17 Inspiring Self Improvement Books To Read For A Year Of Growth

Career

The Fear-Fighter Manual: Lessons from a Professional Troublemaker

Luvvie Ajayi Jones hilariously and honestly asks you to evaluate how you approach your life so you can achieve the career goals you have in mind. She begins with helping you get clear about your identity and weaves in tales of personal experience to give you some of the most relatable advice you'll read.

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

We've all experienced burnout in our careers, but Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle seeks to change that. From learning relaxation tips to identifying what your stress triggers are, it's the one read that'll help you learn to feel more peace this year.

Grit

Another classic, Grit is all about building that human skill that many people think is only for military leaders and endurance athletes. Duckworth turns this idea on its head by recognizing that grit can be strengthened just like any other muscle, providing ample inspiration for sticking with your goals and vision no matter the obstacles.

Deep Work

Our world extolls the benefits of multitasking. We have side hustles, we explore endless options, we post on Twitter while working at our day jobs... but is all of this distraction actually good for us? In Newport's book, he examines the importance of truly focusing on one important task, getting lost in the endeavor as we complete it — and cultivating pride in a job well done at the end.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

A list of personal growth books on Brit + Co — the online destination for maker and creatives — would hardly be complete without this classic from Elizabeth Gilbert. Big Magic is a guide to living the creative life, whether that means having a job as an artist or taking more risks with your own personal hobbies and ideas.

Mental Health

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

Brené Brown's work is probably a staple in your book collection if you're into self-improvement and personal growth, and her latest book should absolutely be on your to-read list. In Atlas of the Heart, Brown details eighty-seven emotions that make us human, so you can learn how to identify and work with each of these important and universal feelings. The result is a book that helps the reader reflect on her own emotions, and apply her findings in her relationships with others.

Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, from Someone Who's Been There

This is a book for anyone who's ever needed a little more self-love in their life. In Schuster's book, she recalls how reaching great success as a young adult didn't negate her deeper need for self-love and nurturing. From this guide to reparenting yourself, you'll learn how to cultivate gratitude, how to identify and combat self-limited beliefs, and ultimately, how to create a life you love.

How To Do The Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal From Your Past, and Create Your Self

Known on social media as "The Holistic Psychologist," Dr. Le Para has created a community around recognizing unhealthy dynamics in relationships and thought patterns, and learning to self-heal the wounds that make those patterns entrenched. In her book, you'll learn how to identify unhealthy patterns in yourself, how to get to the root of the issue, and how to heal from within using a combination of psychological techniques and mindfulness practices.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

Lori Gottlieb is herself a therapist, but she goes to therapy as well. She details her observations of this exercise in her bestselling book Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, revealing the human truth that we all have a lot more in common than we might think.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Atomic Habits is a cult favorite for a reason. Using evidence-based tools and techniques, Clear shows us how to build the habits that will make us more successful, and break those that continue to hold us back.

10% Happier Revised Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works

Dan Harris had a panic attack on national television, which sounds absolutely horrible — but actually, it opened his eyes to the need for meditation and mindfulness in his life, and has ultimately made his life better in the long run. In his book, he details this discovery and shares tips and tricks for cultivating calm and serenity in everyday life.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

A New York Times bestseller for over a decade, The Four Agreements is hardly a new book (it was published in 1997), but it stills offers a way to reframe self-limiting beliefs that still feels refreshing.

Stop Overthinking

If you're no stranger to never-ending thought loops, you'll want to check out this book that offers techniques to identify what triggers your negative thought spirals and solutions for how overcome them.

Choose Wonder Over Worry

Get inspired by Amber Rae as she shows you how she channeled constant doubt and insecurity into finding her path by — you guessed it — choosing wonder over worry.

Relationships

8 Rules of Love: How to Find it, Keep it, and Let it Go

Our perception of love is often based on what we saw modeled while growing up, but Jay Shetty wants you to know there's more to it than that. 8 Rules of Love is a masterful book that helps you understand what love is and how to allow more of it to enter your life.

How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving

In How to Be an Adult in Relationships, David Richo takes Shetty's advice one step further by teaching you how to be more mindful about love. He lays out steps for how to attract the love you deserve and how to maintain it.

Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution For When You Have Too Much To Do (and More Life to Live)

In a world where women still feel like they're the default person in their relationships, Fair Play aims to even the score by providing tips for how couples can show up together when it comes to domestic work and raising children. It includes over 100 tasks and conversations for couples to navigate, making it a must-read for 2024.