The best 100 Self-Help books

Rising Strong (2015) is your guide to picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after a failure – and to becoming stronger, braver and kinder because of it. Whether you dream of being an entrepreneur or maintaining a loving relationship, these blinks supply you with the three vital steps to dealing with any struggle.

Hardwiring Happiness (2013) isn’t just another self-help book singing the praises of positive thinking. It presents the latest research behind the neuroscience of happiness and explains how you can reprogram your brain to focus on the good, rather than obsessing over the bad.

I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t) (2008) is a guide to the visceral and thoroughly human emotion of shame. These blinks explain this complex feeling, discuss how it arises and describe ways in which empathy and connecting with one another can help humans heal.

The Power of the Subconscious Mind (1963) has helped millions of readers around the world harness their subconscious and find true happiness in the process. These blinks share inspiring true stories and effective techniques that will positively influence your career, love life and overall health.

Stop Reading the News (2020) shows us how we can live a calmer, healthier, and more thoughtful life if we simply stop reading the news. By practicing what the author calls radical abstinence from the news media, we can rescue our minds from the overload of information, and focus on what actually matters in life.

The Great Mental Models (2019) provides a crash course on how to upgrade your thinking and decision making. Drawing from a wide variety of disciplines, it will equip you with nine of the most essential tools for understanding and navigating the complicated world around you.

Think Like a Rocket Scientist (2020) reveals the strategies that rocket scientists use to innovate, problem-solve, and bring the unimaginable into fruition. By learning the techniques that scientists use every day, you’ll gain powerful tools that will help you fulfill both your professional and personal dreams.

How to Decide (2020) investigates the way we make decisions, as well as common types of bias and faulty techniques that afflict them. It teaches you how to identify different types of decisions, and then design practical processes to help slow down or speed up the deliberation process accordingly.

Hyperfocus (2018) is a straightforward guide to reclaiming your attention that lays out how you can boost both your productivity and creativity by learning to redirect your focus. Combining periods of intense concentration with spells of creative thinking sets the foundation for a brighter, more efficient version of you.

What’s it about?

The Slight Edge (2005) explores the power of all the small choices we make every day. Far from being insignificant, they are a step in our journey toward success or failure.

Think Again (2021) examines the science behind changing your mind – and persuading others to change theirs. It explores the biases and assumptions that we bring to our decision-making, and outlines how individuals and organizations can build a mindset of lifelong curiosity.

Rich Dad’s Retire Young Retire Rich (2012) unpacks entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki’s unique approach to personal finance. If you want to get rich, he argues, you need to understand how to leverage your mind, plan, and actions. Whether it’s cultivating simple habits conducive to success or using debt to buy income-generating assets, Kiyosaki demonstrates that making money is easier than you might think.

Kaizen (2019) is a guide to the improvement philosophy known as kaizen, which encourages taking small steps to complete ambitious goals. Already well established in the world of business and sports, this method can also be applied to personal development. Using practical examples, this guide explains how to take a kaizen approach to setting goals that’ll improve health, relationships, money, and work.

Relentless Solution Focus (2021) shows how having a more optimistic mindset can transform our lives. Using a three-step process, the authors share insights, tools, and frameworks for developing the mental toughness needed to strip away our tendencies toward negativity.

Exceptional (2020) shows you how to discover your strengths and build on them to become the best version of yourself. By creating a personal highlight reel of your life, you’ll learn how to spot your talents, build confidence, and unlock your full potential – both at work and at home.

Midlife (2017) is a philosophical guide to navigating the troubles that middle age can present. Drawing on thinkers from ancient Rome to nineteenth-century England, it offers gentle solace in the face of midlife’s woes.

Good Habits, Bad Habits (2019) lays out the workings of human habits, drawing on groundbreaking new research into the psychology of human behavior. Combining the insights of neuroscience and lab-based experiments, it shows how we can harness our habits to change our lives for the better.

The Art of Impossible (2021) is a science-driven guide to reaching your maximum potential. By developing four key skills –⁠ motivation, learning, creativity, and flow –⁠ you’ll gain the power to smash whatever goals you set. With enough time, you may even achieve the impossible.

Soundtracks (2021) is a simple guide to ending self-doubt, hesitation, and overthinking. Instead of being at the mercy of your fickle and often unhelpful thoughts, you’ll discover patterns of thinking that can strengthen you, make you happier, and bring you closer to achieving your goals.

Forgiving What You Can’t Forget (2020) is a guide to healing from past hurt. Drawing from her experiences of abuse in her childhood and infidelity in her marriage, author Lysa TerKeurst offers up ways to make peace with painful memories through forgiveness.

The Comfort Crisis (2021) offers a cure for the physical and mental health problems of modern-day life. It’s all about getting comfortable with discomfort, which can mean anything from roughing it in the wilderness to contemplating death.

Badass Habits (2020) is a lighthearted guide to developing positive habits. This manual lays out a step-by-step approach to breaking old patterns and creating new ones.

Courage is Calling (2021) is both a meditation on bravery and a guide to courageousness. From how to dispel your fears to the benefits of taking small steps first, it gives concrete advice for building courage, and lays out, in writing rich with anecdotes, the simple ways that each of us can become a little bit braver.

How to Do the Work (2021) is a hands-on guide to healing our bodies and minds. The physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of our health are all interconnected. By changing how we eat and exercise, engaging in mindfulness and tackling past trauma, we can heal ourselves and transform our relationships.

Chatter (2021) directly addresses our inner voice, which, too often, turns into our inner critic. Backed with information from countless studies, Chatter delivers a wealth of strategies to help free us from the negative thought spirals that dominate our lives.

The Art of Living (2017) offers wisdom on how to fully experience every moment of every day. Many of us are consumed with fears or busyness that prevent us from engaging with the wonder of life. But by expanding our understanding of existence and embracing mindfulness practices, we can overcome the obstacles that stop us from truly living.

Set Boundaries, Find Peace (2021) lays out everything you need to know about boundaries: what they are, why you need them, and how to implement them in your life right now. By breaking down the ins and outs of setting healthy boundaries, these blinks will leave you feeling confident and empowered to finally tackle those thorny conversations that you’ve been avoiding for so long.

Get It (2020) is a one-stop guide to taking control of your voice so that you can successfully navigate the thorniest conversations in life. It’ll teach you how to clean up your conversational hygiene by avoiding common faux pas and show you how to present your best self to others. Once you know how to direct conversations toward outcomes you want, you’ll be sure to achieve success in love, work, and beyond.

Noise (2021) is an exploration into the chaotic and costly role that randomness plays in human judgment. By uncovering the mechanisms behind how our minds and societies work, the authors show how noise – unwanted variability in decisions – is both inescapable and elusive. We can, however, with a few solid strategies, make our judgments less noisy and our world fairer.

Bulletproof Problem Solving (2019) delves into one of the most important yet consistently neglected skills in the modern workplace: problem-solving. With routine jobs declining around the world, more and more employees are being tasked with tackling open-ended challenges. As we’ll see in these blinks, you don’t need an advanced degree in statistical analysis to be a great problem solver – you just need a dash of creativity and the right strategies. 

Your Brain Is Always Listening (2021) is a self-help guide for readers looking to lead happier, healthier lives. Drawing on Dr. Daniel Amen’s extensive experience as a psychiatrist, it shares science-backed tips for slaying the fire-breathing dragons that dwell inside your brain and spark destructive behaviors. 

The Procrastination Cure (2017) is an invaluable resource for anyone who's prone to procrastination. Beginning with an accessible guide to the underlying causes that contribute to procrastination, it then offers simple, proven strategies for conquering the urge to procrastinate, boosting productivity, and working optimally to meet personal and professional goals.

Unwinding Anxiety (2021) breaks down the brain science behind the bad habits that keep us stuck. Have you ever tried to reason yourself out of binge eating, or procrastinating? Then you’ll know that it just doesn’t work. That’s because addiction and obsessive thought patterns are controlled by our instinctive survival brains, not our rational brains. Learning how to retrain our brains using mindfulness techniques will allow us to free ourselves from chronic worry, anxiety, and other obsessive habits. 

The High 5 Habit (2021) offers a startling proposition: A single change to your morning routine can help upend your outmoded, self-limiting attitudes and kick your life into top gear. Interwoven with personal anecdotes and scientific research, this blueprint for life transformation makes self-improvement seem easier than ever.

The Daily Laws (2021) is a compendium of 366 rules for life, covering everything from seduction and power to the discovery of your life’s great task. It distills the insights author Robert Greene has uncovered in a series of best-selling books spanning 22 years of word.

Discipline Equals Freedom (2020) is your field manual to the art of self-discipline. It uncovers what you need to do to meet your full potential – and why being disciplined sets you free. 

Atlas of the Heart (2021) is a guide to understanding your emotions and learning how to regulate them. Everyone experiences strong emotions, but most people can’t identify what it is they’re feeling, or work out where the feelings come from. Developing your emotional vocabulary will transform your relationship to yourself, and the people around you.

Things No One Else Can Teach Us (2019) is a part-memoir, part-unconventional self-help book. Full of revealing personal stories and philosophical musings, it will inspire you to question your beliefs about failure, success, and what really makes life meaningful.

The Art of Insubordination (2022) is a research-based, science-backed, anecdote-packed ode to all the rebels and revolutionaries out there. It highlights the importance of dissent in society and teaches aspiring nonconformists the skills they need to confidently challenge majority viewpoints, manage discomfort when rebelling, and avoid losing hold of their most cherished values in the process.

Surrounded by Setbacks (2021) is a practical guide to achieving your goals despite the obstacles you will inevitably meet along the way. We all experience setbacks in our lives. Some of them will be minor and fixable, while others will be completely outside of our control. But by learning to manage your responses to all kinds of adversity, by taking complete responsibility for your life, and being stubbornly persistent in your approach, you can achieve your dreams.

The Power of Fun (2021) explains why fun is fundamental to living a happy and healthy life and how to have more of it. Not just any old fun but True Fun – the kind of fun that makes you laugh, smile, and feel alive!

Welcome Home (2021) uses the metaphor of a house to provide a personalized blueprint for achieving self-worth, belonging, and happiness. Through personal stories, practical advice, and poetry, it lays out tools you can use to build a place where you’re at peace with yourself.

The Power of Regret (2022) is a rebuttal of the “no regrets” worldview. Drawing from human psychology, it shares actionable steps for transforming emotion into action and using past disappointments to shape purposeful futures. 

How to Begin (2022) argues that you unlock your greatness by working on the hard things. The things that matter. Not to your partner, friends, or family – but to you. The hardest part isn’t the work itself, though. It’s identifying the kinds of projects that are worth investing your time in. Projects which give your life meaning. And that’s what this book is really about: helping you discover worthy goals.

The Power of the Downstate (2022) provides a new way of looking at how you sleep, eat, exercise, and relax. Drawing on the author’s groundbreaking research from her sleep and cognition lab, it provides evidence-based tips on how to feel more energized, less stressed, and perform at your best.

Own Your Greatness (2020) is a guided workbook for people who constantly feel like imposters. Drawing on Drs. Lisa and Richard Orbé-Austin’s expertise, it helps you identify and overcome the tiggers, habits and thoughts that activate your imposter syndrome, so you can beat self-doubt and succeed in life.

Get It Done (2022) turns the spotlight on the person that’s often hardest to influence: you. Drawing on anecdotes and research from motivation science, it shows how modifying your circumstances can propel you forward both personally and professionally – even when you feel lost at sea.

Dopamine Nation (2021) explores the connection between pleasure and pain. Our modern world is filled with more dopamine-inducing stimuli than ever – including everything from drugs and sex to smartphones and shopping. Citing years of clinical experience and patients’ stories, this book helps to understand addiction and explains how to achieve a healthy balance in our lives. 

In The Light We Carry (2022), former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, tackles complex questions about community, identity, and relationships with trademark warmth and honesty. Obama believes we all carry a light inside us – in this book, she tells us how to shine that light so it illuminates the potential for hope and healing, and pathways toward a better world.

Evolve Your Brain (2007) dives deep into the human brain and its structures. It demonstrates the power of neuroplasticity to change thinking, behavior, and biology.

Stop Doing That Sh*t (2019) dives into the subconscious to explore how and why we self-sabotage ourselves. Discover why just thinking positively or deciding to change doesn’t help us to actually improve ourselves. Then, learn a method for finally overcoming the hidden thoughts that have been unconsciously ruling our lives. 

Stop Overthinking (2021) is an indispensable guide to breaking free from the negative thought patterns holding you back. Learn how to recognize your negative spiral triggers, overcome anxiety attacks, and declutter your mind to live a stress-free life.

Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers (2022) explores the ramifications of having a narcissistic parent, and what you as an adult can do to release yourself from your mother’s toxic hold. Its toolkit will help you manage the difficult feelings that come with being raised by a narcissist – like self-doubt, shame, and anxiety – so that you can start living on your own terms. 

Spiritual Activator (2023) provides a five-step program to detox your energetic body so that you can overcome the blocks that prevent you from being your highest self. By following the program over 15 days, you can cleanse yourself of negative influences and encourage abundance, love, and peace into your life.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? (2022) is an empathetic and practical guide to improving and maintaining mental well-being. It offers bite-sized, actionable advice and coping strategies for anxiety, depression, unexpected setbacks, a lack of self-confidence, and more.

Procrastination (1983) is a deep dive into procrastination – and why people struggle with it. Drawing on personal and professional experience, it offers a tested program and tips on how to conquer procrastination tendencies.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families (1997) was written by Stephen R. Covey with, as he says, “such a passion . . . because family is what I care about most.” It’s a very personal book that talks about how the author, his wife, and nine children apply each of the habits in their family life. It can also be your guide to solving the problems you face in your family as you strive, individually and together, to become more effective.

Live Life in Crescendo (2022) anecdotally provides the answers to many questions about life: How do you live your best life, no matter how old you are? How do you respond to life-changing challenges? What do you do if you have a midlife crisis? It shows how to live life in crescendo – continually growing in contribution, learning, and influence.

Master Your Emotions (2018) offers tips on understanding your emotions and controlling them. Instead of letting your negative emotions control your life, this guide encourages you to build positive instead of negative emotions and take back control of your life.

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook (2019) offers basic and advanced exercises to help people hone the four core emotional competencies. While it can be used alone, it’s also an excellent companion for anyone working with a therapist. 

The Body Code (2023) is a companion book to The Emotion Code and presents the author’s comprehensive system for finding and clearing energy blockages and trapped emotions that cause discomfort and disease. Only by releasing these blockages and imbalances can the body’s natural ability to heal itself be fully realized.

The Everyday Hero Manifesto (2021) is a how-to primer for becoming the hero of your own life. It’s full of detailed plans interspersed with short essays, anecdotes, and even poetry to help you become happier, more productive, and more successful.

Discipline Is Destiny (2022) draws on Stoic virtues to make a case for a life guided by self-discipline. It shows how being in control of your body, thoughts, and emotions is a prerequisite to mastering anything else – and uses historical figures to illustrate how things like sleep, discomfort, and kindness tie into greatness. 

The Overthinking In Relationships Fix (2020) is a guide to getting rid of toxic overthinking patterns that put your romantic relationships on the verge of a breakup. It offers advice and easy-to-do techniques to release your worrying thoughts and strengthen your bond with your partner.

The Happiness Trap (2007) is a self-help guide to pursuing a richer and more rewarding life instead of fleeting feelings of happiness. It outlines the six core principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy that can help you tackle unpleasant thoughts and feelings and build a fulfilling life.

The Mountain Is You (2020) can help you recognize the negative patterns in your life and what they are really telling you. Changing those patterns will be like climbing a mountain and the reward will be unlocking your own potential.

The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control is about understanding your perfectionist traits and making them work for you, not against you. It details different types of perfectionists and explains how all of them can adapt to their perfectionism.

How We Heal (2022) provides a detailed look at the complex and life-changing process of self-healing. Techniques are separated into a 4-step framework which provides encouragement, practical strategies, and journaling exercises to help you rediscover your inner power and cultivate a sense of inner peace.

Stop Self-Sabotage (2019) outlines a six-step guide to identifying and overcoming behaviors that counteract people’s ability to reach goals of all kinds. The clinically proven process includes exercises, practical advice, and real-life examples of how people have used the method to change their lives.

The Power of Discipline (2020) explores the biological tendencies within our brains that determine our ability to control our self-discipline. It shows us how we can refine these tendencies in order to develop improved self-disciplinary habits and reach our goals.

Getting to Neutral (2022) is a step-by-step guide to conquering negativity and embracing the state of neutrality in a stressful world. By delving into deeply personal experiences as well as insights from leading athletes and coaches from around the world, it shows how anyone can find calm and clarity in their everyday life. 

Retrain Your Brain (2016) is all about learning practical strategies to break free from negative thought patterns and cultivate a more positive, fulfilling life. Whether you're struggling with anxiety or depression, or just want to improve your overall mental well-being, this guide is a valuable resource for retraining your brain and becoming your best self.

The Explosive Child (2021) is a groundbreaking and scientific guide to dealing with children who react extremely to routine situations. Drawing on neuroscience and child psychology, Greene lays out a conceptual framework focused on the cause of the behavior, rather than the behavior itself. This framework can serve as a guide for frustrated parents who want to understand and address their child’s severe outbursts.

The Answer to Anxiety (2023) lays out the steps to overcoming anxiety with the help of God’s Word. It walks you through four specific actions, all derived from a single Bible passage.

The Source (2019) reveals the secret to mastering your mind. It draws on cognitive science and the author’s coaching experience to provide a four-step plan to fire up your brain and get what you want from life by becoming a new, confident you.

The Portfolio Life (2023) is a guide to veering off of the traditional path and creating a well-balanced, fulfilling, and sustainable life that incorporates all of your varied skills and personal goals. Combining a practical playbook with self-help style coaching, it gives you the tools and motivation to achieve true work-life balance, preserve your happiness, and protect your future.

I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was (1994) offers practical guidance to help people figure out what they want in life and how to use that knowledge to go after it. It tackles the most common obstacles to goal-setting with exercises and tactics that help people customize an approach that works best for them.

Reset (2023) is a guide to change for anyone who feels stuck. Drawing on Scripture and her experience as a counselor, Debra Fileta unpacks the psychology behind behavioral patterns and presents simple yet effective daily habits to kickstart change and healing. 

Positive Intelligence (2012) provides a way to unlock your true potential by helping you identify and conquer common mental blocks. It also shows you how to tap into your deeper wisdom to live a more balanced, productive, and happy life. 

Rewire Your OCD Brain (2021) presents compelling evidence behind the origins of anxiety, and explains how this knowledge can be combined with easy-to-apply hacks to manage obsessive behavior and regain control over your life.

DBT Made Simple (2023) is your passport to navigating the complex terrain of emotional well-being. Unraveling the practical strategies of dialectical behavior therapy, it empowers you to turn life’s challenges into catalysts for personal growth and resilience.

That Little Voice in Your Head (2022) is a guide to understanding and optimizing your brain so you can live a happier life, using concepts from computer science and neuroscience to map the mind as an operating system. It includes many simple exercises to help you take control of your brain, thoughts, and emotions to reshape your own experience and positively affect the lives of others.

Closer to Love (2023) examines the secrets of forming a deep connection with others. Highlighting the author’s experiences alongside various experts’ theories and concepts, it offers practical wisdom on fostering self-love and romantic love.   

The Sleep Prescription (2022) is a practical guide to getting out of your own way and changing your behaviors to set yourself up for a better night’s sleep. It features seven days of clinical psychologist and sleep expert Dr. Aric Prather’s best tools and practices for finally achieving the healthy, restorative sleep we all need to feel our best.

How to Attract Money (1959) is a classic handbook on how to grow your wealth and enrichen your life spiritually, mentally and materially. It shows how, by training your mind and your subconscious, you can gear yourself toward a life of abundance and fulfillment.

The Worry Trick (2016) is a no-nonsense guide to dealing with worry and anxiety. Drawing from acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, it breaks down where worry comes from and offers concrete steps on how to face and ultimately overcome it.  

Gaslighting (2018) is an illuminating guide in the obscure world of emotional manipulation. It reveals how to identify and break free from the devastating impact of gaslighting, so you can regain control of your life and restore your sense of self.

The ADHD Effect on Marriage (2010) sheds light on the way that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects individuals and impacts established relationships. By providing insight into typical behavioral tendencies, it offers couples a framework in which to move beyond unhelpful patterns and re-establish a loving relationship.  

The Mental Toughness Handbook (2020) offers a step-by-step guide with proven strategies and time-tested wisdom for overcoming adversity and obstacles in life by developing mental discipline and resilience.

Mindset Matters (2022) is your handbook to thriving in uncertainty. It contains actionable insights to help you cultivate mental agility for success in any dynamic work setting.

Hidden Genius (2023) compiles insightful and surprising lessons from some of the world’s most innovative, creative, and successful people. It goes on to unpack the mental frameworks through which these remarkable people see the world – and to show how you can use these frameworks to unlock your own potential.

The 50th Law (2009) focuses on fear philosophy as a catalyst for success. Drawing inspiration from corporate strategies, historical figures, and hip-hop artist 50 Cent – or Curtis Jackson, 50 Cent is his professional name – it encourages brutal realism and a bold mindset to succeed everywhere, from back alleys to the boardroom.

The One Truth (2023) reveals a pivotal insight that can empower individuals to cultivate resilience and thrive amid life’s challenges. Supported by true anecdotes and practical strategies, it underscores the transformative power of “oneness,” urging people to harness its principles for personal growth and success. 

It Takes What It Takes (2020) unveils the transformative power of neutral thinking. Dive into real-world examples and practical strategies that teach you to navigate life’s challenges with clarity. Gain control, harness your mindset – and watch your world shift.

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Emotional Eating (2019) guides compulsive eaters past the mental traps that lead to overindulgence. It applies the "Easyway" method which has already helped millions quit smoking and expands on it to uncover the psychological roots of our unhealthy impulses, freeing us to rediscover balanced eating habits.

Do the Work (2019) is a guide that urges people to confront and overcome their self-imposed limitations in order to achieve personal transformation. Through actionable insights and transformative exercises, you can take control of your career and get on track for a more purposeful and fulfilling life.

You Were Born Rich (2007) delves into the idea that every person is born with the potential and capacity to lead a rich life, not just in terms of financial wealth but in all areas of life. Inner beliefs and mindsets shape external experiences, and by transforming these inner structures, one can truly realize their innate potential. Every person has the innate capability to manifest their desires and create the life they dream of.

Show Your Worth (2022) argues that defining success is a personal journey, one where you shape your own path. It's a guide to crafting a unique success story, understanding the value of your authenticity, and becoming a leader in your own life.

The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook (2019) is a practical guide to taking control of your BPD. Through expert advice and actionable exercises, this empathetic resource illuminates a path beyond unhealthy beliefs and destructive behaviors. With these proven techniques, anyone with BPD can begin to improve their emotional patterns and rebuild healthy relationships.

The Stress Prescription (2022) offers a practical seven-day guide to reducing anxiety and cultivating joy. Combining scientific research with accessible advice, it leads readers through techniques like mindfulness, gratitude, and harnessing hormetic stress to build resilience and embrace ease. With a different empowering theme each day, it provides a roadmap to a calmer, more purposeful life.