ProMind Team’s top 5 self-help books.

If ever there was a year for loading up on tips and tricks to strengthen our minds, it’s 2020!

As much as the Promind team love to support our wonderful community, we also encourage you to read, read , read! There are some fantastic self help books out there that can shed light on common conditions, provide insight into how we tick and give us some strategies for working with ourselves to get closer to our goals.

Here are our top 5 self- help picks for 2020!

The Happiness Trap- Russ Harris

Russ Harris is a favourite at ProMind for so many reasons.  Maybe it’s his conversational style, or his ability to make the complex, simple through metaphor.  However he does it, he truly has a gift.

In this book, Russ challenges society’s emphasis on happiness (what exactly is it, anyway?) and offers practical strategies for managing and nurturing our emotions, unhooking from thoughts that bring us pain and clarifying our goals and values to enable us to lead more enriched and fulfilled lives.

Self compassion: Stop Beating Yourself up and Leave Insecurity Behind- Kristin Neff

Kristen Neff uses the perfect blend of research and stories to highlight the importance of self compassion (accepting our flaws) and self- appreciation (celebrating our successes). Because self compassion is embedded in love rather than the fear that is so often associated with self criticism, self compassion builds our resilience to be able to weather future obstacles.

Even better, this book is also available via audio books so you can lay back, shut your eyes and absorb wherever you are!

The Power of Small= Aisling Leonard- Curtin and Trish Leonard- Curtin

This book shows you how to make positive change, in a realistic step by step approach, when really helps when you’re feeling overwhelmed!

Building on the concept of self- compassion, The Power of Small demonstrates how rather than waiting for big moments to come along and change us or our lives, we can seize small moments as opportunities and gently expand our horizons to take on new challenges.  The authors bring it to life by sharing some of their own life experiences, which gives it a personal touch.

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes the Change Everything – BJ Fogg

BJ Fogg introduces the concept that when tiny habits are built into our lives and nurtured, they can and will create lasting change. If you want to create some big changes in your life, start small and build from there.

Fogg’s approach is to use existing behaviours to help form a new ‘habit’, but in a really easy way.  This really helps to take the brain overload out of the equation when striving to create your best life.

The Reality Slap: Finding Peace and Fulfillment when Life Hurts- Russ Harris

And we’re back to Russ Harris! Hey, when you’re onto a good thing, go with it!

Russ starts by asking you “When was the last time you received a reality slap?”

For many of us, 2020 has been a long parade of slaps.  This book reminds us, as much as we would like to avoid it, life will throw us disappointment, hurt and pain, sometimes we see it coming and sometimes it hits us – hard!

Russ Harris guides us through some of the ways in which we respond to painful experiences and offers strategies for working through pain and finding ways to experience peace and fulfilment within pain.

Allira Power, penned this blog.  Allira is available on Tuesdays via TeleHealth.