Although it was some 2,300 years ago when the great Athenian philosopher Aristotle introduced the world to the ideas of improving one’s self, upholding a standard of ethical values and making excellence a habit, it wasn’t until around the turn of the 20th century when the self-help industry we love today was born in America. Since the work of success pioneers such as Orison Marden, Wallace Wattles, Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill, a seemingly endless number of other iconic figures have built upon these great men’s efforts while building the self-improvement industry into one that generates billions of dollars each year.
Thanks to the ever-expanding interest the field has generated over the decades, we now have access to a seemingly endless variety of books and actionable strategies that promote personal transformation in a similarly expansive number of ways. Better yet still, because citizens across the western world are so deeply passionate about improving themselves as individuals, each and every year the field evolves to include new bestsellers that are based upon the latest scientific research, life-changing ideas and inspirational stories.
Just as has been the case in years past, 2017 gave way to a plethora of highly acclaimed titles, the best of which we’ll explore here, that can motivate us to become more. Because the broader industry can be broken down into a wide variety of sub-genres, we’ve decided to limit our list of The Top 10 Self-Help Books of 2017 (published between October 2016-December 2017) to literary works that fall into these categories: Business & Leadership, Inspirational Biographies & Memoirs, Habits of Success, Psychology, Health & Wellness, and Relationships. Later this week, in coordination with this article, we’ll release our list of The Top 10 Spirituality Books of 2017 ralph waldo emerson which will feature titles emphasizing ideas such as Meditation & Mindfulness, Buddhism, Hinduism, Transcendentalism, and Death & Grief. With that being said, let’s now introduce you to Balanced Achievement’s Top 10 Self-Help Books of 2017:
10.) The Little Book of Hygge – Meik Wiking:
We are social creatures, and the importance of this is clearly seen when one compares the satisfaction people feel in relationships with their overall satisfaction with life. The most important social relationships are close relationships in which you experience things together with others, and experience being understood; where you share thoughts and feelings, and both give and receive support. In one word: hygge.”
9.) Peak Performance – Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness:
The real secret of world-class performers is not the daily routines that they develop, but that they stick to them. That they show up, even when they don’t feel like it. Call it drive, call it passion, or call it grit; whatever you call it, it must come from deep within.”
8.) Daring to Drive – Manal al-Sharif:
But my view is that while there are some scars that we might wish to hide because the spiritual or mental pain they represent is far greater than the physical pain caused to us at the time of injury. there are also some scars that we want to see whenever we look in the mirror. Because these scars serve as a valuable reminder of our past. My scars teach me that I am stronger than what caused them. Whenever I look at the scars on my face, I feel a renewed sense of resolve that my children should have a happy life, full of love and encouragement, free from screaming, scolding and neglect.”
7.) Tools Of Titans – Tim Ferriss:
Have you outgrown your systems or beliefs? Is it time that you upgraded? Or, on a personal level, as Jerry Colonna, executive coach to some of the biggest tech stars in Silicon Valley, would ask: How are you complicit in creating the conditions you say you don’t want?”
6.) Principles – Ray Dalio:
Whatever circumstances life brings you, you will be more likely to succeed and find happiness if you take responsibility for making your decisions well instead of complaining about things being beyond your control.”
5.) Make Your Bed – William H. McRaven:
It is easy to blame your lot in life on some outside force, to stop trying because you believe fate is against you. It is easy to think that where you were raised, how your parents treated you, or what school you went to is all that determines your future. Nothing could be further from the truth. The common people and the great men and women are all defined by how they deal with life’s unfairness: Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, Malala Yousafzai, and—Moki Martin. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie. Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on!”
4.) The Power of Moments – Chip Heath & Dan Heath:
Moments matter. And our research suggests that people’s most positive moments share certain traits in common–traits such as elevation, or being lifted out of the ordinary. (You pick up a mysterious red phone and someone answers, ‘Popsicle Hotline, may I help you?’). Traits such as insight (shaping the way we see the world) and connection (deepening our ties with others). A wedding ceremony, for instance, features all three: The elevation of fine food and dancing and fancy clothes, and the insight afforded by toasts and stories, and the connection of sharing the moment with loved ones.”
3.) The Undoing Project – Michael Lewis:
The world’s not just a stage. It’s a casino, and our lives are games of chance. And when people calculate the odds in any life situation, they are often making judgments about similarity – or representativeness. You have some notion of a parent population: ‘storm clouds’ or ‘gastric ulcers’ or ‘genocidal dictators’ or ‘NBA players’. You compare the specific case to the parent population.”
2.) A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea – Melissa Fleming:
She began paddling toward the boat with one hand, the other wrapped around the two little girls. She didn’t care what happened to her, but if Malak and Masa lived, she felt that her life would mean something. She would last long enough to know that she had saved the little girls, then she could finally stop struggling and be with Bassem again.”
1.) Option B – Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant:
Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. It comes from gratitude for what’s good in our lives and from leaning in to the suck. It comes from analyzing how we process grief and from simply accepting that grief. Sometimes we have less control than we think. Other times we have more. I learned that when life pulls you under, you can kick against the bottom, break the surface, and breathe again.”
1 comment
Great article, great job Patrick! Inspirational!
Keep up with the writing 😉
Grtz
Steve