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Are you interested in personal development and changing your life for the better?

There are hundreds of thousands of books out there that make it difficult to choose from.

To save you time and help you from the overwhelm of browsing through tons of books, I’ve compiled a list of the 12 best personal growth books that will transform the way you think and perceive your life!

Many people tend to underestimate the power of books and reading in general. However, the most successful entrepreneurs today regularly read as a part of their morning routine. If you want to learn more about how to create an effective morning routine, read this post.

Not to mention, there’s many benefits to reading books. It reduces stress, stimulates your mind, improves memory and focus, and boost your brain power.

How Books Have Changed My Life

When the pandemic had hit, it really took a toll on my mental health. I felt lost and confused with the direction of my life. I knew I had a God-given purpose, but I felt stuck. I was paralyzed with fear of what others would think about me. I was afraid to take action towards my goals. The reality was: I was scared of growing.

When I started reading personal growth books, that’s when things started to change. I learned so much about myself. I was so encouraged by these people who would share their life stories and lessons in writing.

I felt encouraged, seen, and inspired to change my life. I knew change would take time, but I realized the direction of where I wanted to move forward.

So here are 12 personal growth books that I believe will inspire, encourage, and motivate you to pursue growth and change in your life.

The 12 Personal Growth Books That Will Transform Your Life

Best for Habit Building

Atomic Habits

• Learn effective habit building techniques
• Contains strategies on habit creation
• Very practical tips that you can apply towards changing your habits

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Best for Learning Self-Compassion

Fierce Self-Compassion

• Learn how to break down gender role constructs
• Build a practice of self-compassion towards yourself and others
• Includes helpful self-compassion exercises and tools

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Best for Creating Social Change In Your Life

How to Win Friends & Influence People

• Learn to make friends and be more confident socially
• Advice for building and improving positive, successful relationships
• Promotes effective communication, social skills, and insight to achieve lasting relationships

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Best Book to Inspire You for Success

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

• An inspiring, personal story of grit, tough life experiences, and acceptance
• Very straightforward and raw
• A heads-up: there are a good amount of curse words in this book

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Best Book for Overcoming Obstacles

It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way

• A faith-based book about facing tough challenges in life
• Contains Bible verses and guided application/reflection sections
• A vulnerable, personal book that makes the reader feel connected and seen

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Best Book To Set Healthy Boundaries

Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself

• Addresses the origins of poor boundaries
• Teaches the reader how to create healthy boundaries in all areas of life
• Provides detailed examples of what poor and healthy boundaries look like

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Best for Changing the Way You See Your Life

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

• Help the reader understand their past of self doubt, trauma, and childhood
• Uncovers intriguing scientific findings that corresponds directly to emotional, physical, and psychological trauma
• Eye-opening and refreshing conversations between Oprah and Bruce D. Perry

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Best Book for Inner Healing

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents

• Provides specific, tangible strategies to handle emotionally immature parents
• Contains interesting research-based information about attachment patterns
• Learn to recognize emotionally immature behaviors and handle difficult emotions

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Best for Overwhelmed Overthinkers

Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present 

• Provides helpful tips on recognizing negative thoughts
• Contains practical examples on destressing and overthinking
• Learn how to change the way you think and what you believe

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Best Book For Living An Emotionally Healthy Life

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

• A faith-based book that convicts the reader to walk with Christ, not the world
• Provides practical ways to eliminate hurry from your life
• Challenges the reader to slow down from a busy lifestyle

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Best for Transformative Leaders

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

• Includes research-based information on what makes an effective leader
• Provides skills and techniques to shape the leader you strive to be
• Learn how to work in organizations and lead wholeheartedly

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The last thing you need to know about personal growth

So there you go! These are, personally, the 12 best personal growth books that I highly recommend reading. I’ve put a lot of thought into curating this list, so I hope you found this article helpful!

The biggest takeaway from this article is to know that what you learn from books (these books in particular) will need to be applied to reality in order to witness change in your life. These books are tools so use them to your advantage!

Carve out time within your day, even if it’s 10-15 minutes, to read. As the saying goes, Small progress is better than no progress.

Thanks for reading this post! Let me know in the comments below if there are any personal development books you’ve read or any books that you want to read.