Self-help books when you don’t need help

Do you remember the first time you entered the “self-help” aisle in Chapters? The first time I can recall thinking “but I’m not crazy”. With that initial thought in mind, my second thought was “but it can’t hurt me”.

My Story

That was 6 years ago, which might not seem like a long time, but after reading my first book, my life completely changed. I knew I had a lot more reading to do. That is what got me started on my journey. Reading a book forced me to think beyond my own consciousness and reach further into my soul. All to realize that I had no idea who I was or who I wanted to be. After letting a shocking new reality sink in, I was left feeling pretty shitty about almost everything (self-help books will do that to you, and it’s ok). My sense of self was challenged every day from then on. I started to question everything in my life, including my own thoughts and actions. Only then did I understand what the most popular aisle in the bookstore really meant.

 “Self-help” – the work of one’s self towards their own improvement and growth

In my teenage years, I never could have imagined all of the obstacles that life had planned for me moving forward. As a proud control freak, I had to come to terms with the fact that life would have many elements I could not control. Understanding that, I focused on the one thing I could control which was me. I was committed to feeding my mind with the proper knowledge and tools to figure myself out; I committed to understanding the ins and outs of who I was in order to evolve into who I wanted to become.

Reading those books did not help me decide what university degree I wanted to pursue or tell me which guy I should date. It simply helped me, deal with ME! From then on, I became what I would like to call a proactive reader instead of a reactive reader. I read books that identified issues within myself I didn't even think I had. This resulted in me gaining wisdom and insight on how best to handle such adversities when they came (and boy did they come)...

Those on the outside always seemed to think I had it all together, all the time. The truth is, I worked overtime on myself behind the scenes and continue to do so every day. Trust me when I say, as you continue to grow, figuring it out becomes a whole lot easier, and actually becomes kind of fun.

Let's get you started!

HERE ARE 3 BOOKS THAT GOT ME STARTED

Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer

Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I highly encourage you to read them if you are just starting your journey OR even if you’ve been on it for years. It is never too early or too late to start knowing and loving yourself on a much deeper level.

Happy Reading.

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