5 BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR MINDSET!

If you are in a negative state of mind, the book that I am going to recommend to you will not only make you feel great but also give you a new perspective on life. I used to think that self-help books were a waste of time and that the people who read those books were just depressed. But, no, I have realized that if anybody feels down or does not have a sense of direction or purpose, sometimes a good book can change your narrative and the way you think. It makes you smarter, makes you feel seen, and helps you mentally. I used to be in a very negative state of mind. I mean I still have a lot to learn and grow. But these books have shown me and helped me learn different points of view on life and sometimes being okay with change.

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book is about adapting habits and learning how to stay consistent with them. This book is by far my favorite self-help book because this helped me to stay consistent with what I do and take in habits that I never in a million years thought I would take. James talks about how our brain works and how we can manage to control and live a happy and satisfying life. Taking on habits helps our physical and mental health. For example, reading books per se. If you want to adopt reading books. Then start a habit with slow progress. First, read 1 page a day or 3 pages a day. Keep your habits task easy to achieve so that you can stay consistent and enjoy the process of it. So, if you look back a year from now, maybe you have read 10 or 15 books or even more. Which for a person who has never picked up a book is a great achievement. But if you start a task that is a little hard to do. You will be able to do that for a while but not for a longer period. So, the key to remember here is longevity. “Practice is what makes the man/woman perfect”

This phrase is something that is dug down to the core of the book to understand staying consistent and growing as an individual. There are great examples and short stories that are inspiring in the book and eye-opening as well.

After I read this book, I started doing this two-week workout program by Chloe Ting. I stayed consistent with the workout for 4 months straight. I still am doing the workout but sometimes I get busy, but I somehow make sure to work out 4 times a week. I am telling you it is not an easy workout. But somehow the book had a great impact on me and I stayed consistent with it. If you are planning on starting a habit, try to make it easily achievable and keep maintaining it. So that one day you will look back and be proud of your progress.

2. The subtle art of not giving a fuck by Mark Manson

This has to be hands down the funniest yet, most motivating book ever. He talks about so many hit points that are so useful. For example, this book helps you to learn to not care about what others think. Thanks to the title. But he also pinpoints certain wordplay to make us understand and yet laugh our asses off during the whole book.

The key to a good life is not giving a fuck about more; it's giving a fuck about less, giving a fuck about only what is true and immediate and important.” ― Mark Manson.

A famous quote from the book. Here he says that sometimes it is okay to care less and live a happier life. Having a strong mindset and not letting anybody get to you.

“To be happy we need something to solve. Happiness is therefore a form of action;” ― Mark Manson

“Our crisis is no longer material; it’s existential, it’s spiritual. We have so much fucking stuff and so many opportunities that we don’t even know what to give a fuck about anymore.” ― Mark Manson

This book helped me to keep trying and not give up in life and not let things get to me. If we are going to die anyway and we have already a limited period for our lifespan and yet we care and obsess over unnecessary stress which is useless. I am talking about people’s drama, negative people, and bad mindsets. If you are in control of your mind, why are you torturing yourself over something so silly or dumb?

“There is a simple realization from which all personal improvement and growth emerge. This is the realization that we, individually, are responsible for everything in our lives, no matter the external circumstances. We don’t always control what happens to us. But we always control how we interpret what happens to us, as well as how we respond. Whether we consciously recognize it or not, we are always responsible for our experiences. It’s impossible not to be. Choosing to not consciously interpret events in our lives is still an interpretation of the events of our lives. Choosing” ― Mark Manson.

3. Psychology of money by Morgan Housel

Morgan talks about trading, money, hustle, cryptocurrency, etc. He gives important insights about investing and how it is essential to do it on our own.

“Some people are born into families that encourage education; others are against it. Some are born into flourishing economies encouraging entrepreneurship; others are born into war and destitution. I want you to be successful, and I want you to earn it. But realize that not all success is due to hard work, and not all poverty is due to laziness. Keep this in mind when you are judging people, including yourself.” ― Morgan Housel

He beautifully puts words and great narratives that make you think twice about life. The 3 key points that stood out to me were

1. He talks about not judging people. No matter what their lifestyle looks like. Because we don’t know why that person took the certain decision. But it may have felt right at the moment.

2. He helps us understand and drills it in our heads to not be greedy. He tells us so many short stories regarding not being greedy that were quite interesting.

3. As of about investing, it is always important to do it on our own. Because the market changes all the time, we don’t really always know what's to come. So, if we keep delaying the process of investing and waiting for the right moment. We might never really get the right moment because there isn’t any. It is about making mistakes and learning on your own. If you are so scared to make mistakes then investing may be hard for you. Investing is all about trials and errors that somehow one day lead you to your success. Learning to be patient is one of the key points.

“Things that have never happened before happen all the time.” ― Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

“Planning is important, but the most important part of every plan is to plan on the plan not going according to plan.” ― Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

“Be nicer and less flashy. No one is impressed with your possessions as much as you are. You might think you want a fancy car or a nice watch. But what you probably want is respect and admiration. And you’re more likely to gain those things through kindness and humility than horsepower and chrome.” ― Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

Morgan repeats again and again about how it is important to save and invest because not only will it be useful for you but it will also help you stay humble. If being rich is what you have ever wanted. Then work for it and save and invest.

4. Think Again – Adam grant

Another different take on life. Adam grant emphasizes rethinking your opinions. Being stubborn does not help you in any way. Learning to do new things and knowledge empowers the human mind. Having arguments, fights, and debates helps you to grow as a human being and evolve. I am not saying fighting is a good thing, what I am saying is learning how to turn a fight into a rational conversation rather than yelling at each other would do no good to one another.

So the concept of rethinking is all about listening and reacting in a logical way. For example, Adam Grant talks about how in debates he used to only spit facts overpowering the other party and sounding cocky. That clearly is a huge mistake he made, because no matter how true his facts and points were. The way he delivered it was quite aggressive and stubborn. Like there is no possibility that he may be wrong.

You shouldn't stubborn be but have to be flexible. You have to be okay with being wrong. Honestly enjoying being wrong. Life is not that serious and you don’t have to take everything seriously. If you have a certain political belief as well, you would find it hard to believe that they may be wrong in certain debates. The whole point of this book is to help us understand people's narratives and also be okay with being wrong rather than being butthurt and sticking to our opinion which is clearly wrong. I mean if you know deep down. So, learn to be casual and curious at the same time. Adam talks about the various experiment taken by him or different social workers who point out the important narrative and key lessons. “

In a heated argument, you can always stop and ask, ‘What evidence would change your mind?’ If the answer is ‘nothing,’ then there’s no point in continuing the debate.”

"A good debate is not a war. It's not even a tug-of-war....it's more like a dance that hasn't been choreographed."

"Strong leaders engage their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker."

5. You are a badass by Jen Sincero

“Imagine what our world would be like if everyone loved themselves so much that they weren’t threatened by other people’s opinions or skin colors or sexual preferences or talents or education or possessions or lack of possessions or religious beliefs or customs or their general tendency to just be whoever the hell they are.” ― Jen Sincero

“It never ceases to amaze me the precious time we spend chasing the squirrels around our brains, playing out our dramas, worrying about unwanted facial hair, seeking adoration, justifying our actions, complaining about slow Internet connections, dissecting the lives of idiots, when we are sitting in the middle of a full-blown miracle that is happening right here, right now. We're on a planet that somehow knows how to rotate on its axis and follow a defined path while it hurtles through space! Our hearts beat! We can see! We have love, laughter, language, living rooms, computers, compassion, cars, fire, fingernails, flowers, music, medicine, mountains, and muffins!” ― Jen Sincero

These are some of my favorite points in the book. I would say this book helps you to get up and get your work done. No matter what your excuses are. Excuses are clearly just excuses and it is necessary to build a good life of our own. Jen Sincero talks about how we spend our time wasting on opinions and things that technically value very less to us. If you want to make a difference and if you want to achieve something. It is only YOU who can do it. “So often, we pretend we’ve made a decision when what we’ve really done is signed up to try until it gets too uncomfortable.” ― Jen Sincero

“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” ― Jen Sincero

Learn to live in the present because then you are wasting your present away every day until your present becomes your past and future. I hope this helped you in a certain way as it did for me. Anyways, Challenge yourself every day and learn to have the thirst to grow!

“Our thoughts become our words, our words become our beliefs, our beliefs become our actions, our actions become our habits, and our habits become our realities.” ― Jen Sincero