Five Books That Will Make You Think In A Whole New Way
I have always been a voracious reader.
I don’t say that as a boast. Until I started reading stories on Medium, I had no idea that reading a lot was a noteworthy achievement.
I don’t usually read with a purpose, like trying to reach 200 books in a year.
I read because I am an introverted nerd.
I am the kind of nerd that makes people wonder, She can’t really like time travel that much? I was a chemistry major in undergrad. That kind of nerd.
Someday I’ll publish a list of my favorite fiction books about time travel.
But on my journey to managing my perfectionism and lifelong anxiety, I started reading a lot of non-fiction.
Most self-help/mindset books have some nugget of wisdom in them. But my favorite books provide a definition of the problem AND a solution.
I struggle with books that provide me habits and tools that assume I have 100% control over every aspect of my life. As if I have no other responsibilities or people to care for.
But these 5 non-fiction books spoke to me. They each identified an issue I didn’t even recognize in myself or around me. And gave me practical, realistic tools to either work around it, fix it, or use it to my advantage.
10% Happier by Dan Harris.
This is one of the first self-help/mindset type books that I ever read. It is an autobiography of Dan, who is a famous news anchor and journalist. It is also focuses a lot on how meditation helped his life.
Here’s the thing. I don’t meditate (although I am a big supporter of it). And this book has less “tools” than some of the other books that I mention.
BUT.
Before I read this book, I kind of poo-poo’ed self help or any sort of non medical practice to manage anxiety. But Dan is a very ambitious and successful human, in a conventional sense. And meditation significantly improved his life. He backed a lot of it up with science, too.
This was the first book that showed me everyone can benefit from meditation and mindset work.
Favorite quote:
10% happier…simultaneously counter-programming against the overpromising of the self-helpers while also offering an attractive return on investment.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
This book is a revelation for everyone, but high achieving perfectionists in particular. It uses scientific research to show that we can do more with a growth mindset (believing that abilities can be developed) than a fixed mindset (believing that abilities are fixed).
Do you have a fear of failure? This book is for you.
Favorite quote:
[referring to interviews with Tiger Woods, Mia Hamm, and Michael Jordan]
Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving. And this is exactly what we find in the champions.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
I read this book about a year ago, and still refer to it. It explains exactly how we get trapped in habits, and exactly what steps we can take to create the habits we want.
Favorite quote:
Habits allow our minds to ramp down more often. This effort-saving instinct is a huge advantage… (because) an efficient brain allows us to stop thinking constantly about basic behaviors such as walking and choosing what to eat, so we can devote mental energy to inventing spears, irrigation systems, and, eventually, airplanes and video games.
The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
For an all-or-nothing perfectionist like me, this was a radical concept. The idea in this book is that you don’t have to do it all at once, or make some giant shift. Small, good choices every day and add up to big results. Also, patience pays off.
Favorite quote:
Simple daily disciplines — little productive actions, repeated consistently over time — add up to the difference between failure and success.
Traction by Gino Wickman
I don’t read a lot of business books. I have worked in and around the same industry for a long time, and always felt like I had a good handle on best practices.
But I was working with a consulting client. They wanted to use the Traction framework to optimize their business operations. So the CEO handed me the book and told me to read it.
It blew me away.
This book succinctly distills two critical things. 1) The roles needed in a company, regardless of industry or size and 2) the exact steps to grow and operate a business.
It is full of useful worksheets, steps, and tactics. This book changed the way I think about business operations and structure. It is a must for a company of any size.
Favorite Quote:
The visionary and the integrator couldn’t be more different…the visionary typically has 10 new ideas each week…integrators…love running day-to-day aspects of the business…”
What are your favorite non-fiction books that shifted your mindset? I am always looking for new recommendations.
With the right framework plus the right mindset, anything is possible.
I offer realistic, specific insights on productivity and anxiety management, as well as new book recommendations every week in my personal newsletter: www.debknobelman.com.
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