The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg – Want to know how habits are formed, and changed? This is the book. And we all have habits we need to change. Both weight loss and weight gain are routed in habits.
“This is how willpower becomes a habit: by choosing a certain behavior ahead of time, and then following that routine when an inflection point arrives.” – Charles Duhigg
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath – The Heath Brothers break down behavior change using an easy to understand Rider and Elephant model.
“The bigger the change you’re suggesting, the more it will sap people’s self-control… what they’re exhausting are the mental muscles needed to think creatively, to focus, to inhibit their impulses, and to persist in the face of frustration or failure. In other words, they’re exhausting precisely the mental muscles needed to make a big change.” – Heath Brothers
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius – One of the world’s most famous and influential books.
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn – In our fast paced world taking time for mediation can make all the difference. Not only will you feel better, you’ll become more present. While it appears complicated and time-consuming, this book breaks it down into small and easy to understand chunks.
“If we hope to go anywhere or develop ourselves in any way, we can only step from where we are standing. If we don’t really know where we are standing… We may only go in circles…” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant – From too depressed to get out of bed and open the drapes to loving himself as if his life depends on it. Ravikant shares how the most important relationship you’ll ever have is with yourself.
“It’s easy to wish for health when you’re sick. When you’re doing well, you need just as much vigilance.” – Kamal Ravikant
Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman – Based on the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior Sway examines the hidden psychological influences that derail our decision-making. This book changes the way you think about the way you think.
“Having a long-term plan–and not casting it aside–is the key to dealing with our fear of loss (loss aversion).” – Ori Brafman
Manual for Living by Epictetus – Our desire to have control cripples us. Don’t try and control the things not in your power. Our opinions determine how we feel about events and things. It’s not the event or thing itself. Think carefully about how you spend your life because you may end up chasing things that are neither as desirable nor as important as they seem.
“An uninstructed person will lay the fault of his own bad condition upon others. Someone just starting instruction will lay the fault on himself. Some who is perfectly instructed will place blame neither on others nor on himself.” – Epictetus
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck – In this book, Dweck shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every facet of life is dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities.
“For [people with a growth mindset] it’s not about immediate perfection. It’s about learning something over time: confronting a challenge and making progress.” – Carol Dweck