Self-development & growth, book recommendations

I am very excited to be writing this blog and sharing with you some of the best books on my shelves that have helped me grow personally. Of course, this always links into my profession as a therapist and coach too.

I want to share my opinions and the parts of these books that have stayed with me, rather than this being a summary of each book.

If you’re interested in any of them, I would definitely recommend giving them a read and forming your own opinion. I have personally never regretted reading a book where I learned something, especially something about myself.

The Mountain Is You – Brianna Wiest

This book was recommended to me by one of my best friends. She is not one to try and make you read all the same books she is reading, but she is very selective with her recommendations. She may have described it as an eye-opener (or something similar).

I bought it, started reading and, by page 30, I remember being in tears.

What it made me realise is that self-sabotage isn’t a rare behaviour that only a few of us experience. I believe most of us do it to different degrees and in different parts of our lives.

I was able to isolate one of my own behaviours, understand it better and learn strategies for how to stop doing it. A few months later, I took it to my hypnotherapist, who is also my teacher, to work on it. Brianna gives amazing insight and ways that can help you change self-sabotaging behaviours.

However, I struggled to wholeheartedly change with those conscious tools alone. As you can imagine, the subconscious mind, being my main area of expertise, is something I did not want to ignore. During a hypnosis regression session within my last course, where I too became a regression-to-root-cause hypnotherapist, I had a session in front of the other students with Bobby-Jo Bottomley.

Without wanting to go into detail, she was able to take me to the root cause of this behaviour I was repeating in my life and release some of the 30-year-old trauma that had started the beliefs and behaviours connected to the self-sabotage I was experiencing.

Without this book, however, I would not have had the awareness and understanding I needed to take that next step.

The book is written in such a clear and warm way that, for me, it felt like a warm and understanding hug.

Atomic Habits – James Clear

I would go as far as saying this is a must-read.

Habits make up a massive part of our lives. We need them because, without them, our conscious minds would be extremely overloaded with having to make too many decisions.

Our brains run so easily on autopilot. We know, without thinking, that after applying toothpaste to our toothbrush, it’s time to brush our teeth. We remember the movements and what comes next without having to consciously think about every step.

This book seems to be well known by many people who have either read it or want to. James Clear’s book is not just a book you read; it is very practical and you can turn his ideas into practice straight away. It is easy to follow and the language is easy to understand, bearing in mind English is not my first language.

Some of the tools I have learned from this book I use in my workshops. No need to reinvent the wheel if this way works so well!

Whether you want to get rid of a habit or start a new one, stop binge eating or start going to the gym, get this book.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson

Well, Mark just says it as it is.He is not tiptoeing around language or avoiding getting to the point. Being German, I really appreciate that.

It’s written in plain English and the F word is written out a lot. I love it, truthfully.

Mark Manson’s Instagram account is one of my favourite ones on the platform too. He is just so real.

I don’t even know what else I can write about this book other than: just get it.

It will help you to care less about things and people that are insignificant.

It is not about stopping caring altogether. I just want to make that clear!

The Let Them Theory – Mel Robbins

I read Mel Robbins’ book only a few months ago. I wanted to read it, but I was worried that it would be too similar to The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

I’m glad I read it because it isn’t.

What I didn’t realise about the Let Them Theory is that there is a second part to it: Let Me.

Reading the title of this book, I thought that as much as I wanted to read it, was it not also self-explanatory? Sure, but also no!

The Let Them part is about allowing other people to be who they are, make their own choices and behave in the way they choose to behave, rather than trying to control them.

But then there is the Let Me part. What am I going to do about it?

And that is where I think this book adds something really useful.

It’s a very easy read, I found, and so it didn’t take me long even though I am usually a slow reader. It is easy to understand and digest.

Mel Robbins is also a big inspiration for me when it comes to interviewing other professionals in the holistic health world. Her podcast and Instagram account are good ones to follow.

The Source – Dr Tara Swart

Dr Tara Swart’s book was at the starting point of my career as a life coach in 2019.

After an NLP course I was part of, I told my teacher, Helen, that I wanted to become a life coach and help people like she and Karen did when they led the Strong Women course that had helped me so much with my personal growth.

It helped me regain confidence and trust in myself.

Helen recommended this book to me.

If you ‘believe’ in the law of attraction but want to have something real and backed by neuroscience, this is your book. Tara is honestly such an inspiration and shares some super interesting facts on her Instagram account.

I love neuroscience, but it can be hard to understand. I promise you that she has written this book in a way that you will understand.

It will give you useful exercises to implement straight away.

As with any book or podcast, though, it is a tool and it is up to you how, or if, you use it.

It’s all very well reading a book, loving the content and then forgetting everything you’ve learned as soon as you put it down.

Or is that just me?

You read 300-odd pages and it all makes sense, but if someone asks you three months later what was written in those 300-odd pages, could you give them much of a summary?

You cannot read this book in a day and then expect to implement everything you have learned later.

It has very doable exercises that I would highly recommend you do as you go along.

Take your time with this one!

It is extremely interesting to learn about the reasons we do what we do, think what we think and create change.

Your brain, your mind, is at the source of literally everything!

The 4 Pillar Plan – Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Another one of my absolute favourite books is The 4 Pillar Plan.

Dr Chatterjee is regarded as one of the most influential doctors in the UK. He understood a long time ago that prevention is more important than cure, that we can over-rely on medication and that a holistic approach is needed for our health.

The four areas he focuses on to support our mental and physical health are:

Relax. Eat. Move. Sleep.

This book was gifted to me by one of my best friends and, since reading it, I have also gifted it to other friends and family. My mother was so resistant to reading it, not being a big reader, but she got there eventually after three years of holding onto it!

I also went to see Dr Chatterjee on his Thrive tour with that same friend.

His beliefs and ways of practising are extremely aligned with my own. I have learned so much from him and also from the people he interviews on his podcast, Feel Better, Live More.

You may have seen some small interviews I have conducted with local small business owners in the holistic world. Perhaps I am that person in South Manchester.

What type of business owner shall I interview next?

Rising Strong – Brené Brown

Brené Brown is a well-known TED Talk speaker, researcher and storyteller. She does a lot of research around vulnerability, courage, empathy and shame.

After my divorce, which left me as a single mother in a foreign country, I attended a course at a children’s centre in Macclesfield. One day, we watched her TED Talk at our weekly session and I knew I needed to read her book.

I felt a lust for life and living it return to me.

I read this book about 11 years ago and could not tell you now what was written in it.

But what I do remember is this: It helped me get back up after a fall.

I didn’t get the support that I needed from my GP because they simply didn’t have the time and resources for more. I was given a number for counselling and some antidepressants that I took for about nine months before I found the appropriate help that I needed, including self-development.

This book was a big part of that personal growth journey.

Brené Brown will forever play a big role in the career it led to as a life coach, NLP practitioner and clinical hypnotherapist.

I have fallen many times in my life!

From stage 4 cancer at the age of five, to my Dad’s suicide, to our house burning down in an electrical fire and divorce, I have had many small and big falls.

And I have survived all of them so far!

And so have you!

What are your favourite self-development books?

If you have read any of these books and want to share or converse about them with me, just give me a shout.

And if you’re thinking, ‘And now what?’ after reading a great self-development book and wondering about the next step to help you get unstuck in your life, you could book in for a free telephone consultation.

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We can discuss where you are now and how I may be able to help you move forward.

With Love