How These 5 Books Transformed My Way of Thinking and Living

I'm careful not to overload myself with self-help genre books however I find so many podcasts out there are created by non-expert self proclaimed 'life coaches' and if I'm going to spend hours in the car listening to life advice and learning, I'd like it to be from vetted experts. Here are the 3 that made the most impact on me, my mindset and my understanding of myself as well as 2 that are more inspiring, just for fun!

I listened to The Body Keeps The Score over the course of almost a month as it was incredibly enlightening but a little heavy and I felt I needed to take a few breaks from the material in between since the topics were quite hard to listen to. As difficult as it was for me to hear some of the trauma people suffer in this world, I also found value in understanding how my upbringing and childhood has impacted me in my adult years as well as have a better understanding about what others might be going through and why their trauma may be visible in their actions.

The Source by Dr. Tara Swart might be my favorite and most listened to book to date. The way she explains neuroplasticity in terms that I can digest and the tips she gives throughout the book on how we can change the course of our every day as well as our life's path are both invaluable to me! I've listened to chapters 14 and 15 more times than I can count while on a walk, in the shower, driving to work and sometimes in bed if I'm having trouble falling asleep. Her kind tone and British accent make it even more enjoyable to listen to but I also have the hard copy to refer to my highlights.

I've followed Mallory on Instagram for over 5 years, in fact she is the only "influencer" I follow closely. In 2021 I had the pleasure of meeting her in person and since then we've developed a friendship. Her lust for a big life is captivating and her journey is inspiring. Like most of my favorite books I have it on Audible and in hard copy, (signed too) and my favorite chapters in order are Chapter 8: Endangered Species, Chapter 11: Good Lord, It's Morning, Chapter 7 (and my most quoted): Don't Let Your Blessings Become Your Burdens and Chapter 13: Ignore the Noise.

This might be a polarizing one for people but like most things in my life, I can step back and take what's good from most situations and although it's a little repetitive and some may feel like its a little dumbed down, I found a lot of great lessons and positive tid-bits, making it worthy of a read! I've listened to it a few times since 2019, actually read it once, bought it for several people including my Mom in an effort to turn her negative mindset around. A couple times a year we even watch the movie version as a family.

When I was 17 or 18 I expressed a desire to become more optimistic and try to get away from the negative and pessimistic views of the household I grew up in. My uncle, who married into my family when I was 5 years old, was always a role model for me with his success as an entrepreneur and his eternal optimism outlook so I went to him asking how did he become such a positive person and he gave me Who Moved My Cheese. In the most simple terms, this super quick read lays out how there's basically two ways to react to major change in your work and life. Through the journey of two sets on mice, Sniff & Scurry and Hem & Haw and how both sets approach finding "the cheese" which represents happiness and success. I cannot count how many times I've given this book out since I received it from my uncle in 1998 and I to this day reference it all the time. I think you'll do the same after you read it but if you want to listen to it for free, you can on YouTube here in just about an hour!

Do you see a theme here? I'm a big believer in being able to improve your life through a positive mindset and intentions. I know we are supposed to "let go and let God" and when the hurdle seems to big, I do however I'm an only child and an Aries which means I like to be in control and if I can control my mindset, learn new patterns of belief by replacing ones that don't serve me - with God's help and having the universe on my side, nothing can stand in my way. Hopefully you'll pick up at least one of these and get something of value out of it! If you do, please reach out to me on Instagram and let me know which one you liked!

xoxo - Kara