The winter months have been weighing on me and I finally see the light of spring coming. Yesterday the day was so beautiful, the sun was bright, the air warm and I finally felt uplifted in my spirit. I didn’t get a lot accomplished that I wanted to but I was able to sit and reflect inward which I think is just as important as finishing so many pages in a paper or getting that sink full of dishes done. With Spring comes rebirth of life, passion and creativity; so I decided that I wanted to put together a short book list that is about developing yourself in preparation of spring. If you’re looking for other books to read, here’s a list of Books Recommended for World Changers.
I selected these six books because they challenge you, they will make you reflect on yourself, your business and how you interact with the world around you. These books aren’t just for bloggers, or the ladybosses out there; they’re for creatives, moms, students and anyone else.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert//
This is a book that I’m working on now and so far it’s been a fantastic read for before bed, not because it puts me to sleep but because I love to sleep on ideas. Elizabeth Gilbert walks you through the creative process like a mentor or friend and helps you tap into the creative inside you. She encourages you to embrace curiosity and your pure passion in what you do.
Pretty Happy by Kate Hudson//
After battling eating disorders for literally years, I’ve been consistently drawn to books about living a healthy life and about becoming at peace with your body. I never really thought about the happiness aspect of it though, I wanted to love my body and be at peace but I never thought of being happy with my body, and I can assure you those are very very different things. Kate Hudson discusses in her book how she found a way to love her body and truly become happy through being mindful of her body, and developing a relationship with herself. I haven’t read the book yet, but I heard that it is interactive so it’ll have exercises or homeworks for you to do to help you love your body.
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown //
This is another that is on my list but I haven’t read yet, however in all my blogging groups, coaching groups and different corners of the internet, people have sworn by this book. Dr. Brown challenges our perception of what it means to be vulnerable in our lives and with our relationships. We typically view vulnerability as a weakness, a fault, or even something to be ashamed of. She argues though, that with great vulnerability is great courage and the potential for strong meaningful connections.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo//
This book was originally recommended to me by a friend of mine who was planning on moving so she had to get rid of a ton of things but it turned out that this book changed her perspective on the material objects in her life. I am someone who is very sentimental and will keep things for years. I’m not a hoarder but I at one point had a crazy amount of stuffed animals because I didn’t want to get rid of them since I felt they were sentimental gifts from family and friends. I thought that people would be upset with me if I got rid of the gift when in reality, I’m sure my cousin doesn’t even remember picking out that brown bear for my christmas gift. I also have this problem of not wanting to get rid of things for a fear of having to have to go back out and rebuying the same thing, thus wasting money, so why not just hold onto it in the first place? This book I’ve been working through and it’s given me the ability to let go of things that I don’t need and has taught me how to identify of when to let go of them. This book will completely rock your world in how you tidy up, how you look at your material things and really makes you reflect inwardly about attachment.
What books are you picking up this spring?