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You don’t have to wait until January to change your lifestyle and habits for the better, but it’s a good time like any other! The best personal growth books will help you become who you want to be, anytime. We have compiled a list of the 15 Best Personal Growth Books and Best Self Help Books to help you make your dreams come true!
Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
Social scientist Brené Brown explores what it means to really belong, especially in a society and culture that is based on external success traits that can often be polarizing. By leading readers through the wilderness of self-reflection, she can help people connect with their true selves – and their communities.
Brave, not perfect by Reshma Saujani
If you’re feeling weighed down by the ridiculous expectations of others and the impossible standards upheld by social media and our society, Saujani wrote the book for you. Inspired by her popular TED Talk, Saujani breaks down how girls are conditioned to be scared and inspires readers to be brave rather than perfect.
You’re a Jen Sincero badass
You’re an asshole and Jen Sincero will make sure you remember how to stop doubting yourself and live your best life in this passionate, hilarious, and sometimes cursed manifesto. This book contains inspirational quotes and practical advice to help you change your ingrained bad habits today.
My Friend Fear by Meera Lee Patel
Patel, author of the bestselling magazine Start Where You Are, takes readers into a deeper exploration of themselves and their fear so they can find the courage to make important changes in their lives. With her beautiful watercolor, Patel gives readers reflections, questions and quotes to inspire them to face their fears and embrace change.
A year of positive thinking from Cyndie Spiegel
If you’re looking for an accurate guide to help you change your mindset and mindset, this Daily Affirmations book is for you. It provides inspiration and tools based on self development and neuroscience to help you think more positively and put yourself in the mindset to help you achieve your goals.
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Written by the groundbreaking television writer and producer, this book is about the power to challenge yourself to say yes to any unexpected thing that comes your way. Partly memoir and part self-help book, Rimes tells how saying yes to the things that intimidated her changed her life – and how it can change your life too!
Do It Scared by Ruth Soukup
If you are facing a lot of fear in your life, Ruth Soukup can help you. By identifying your fear archetype and adopting its principles of courage, you can begin building the life you want. Soukup delivers a book and a bold plan that is inspiring but also full of hard love.
Shainna Ali’s Self-Love Workbook
Conventional wisdom says that you need to know how to love yourself before you can care for others. However, if you don’t know how to get there, this workbook can help. With activities to help you deepen your self-image, Ali provides you with practical tools to embrace self-love.
How to Stop Feeling Like Shit by Andrea Owen
If you like your self-help books with a page of sarcasm and a large helping of no-nonsense, this simple guide is for you. Owen isolated 14 habits holding women back and offers solutions to break those habits once and for all.
The Book of Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Reverend Mpho Tutu used their experiences in collaboration with the South African Council for Truth and Reconciliation to find a path to forgiveness and ultimate healing. By outlining practical guidelines for asking and offering forgiveness, and maintaining or sharing relationships, they provide readers with a healthy framework for healing through forgiveness.
Shannon Kaiser’s self-love experiment
If you have a tendency to sabotage yourself, or if you feel like you are holding back from your life, Kaiser contends that self-love can be the key to changing your life. By telling her own story and offering 15 principles to help you overcome your own setbacks, she is a strong advocate for self-love and provides a way to achieve your goals.
Be Fearless by Jean Case
If you want to know what makes a great leader and change maker, Case offers proof that it’s not about wealth or power, but about having the courage to be fearless and take bold risks. With profiles, personal stories and practical advice, Case presents an inspiring manifesto that anyone can take to heart.
A self-care invitation from Tracey Cleantis
When we talk about self-care, it is often about pleasure: a massage, a fancy latte, an extravagant purchase. Cleantis aims to reshape the discussion of self-care to go beyond these indulgences to include aspects that will help nourish your body and mind in every area of your life, and to build a lifelong practice that is more than just a dessert.
The happiness project by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin spent a year studying science, philosophy and real-world situations to understand how to be happier. Your discoveries are understandable and applicable to everyone’s life. This includes finding the external order, spending wisely and trying out new things. Partly self-help, partly memoir, her story is inspiring and practical.
Find more personal growth books
For more nonfiction suggestions or your personal reading tour, see TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations. TBR offers readers personalized book recommendations that take into account what they have already read and what they want to read more of! Just fill out a survey about your reading life and we’ll match you with a seasoned biblioligist who recommends three books every quarter. You can only receive your recommendations by email or have three new books delivered to you by our partner bookstore. Get started now!
