October 20, 2022
At Muse, we’re driven by a passion for exploring and expanding access to tools and insights that can help people live their best lives. So it should come as no surprise that we’re huge fans of personal development and self-help books!
At their core, self-help resources are about change. Whether that’s a change in perspective, understanding, acceptance, habit, or skill, these changes are intended to help people improve their relationships, careers, health, and happiness.
So, we’ve pulled together our 10 favorite self-help books. We hope they support and inspire you through the rest of the year and beyond into 2023!
Best Self-Help Books
#1 Atomic Habits, by James Clear
Are you ready to leverage the power of consistent habits to supercharge your days? If so, this is the book for you.
Written by author James Clear, Atomic Habits lays out with step-by-step precision how you can make small changes to help you shift your habits for amazing results. Using evidence-based research explained through compelling and crystal-clear examples and metaphors, Clear gives you the tools to take control of your life and make your days as productive and fulfilling as you desire.
If you have habits that you know aren’t serving you and that you’ve wanted to change for a while, we highly recommend you read this self-help book.
#2 Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
Learn to uncover, listen to, and nurture your inner voice as you reclaim your power and begin living a life of radical self-love.
Published in 2020, this book almost immediately hit the New York Times bestseller list, where it stayed for seven weeks. As in her previous two books, author and activist Glennon Doyle shares vulnerable, powerful, and relatable experiences through her journey to reclaim her power and break through the confines of who society tells us we ought to be.
This book serves as a memoire that, in Glennon’s characteristic quirky and compelling voice, explores the nature of learning to truly love yourself, finding your inner voice, and how to lead a life of wild and untamed freedom.
#3 Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, by Brené Brown
What could be possible for you if you let go of the fear holding you back from embracing vulnerability and engaging wholeheartedly with life?
This is the question that researcher, psychologist, and best-selling author Brene Brown applies over a decade of research to exploring in her book, Daring Greatly.
Here, Brown pushes back against the view of vulnerability as a weakness. Instead, Brown argues that vulnerability is a strength that actually provides the clearest path forward for us to connect, engage, and act with greater courage and to cultivate a life of great meaning and richness.
#4 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey
Learn to be successful by tackling core habits like being proactive, thinking with a win/win perspective, beginning with the end in mind, and more in this iconic self-help book.
Originally published in 1989, this book remains on must-read and best-seller lists for a reason. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People wastes no words in diving into the timeless principles of what it takes to be successful in life according to renowned businessman, author, and speaker Stephen R. Covey.
Covey approaches the goals of personal and interpersonal success through exploring and shifting your core self, motives, and character. This self-help book explores seven influential habits and clears the path for making these changes yourself.
#5 You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero
Are you ready to stop playing small, rewrite the stories that are holding you back, and build a life you totally love? This is the book for you.
With over 3 million copies sold, this #1 New York Times bestseller is an easy, inspiring, and at times hilarious read designed to help you stop doubting yourself and step into your greatness.
In it you’ll find sage advice, all-too-relatable stories, exercises you can try at home, and all the inspiration you need to cut the b.s. and start living an awesome life.
#6 The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
Do you ever feel like you’re missing out on the richness of life because you’re always thinking about the past or future? Learn to access inner peace by living in the moment and connecting with your true nature.
In this timeless classic, author Eckhart Tolle explored the power of the present moment. Using sage wisdom and compelling stories, Tolle lays clear the path to attaining inner peace and connecting with the true richness of life.
In The Power of Now, you’ll be gently guided through the process of discovering the nature of your mind. Core lessons include learning to recognize that we are not our minds, how to observe the patterns of our minds and experiences, rising above our inner chatter, letting go of judgment, and more.
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#7 The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
If you’d like more happiness in your life, this culmination of author Gretchen Rubin’s year-long exploration into all the research and conventional advice out there on cultivating happiness is a great place to start.
Sitting on a city bus on a rainy afternoon, Rubin was struck by the epiphany that she was spending far too little time on what really mattered most in her life. To reconnect with herself and reshape her priorities, Rubin embarked on a year-long happiness project.
In this book, you’ll find open, honest, and often hilarious first-hand insights into the classical wisdom and scientific studies out there on living a life of great happiness.
#8 Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
Learn to embrace positivity and hope against all odds. Even when life seems darkest, hope and meaning can be found and help us move forward with unwavering purpose.
Written in 1946 by psychologist Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning explores Frankl’s experiences surviving the Holocaust and Nazi death camps and in his pursuit towards finding meaning and purpose.
Combining his first-hand experiences with those of his patients, Frankl suggests that while we cannot avoid suffering, we can learn to cope, move through it, and find meaning in it in a way that empowers us to engage fully and wholeheartedly with our lives. For inspiration and a new outlook on life, read Man’s Search for Meaning, one of our absolute favorite self-help books.
#9 Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
Tired of procrastination and stress driving your days? Learn to unleash productivity with this easy-to-follow and practical guide.
As put best by author, management consultant, and renowned coach David Allen, there exists “an inverse relationship between things on your mind and those things getting done.” In other words, our productivity often lags because we get consumed by thinking about everything on our plates.
In this book, Allen breaks down the simple methods he’s introduced to thousands to help them (and now you!) master the art of stress-free performance.
#10 The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz
Free yourself from needless suffering and the chains of self-limiting beliefs through four agreements designed to powerfully and quickly transform your life.
The Four Agreements is widely considered a powerful and highly influential book. Rooted in Ancient Toltec wisdom, it offers a crisp, clean, and profound perspective on the roots of suffering, and how you can begin living a life of expansive freedom, rich relationships, and deep meaning.
In it, you’ll explore what Don Miguel Ruiz writes as the four core agreements for a life well-lived: Always do your best, Don’t make assumptions, Be impeccable with your word, and Don’t take anything personally.
Did we miss your favorite self-help books? Have you read any of our picks above? Send us a DM on Instagram @choosemuse — we’d love to hear from you!
