Human beings have been seeking self-help guides and ways to improve themselves for thousands of years. Proof of this are the ancient Chinese texts on Confucianism called the Four Books and Five Classics which attempt to illustrate a path to perfect virtue and of course the Bible, which includes several tips on self help that are still applicable in 2019.
Self-help encompasses more that just one part of our lives. For some it means losing weight, for others it can mean learning how to be more successful at work. I’ve found that 2019’s best self-help books and guides include advice that can be applied to multiple areas of your health and well-being such as:
- Exercise and getting in shape
- Losing weight or maintaining a comfortable weight
- Being happier and more at peace
- Improving your work life
- Reducing stress
- Improving your mental well-being
- Helping to realize your dreams for success
Another key component of any guide that deals out self-care or self-help advice is to be easy to read. In 2019 – knocking on the door of 2020, we are used to bullet points, headlines, and shorter texts that are easy to read on mobile devices and not overwhelming or data dense and advice light.
For example, if a self-help book is telling you to do fifty different things to make your life better, you can end up feeling worse instead of better once you finish reading it. I know what that feels like. You’re excited about finally getting a handle on your life and fixing a few things you’ve been struggling with. You begin reading, taking everything in, then each chapter that you read gets further and further from being applicable to your real life.
You won’t find those type of books on this list of the best 2019 self-help books for women and men! I’ve focused on those that can be easily applied to your life and can help you make a real difference to reach your self-improvement goals.
Best Self-Help Books: 2019 Top Guides & Books that Really Help
How popular are self-improvement books?
97% of Millennials say they’ve made a personal improvement commitment. (Forbes)
It’s so important that that same group said they’d spend nearly $300 per month on self-help and improvement. These books are a bargain compared to that!
Self-help is so popular that there is even a Self Help 2019 Festival being held on both the East Coast and West Coast with bands such as “Set Your Goals”, “I Prevail”, and “This Wild Life”.
If you’re looking for a self-help guide published in 2019 that will give you the best advice for your money, here are 5 top books to consider:
This self-help guide was written with Millennials in mind (as well as Baby Boomers, Gen. X and Gen. Y). Written in a style to compress a lot of great, applicable life information into less than 100 pages, it’s a guide that anyone can easily get through in an afternoon or evening that’s packed with lots of great self-improvement tips.
It’s not only a self-help book for women, but one that men can also find applicable to their lives. From getting more natural body movement into your day to swapping out foods for healthier snacks to taking steps towards a better work life, this guide has advice that anyone can benefit from.
Highlights of this Self-Help Guide include:
- Includes both personal stories and scientific statistics
- Covers 4 key areas of living a happier life (food, exercise, work, thought)
- Bright, colorful images and infographics
- 12 self-help tips you can use to transform your life
Bottom Line: If you’re looking for lots of excellent tips that integrate several life areas of your health and happiness, this guide packs a ton of great content into a book that feels like your new best friend.
- How to Find Your Passion: The Five Questions and Exercises You Need to Reclaim Your Life (June 2019)
Have you ever received the advice, “Just follow your passion!” or “Do what you love!”? It sounds great, but doesn’t really come with an instruction manual. This self-help book is designed to go beyond the one sentence advice to give you in-depth questions to ask yourself to help you find your passion and pursue it.
At 45 pages, it’s another self help guide that going to be easy for you to get through on a commute or a lazy Sunday afternoon. This guide is more geared to helping men and women discover what it is they want to do in life so they can take the right steps to following their dreams for a more fulfilling life.
Highlights of this Self-Help Guide include:
- 5 exercises to help you explore your potential passions
- Includes family/friend collaboration
- Helps you understand you’re not alone in not knowing what your passion is yet
- Includes real-world tested advice
Bottom Line: If you want to “follow your passion” to live a happier life, but aren’t sure what it is yet, this self help guide is going to help you find it.
If you were a fan of books about the Law of Attraction or The Secret, then you’ll want to check out this 2019 self-improvement book that explores using the power of positive thinking and understanding of universal secrets to help you achieve your dreams in work, life, and success.
This self-help guide is another one that’s holistic, including advice in areas such as money, relationships, career, and health. It also includes overarching topics such as emotional scale and frequencies, the power of thought, and how emotions influence organs of the body.
Highlights of this Self-Help Guide include:
- Includes tools for applying the Law of Attraction
- Tells you the common mistakes people make trying to use the Law of Attraction
- Gives you 20 steps to success
- Encompasses health, career, mental wellbeing, and more
Bottom Line: Fans of the Law of Attraction and understanding the secret connections of the universe that they can apply to their life, will want to delve into this 165-page self-help book.
If you prefer your self-help advice in small bit-sized pieces, this guide will give you one small tip per day that is designed to get you into a positive frame of mind and to help you adopt habits that will transform your life over time.
This 39-page guide is somewhat like an inspirational calendar for June, meant to provide helpful self-improvement advice on things like surviving business functions more successfully and fostering better relationships with family and friends. It’s written simply in short “twitter-style” snippets meant to help you take control of your life little by little. (If you like it, look for the other 11 months.)
Highlights of this Self-Help Guide include:
- Includes tips for multiple areas of your life
- Gives you a daily jolt of inspiration
- Great to use alongside other self-help books
- Tweetable tips that you can share with followers
Bottom Line: If you’re looking for your self-help inspiration in short jolts that take less than a minute to read, this calendar-style guide will be right up your alley.
A self-help book for women, specifically, FLEX explores ways of morphing the social norms to get more out of life. It promotes a creative, rebellious way of living and gaining a better understanding of yourself, your body, and your relationship patterns.
The book takes a holistic approach with FLEX for body, mind, work, home, and future. It’s designed to give women a new frame of thinking for solving old problems with new approaches and breaking out of the habits that tend to keep them from achieving their dreams.
Highlights of this Self-Help Guide include:
- Provides a path to those that feel stuck in any area of their life
- Promotes the rebel inside with actionable advice
- Teaches women to think creatively
- Offers a roadmap to living better, earning more money, and being happier
Bottom Line: For women looking for a self-help guide that speaks to their trials and tribulations, FLEX offers inspiration and a completely different way of thinking. At 192 pages, it’s another easy to read book that’s not going to take days to get through
What’s your favorite self-help book? Let us know in the comments below or on social media with #HappinessMe