Talking about self-help books, I normally search for its review or rating before buying or reading it. Often times I seek the books from popular authors like Tony Robbins, Steven Covey, Malcolm Gladwell, or Dale Carnegie. The following books come from none of the authors mentioned above, which I coincidentally read, yet have transformed my life for the better.
1. 18 Minutes (Peter Bregman)
I grabbed this book randomly in my campus library without any intention to read it thoroughly. I was so bored at that time and didn't know what to do. So I simply read the first page and didn't realize continue reading it till the end of the first chapter. This book is so engaging that it kept me reading it the next days till the last page. I caught myself laughing in every chapter. The author sprinkles humor and metaphor in every chapter that I can easily relate to my own life experiences. He also ends each chapter with a short message to wrap up the chapter. Each chapter only consists of view pages that take like 18 minutes to read. It's a good chunk of valuable information, which eventually has enlightened my heart and my mind.
2. How Life Works (Andrew Matthews)
This book refines 'the law of attraction theory' in a practical way. I watched Byrne's the Secret movie a long time ago, and it affected the way I see myself and the world surround me. I began to implement it as what the message implies. But as time goes by, I still end up with a miserable life. View months ago, I found this 'Matthews's book', again, in the library. I initially did not interested to read the whole pages once I discovered he talks about 'law of attraction'. But since I have nothing better to do, I started to scan the pages randomly, only to spot the caricatures illustrated by the author. I began to spot some information that is apparently missing in any 'law attraction' books I've ever read. It eventually leads me to read the books completely. This book has given me the answer to why my life is still miserable despite having known the Secret of Life.
3. The 5 Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die (John Izzo)
"When you are young, 60 years seems like an eternity. But after you have lived it, you realize it is but a moment. We believe we have forever, but soon we realize this is not so." This is one of my favorite quotes from the book that hits me. This book tells me wise massages of a happy and fulfilling life from 200 elders whom the author interviewed. I grabbed this book from the library shelf, simply because it's thin. It only took me view days to finish it. Yet, it unpredictably has given me a long term positive effect. As I read this book, I felt likewise grandparents were sitting next to me, telling stories and pouring me advise. It was so engaging that brought me to tears.
4. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (Joseph Murphy)
This is another book I grabbed from the library. I solely borrowed this book to find out if there's any content I can cite for my research report. However, as I go through page by page. I found so many profound explanations about how our mind works, which in turn, changed the way I see myself and others.
5. Play Your Brain (Anette Prehn & Kjeld Fredens)
Besides picking books randomly from the library, I occasionally buy random books at a bookstore, just like this one. I have read many books and articles about the human brain. But this book seems quite unique, as it associates the brain uses with the piano. However, it took like more than a year sitting on my desk without even reading it. Until I found a moment where I felt confused about my life purpose. I picked this book and coincidentally open chapter with the title 'Values'. I started reading the chapter, and it guided me to discover my core values. I did all the exercises the book told me to do and didn't believe what I found. I now have a determination about things that I want and should do in my life.
One important thing, how these 5 books have given me a sustainable positive impact, I took notes on every point that I found really valuable for me, and highlight the most valuable on my notes. I read it any related part whenever negative thoughts come to mind, and it heals me. As I read it over and over, I feel like my old negative thinking patterns have been banished gradually.
I believe, there are many other great books that you might have read. Nonetheless, so many people admit that they have reading great books, and yet still find themselves with the old undesired life patterns. Why is that?
Well, our habit is formed by repetition throughout the life we have gone through, so if we want to change the old pattern, we also have to change it with something that we do repeatedly to replace/bury the old one.
Let me wrap up by quoting one example from Matthews' book:
Fred has lived for 20 years on junk food and soft drinks. He overweight & exhausted. Then he discovers a book that says "what you put in your mouth matters." He then eats some fruit and vegetable for 4 days.
After 4 days, Fred says, "I feel no better & I'm always hungry!" Fred goes back to junk food. As almost everyone knows, 4 days of salad is good to start, but it can't reverse 20 years of junk! It is the same with our thinking.
