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What can be more thrilling than the pursuit of the self? Concurrently, what can be more daunting or anxiety-inducing than the process of discovering who you are and what you’re capable of becoming? The journey to self-discovery likely elicits a smorgasbord of emotions and thoughts. The plan for this post is to help nudge you in the direction of self-love, curiosity, and compassion. The best books to help you find yourself will open your eyes to how powerful and capable you are.
You may feel directionless at this moment, but fret not. It’s just part of the process. This short collection of books will encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone. These book will hopefully challenge you to resign any negative self-talk and find the courage to share your gifts with the world.
These 5 books will inspire you to play, to imagine, to love, and will hopefully put you on the path to uncovering who you are. These books were selected for their gentle compassion for the reader. There is no judgement here.
I hope these books impact your life as much as they’ve impacted mine.
Let’s begin.
the best books to help you find yourself
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav
“Your soul is always guiding you towards greater understanding, compassion, and love. It is your inner compass, and when you listen to it, you will find your true path.”
I am so grateful for The Seat of the Soul. I can’t even begin to express how much peace it has brought to my life. It’s one of those books that I return to time and time again for comfort, reassurance, and direction.
It is a wholesome and powerful read for anyone interested in finding themselves. At our core: we are all creative, compassionate, curious, and competent individuals. The task for those seeking to discover themselves, according to the book, is to have our personality be in alignment with our soul. When this happens, we know we have found ourselves and what we’re meant to be and do in this world.
This book will help you understand your personality, and how it differs from your soul. Gaining this insight should propel you to continue exploring, uncovering, and loving yourself in all your glory.
Creative Acts For Curious People by Sarah Stein Greenberg
When was the last time you played? Or, in recent memory, can you recall the last time you allowed yourself to be creative outside of work? Creative Acts for Curious People is a book of challenges, meant to encourage readers to get out of their comfort zones and interact with the world bravely and with curiosity.
From challenges centered on talking to strangers to practicing empathy in the wild, this book can serve as your guide to get you out of your own head, and find yourself.
With the help of this book, you will practice your creativity; you will design, sketch, draw, interview, organize; you will get closer to uncovering just how much you’re capable of and get closer to discovering who you are in the process. It’s also just a really fun book, I hope you enjoy it.
The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace by Jack Kornfield
“Each time we meet our edge, we grow.”
On the surface, it might look like this book does not belong here. What does a book about lovingkindness, forgiveness, and peace have to do with finding yourself? Well, I’ll tell you.
It’s incredibly difficult to move about the world productively and consciously when certain past events continue to creep into your mind and occupy it. Finding yourself involves letting go of your past conditioning and freeing yourself to become that which you have always been.
With the help of tools like peace, forgiveness, and lovingkindess, you have armed yourself with all the resources you need to propel past any darkness and come home to yourself.
The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace is a beautifully written book about the freedoms that forgiveness of yourself and others gives you.
The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck
This is one of the best books to help you find yourself (if not the best)! In simple and direct language, Beck explains how keeping to our integrity (or not) affects our lives.
When looking for your true self, The Way of Integrity explains how we may have come to lose ourselves. That keeping to social cues and socially sanctioned behaviors enabled a disconnection between who you really are and what others want you to be.
The joys of self-discovery are paved in keeping to your integrity. Listening to your internal voice that knows when circumstances, events, people, work, etc are just not for you. Acting on these insights will empower you to become the person you have always been. This is a great read, please do give it a shot!
Navigating Ambiguity by Andrea Small and Kelly Schmutte
This book is a product of the research produced at Stanford University’s d.school, short for design school. Navigating Ambiguity aims to help you navigate the uncertainties in your life with the aid of design and design thinking.
I think the chief aim of this book is to encourage us readers to not fear uncertainty (which our brains are programmed to do), but to try to pursue it with gusto and bravery.
Grab a notebook and something to write with, this book will prompt you to question, to answer, to analyze, and to discover yourself. It will help you cultivate curiosity about yourself, and will hopefully lead you down the path to greater self-awareness and self-discovery.
It is also a tremendously fun book to read. Not only will you learn a ton about yourself, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a blast in the process. Happy reading!
And that’s all for now, folks! Thank you for stopping by. And if you enjoyed this short list of books to help you find yourself, perhaps you’ll enjoy some of my other book recommendations / collections:
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