Are you looking to live a happier life? These brilliant books will show you how to slow down, curb the anger, harness your energy, turn those negatives into positives, find gratitude and generally live a more contented life.
Good morning friends!
Here I am: almost one month into my journey to live a more intentional life and I’m already noticing that even the smallest of changes can have an incredible, far-reaching impact.
There’s something to be said for slowing down, living in the moment and making time for the things that really matter most in life.
Have I completely changed my life? Not even close.
But I really am learning so much about what truly makes me happy.
As an avid reader, I’m a firm believer in the power of books to open our minds and change our thinking, which is why I couldn’t help but share some of the books I’ve come across in my search for living with more intention…
These brilliant books are filled to the brim with insight, life experience, encouragement and knowledge to help you live your happiest life!
Flow
What Amazon has to say about it: Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s famous investigations of “optimal experience” have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives.
What Amazon has to say about it: The Happiness Project describes one person’s year-long attempt to discover what leads to true contentment. Drawing at once on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world applicability, Rubin has written an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation.
PS. I’ve read this one too and LOVED it! A very enjoyable and enlightening read for sure!
What Amazon has to say about it: Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can fight groupthink to build cultures that welcome dissent. The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.
What Amazon has to say about it: Do you remember what you did last Thursday? What about two weeks ago Monday? It’s all a big blur! Our lives are so consumed with emails, telephone calls, errands, social media, texts, and to-do lists that entire days go by without a single moment of joy.
Lifestyle and wellness innovator David Romanelli (aka Yeah Dave) offers simple, immediate tips to relax and feel better this very instant. Forget the high-flying workout routines and fancy-pants diet regimens, Dave’s fresh take on wellness will remind you that happiness leads to better health. With just the right balance of laughter and wisdom, these thirty-one easily accessible takeaways will inspire you to slow down, stress less, and smile more. Dave’s mission? Celebrate life NOW!
What Amazon has to say about it: Once, Tammy Strobel and her husband were living a normal middle-class lifestyle: driving two cars, commuting long distances, and living well beyond their means. Now they are living the voluntary downsizing — or smart-sizing — dream. In this book Strobel combines research on well-being with numerous real-world examples to offer practical inspiration. Her fresh take on our things, our work, and our relationships spells out micro-actions that anyone can take to step into a life that’s more conscious and connected, sustainable and sustaining, heartfelt and happy.
Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives
What Amazon has to say about it: How do we change? Gretchen Rubin’s answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.
So if habits are a key to change, then what we really need to know is: How do we change our habits?
Better than Before answers that question. It presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habits—and to change them for good. Infused with Rubin’s compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humor, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed, Better than Before explains the (sometimes counter-intuitive) core principles of habit formation.
Whether readers want to get more sleep, stop checking their devices, maintain a healthy weight, or finish an important project, habits make change possible. Reading just a few chapters of Better Than Before will make readers eager to start work on their own habits—even before they’ve finished the book.
PS. This one is actually sitting on my bedside table right now!
Kiss that Frog: 12 Great Ways to Turn Negatives into Positives in Your Life and at Work
What Amazon has to say about it: Just like the lonely princess in the fairy tale who was reluctant to lock lips with a warty frog and transform him into a handsome prince, something stops many of us short of attaining our dreams. Our negative thoughts, emotions, and attitudes can threaten to keep us from achieving all that we’re capable of. Here bestselling author and speaker Brian Tracy and his daughter, therapist Christina Tracy Stein, provide a set of practical, proven strategies anyone can use to turn those negative frogs into positive princes.
Tracy and Stein present a step-by-step plan that addresses the root causes of negativity, helps you uncover blocks that have become mental obstacles, and shows how you can transform them into stepping-stones to achieve your fullest potential. The book distills, in an accessible and immediately useful form, what Tracy has presented in more than 5,000 talks and seminars with more than five million people in fifty-eight countries and what Stein has learned through thousands of hours of counseling people from all walks of life.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so,” the authors quote Shakespeare. The many powerful techniques and exercises in this book will help you change your mindset so that you discover something worthwhile in every person and experience, however difficult and challenging they might seem at first. You’ll learn how to develop unshakable self-confidence, become your best self, and begin living an extraordinary life.
Louder than Words: Harness the Power of Your Authentic Voice
What Amazon has to say about it: Are you doing your best work, or are you just getting by? Are you fulfilled at the end of the day, or are you just glad the day is over? In today’s marketplace, you don’t have the luxury of going with the flow. If you want to succeed – and thrive – you have to do work that sets you apart.
But how do you do work that is truly remarkable? How do you begin to make your unique mark? You have to find your “sweet spot”, or the place where you will be most effective.
The key to doing so is to harness the power of your authentic voice. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a writer, a designer, or a manager building a brand, you have to understand what makes you unique, and make bold decisions that put you in your sweet spot of effectiveness. The result not only be more impact, but also greater personal satisfaction with your work.
Louder Than Words offers specific strategies and tactics for uncovering, developing, and bravely using your authentic voice to create a body of work you are proud of, that resonates deeply with others, and that ultimately impacts the world.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
What Amazon has to say about it: Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.
Flawd: How to Stop Hating on Yourself, Others, and the Things That Make You Who You Are
What Amazon has to say about it: FLAWD is your new cheerleader—an energetic guide to seeing your flaws as the doorway to something more.
Even though we exist in a culture that thrives on bullying us into believing we’re never good enough as we are, FLAWD affirms that you are good enough, ready enough and important enough to be a flawd light in the world.
Are you ready to become fearless with your flaws and change the world by being yourself? Then FLAWD is the book for you.
Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book
Colour your way to {happy}!
What Amazon has to say about it: Beginning at the entrance to a fairy-tale forest, the journey progresses through highly embellished woods and through intricate flora. Castles, treasure chests, and other magical elements add a fairy tale narrative to the designs.
And don’t forget the pretty pencils!
Instant Happy Journal: 365 Days of Inspiration, Gratitude, and Joy
What Amazon has to say about it: Brighten your day with this colorful journal from happiness expert Karen Salmansohn. Jam-packed with 365 “happiness prompters” including motivational quotes, scientific studies, and thought-provoking questions, this journal amps up your ability to notice (and create!) moments of joy and gratitude in your life—one day at a time.
Because really, who doesn’t need a little more happy in their life?
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
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I can always use more HAPPY in my life, thanks for sharing these great books.
Can’t we all my friend?! Thanks Amy!
These look like great titles! I’ve added them to my must read list. Thanks!
Thanks Sarah! I’m already digging into my first and can’t wait to work my way through them all!
Thanks for this! I always love getting ideas for books to read. These sound so encouraging!
Thanks Jenna! I’m a total book lover too and have already started my way through this list 😉
I LOVED Big Magic, and I really like the idea of the Instant Happy Journal. Thanks for sharing this list.
Thanks so much Suzy! I might just have to make that my next read then! I love that Happy Journal too!!!
All look like great books and I have been seeing adult coloring books everywhere:) I think it is about time I get one;) Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Nena! And I agree – that’s a band wagon I need to jump in on too!!!
These look fantastic! The only one I’ve read is Big Magic, but I’ve heard of quite a few of them. I can’t wait to get in line for them at my library, haha. I always recommend The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown and all her following books and Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson.
Thanks Grace! I’m going to have to add those to my list!!!
What a great post! I will be saving this for sure!
Thanks so much Chloe!
Great suggestions! I’ll add some of these to my reading list. 🙂
Thanks Holly! I’ve definitely got a few of these sitting on my nightstand.
Thanks for these books! I pinned this to make sure I read all of them this year – This is a really random question but did you have to ask permission to use the book covers on your pin?