-ideal life, most of the time without us even
realizing it. He introduces four agreements to make with yourself that I promise will
change your life once you actively practice them.
4. The Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz
This book tells us that everything the little voice in our heads says is a lie. Basically, before we learn how to speak, all we know is how we feel. There is no rationalizing a situation or telling ourselves we deserved something bad happening to us. When we were babies, we felt something and we expressed it. All we did was
love, feel, and enjoy life. Once we begin to learn from our parents, our teachers,
etc. we begin to form our own trees of knowledge which can be filled with negative
beliefs. This book teaches you how to recognize those clouded beliefs. Further, I
felt it also taught me how to recognize that everyone lives in their own reality,
making it a bit easier to accept everyone just as they are as well.