Make 2018 The Year Of You With The Help Of These 5 Books
New Year, New You, it might sound cliché. But why not use this new year mantra as the perfect excuse to have a rethink about you, what you need and what you want from the year ahead. I don’t mean this in the sense of physical change, but in a mental one. You want to start the new year with a better understanding of yourself, you want to be motivated, positive and actually adapt these into your everyday life. And what better way to learn new self-care techniques and learn about yourself as a person than to read about them, written by people who have the experience and expertise.
You Do You: (A No-F**ks-Given Guide) how to be who you are and use what you've got to get what you want by Sarah Knight
£7.79, Amazon
Sarah Knight gives realistic advice in this empowering book, which is all about encouraging you to put yourself first. It teaches you that it is okay to fail and you should give yourself the opportunity to bounce back from it. She does all this with a great sense of humour making the book a light read. Knight understands that we are all on a journey to find the most authentic and best version of ourselves as possible, and she incorporates this understanding. Her book is a reminder to us all that we don’t need to conform to anyone’s standards and that it is okay to say no and not feel guilty about it. It’s the perfect read to start off 2018.
The Self-Care Project: How to let go of frazzle and make time for you by Jayne Hardy
£9.55, Amazon
Jayne Hardy promotes positive mental health and has written this book as though your supportive friend is talking to you and walking you through every page. Making sure this book relates to everyone, Jayne has a clever way of making it feel as though you’re reading your own thoughts. With useful tips on how to care for ourselves more, this book helps you to understand just how important you are, and that self-care is more than just a buzzword. She explains that self-care is necessary in such a refreshing way because she tackles that one thing that everyone feels about self-care: selfishness. It isn’t selfish at all, we spend a majority of our time putting everyone else’s needs before our own that we forget about our own well-being. Something we can't ignore.
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sumin
In each chapter Sumin begins with an essay that is immediately followed by words of advice that you can take with you, reminding you that you are not on your own. This writing style is perfect for allowing you to dip in and out of the book when you feel like it. Sumin addresses a variety of things, from relationships to mindfulness and spirituality, encouraging you to reflect on life and to really think of what is important and how you are living your life. It’s simple, yet effective in making you change the way you think about your day. It reminds you to slow down from life, and ultimately to take time to relax.
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin’s analysis of personality types in her book The Four Tendencies is popular with a lot of readers. It helps you to better understand your personality type, as well as going through the pros and cons of each and how to deal with such people, leading to an improved relationship, especially work ones. I took her personality test and found that I am an Obliger which has explained a lot about me! In short, it means that I can easily meet outer expectations (placed on me by other people) but I struggle to meet my inner expectations. So insightful! Rubin’s book really is enlightening, and not just about yourself but about other people too.
The Little Book Of Encouragement: Exposing The Truth Behind Why You Haven't Reached Your Goals and What's Really Keeping You Stuck By Kenya K. Smith
£6.71, Amazon
Kenya Smith really nails what we are all thinking when it comes to trying to achieve your goals. She talks a lot about challenges and obstacles that come our way in life, and how to overcome them and stop them from becoming distractions. She even shares with us some of her experiences: she set herself a goal in 2015 which was to write a book and there was always something that prevented her from doing so! But in the beginning of 2017 she told herself that no matter what, she was going to write this book. Too often we set goals that never get completed and this book deals with just how to stop that from happening by providing us with an insight on how to shift our thoughts and focus in a way that pushes out the negativity. 2018 might just be the year that you achieve those new year resolutions that you set yourself every year.
Words by Mine Sherefali
