5 Book Choices to Read This Year to Improve Your Life

New year means changes or resolutions or something that motivates growth. A new year always means a new start. Each year, we start fresh, ready to change our routines to fit in exercise or fit in more reading, but I’d like to challenge you to something new this year.  Instead of changing your entire life schedule for the new year, choose one small thing to change and work hard on changing it. Do not let yourself give up until you have made that one small change a habit. It will take time, but one thing is easier to change than switching up your entire life – trust me!

When thinking about what to change in your life, below is a list of books that can help you decide what to improve. It can be one small thing, but if you read a book about what you plan to change it might encourage you to keep up that one small change. So, pick what you will change, read the book, and make the change. Watch that one small change, change your life over time. So start off 2022 with a small bang that will over time become a big bang!

1. Sleep – your sleep habits are a small thing that can change the quality of your life  drastically over time. If you try to get to  bed by 10pm each night, you can see how that affects you. Here is a great book about sleep that will give you motivation to actually go to bed by 10pm. There is an optimal amount of sleep time that differs for every person, but the more dedicated you are to reaching your optimal sleep time will make you feel better throughout the day.  It is good to challenge yourself to start getting in bed on time and getting those eight hours of sleep. 

2. Read – reading is a great habit to have and one that you can start forming over time. A great book to start reading is the book of Proverbs in the Bible. There are 31 chapters in the book and that gives you one chapter for each day in January. Proverbs is full of wisdom and a great way to start your day. Once January is over, start over in Proverbs or check out other books to read a chapter a day in. Reading will improve your brain, and help you relax.

3. Manage Money – this may be the year in which you sit down and get your finances in order. Money is something we all need in order to survive, so learning how to manage your money might be a great way to start to your year. Dave Ramsey is a great resource for learning how to manage your money. While this is a big project, maybe start by saving $5 a month. Starting small makes things easier. We can all commit to something small and from there it grows and grows.

4. Create – creativity is something that all of us have within us, somewhere. We have the ability to write stories,  create art, and tinker with inventions. . Embracing your creative side this year may be exactly what you need. A great book on creativity is Creativity, Inc. Take some time to learn about creativity and make something this year that will encourage you to further learn about yourself and maybe even something that you can share with others. 

5. Fail – remember that you can fail at the challenge and still win! Check out this book for some motivation to fail, but to not totally give up on your one small change. Failure is something we tend to frown upon, but failure can lead us to success. Thomas Edison failed hundreds of times before he got a perfected lightbulb. (Bonus book on Thomas Edison). It is through our failures that we actually learn, so remember that you can fail and still succeed. 

Have fun taking this year and changing one small thing within your life. Watch the progress happen and by next year, that one small change may have impacted your life in ways you never dreamed. Here’s to an amazing new year in 2022!