Meeting with a therapist on a consistent basis is important to process feelings and unfavorable events, challenge negative thoughts and begin the journey of discovering the best version of yourself. Talking with a professional for an hour each week or two might not be enough for some, and supplementing this progress with reading is a great way to reflect, advance, and make a pivot when necessary. If you want to become efficient at anything in life, you have to consistently be on a quest to better yourself, obtain knowledge, apply tools and utilize skills that you have acquired along the way.
This includes reading positive books that align with your goals and values, having a positive mindset, retooling your internal dialogue and exploring values. Bibliotherapy empowers us to confront challenges, develop empathy and sharpen resilience. It helps us understand and process our behaviors and emotions, fostering personal growth and mental well-being.
Therapy and medication management are important tools when we’re not feeling our best. However, another way to compliment your progress is to read/listen to books or watch motivational videos/podcasts that resonate with you.
It’s important to reflect on specific challenges or areas of personal growth you want to explore through reading. Select books that align with your goals whether fiction or non-fiction. Some find it beneficial to keep a reflective journal to capture your thoughts, emotions and insight while they read. Positive reading can motivate us to strive for self-improvement, provide purpose, encourage hope, learn new skills, or adapt healthier habits. Reading can also promote empathy and understanding by exposing us to diverse perspectives and experiences. There is strength in numbers and it’s important to connect with others who share similar interests and discuss shared readings and findings.
By engaging in literature, we can gain insight into our lives, encourage problem-solving, process complex emotions, and increase motivation to pursue goals and hurdle obstacles. It’s important to find solace in characters, both fictional and non-fictional, who enable us to see that there are others also navigating and coping with personal struggles. This form of self-reflection encourages healing, promotes optimism and emotional well-being, and also provides a self-paced and safe place for personal growth.
Adding bibliotherapy to our mental health regiment can bring new perspectives to the forefront. There is no research road map serving as a guidepost to enhance mental health or improve our well-being, but you can still start this journey and walk towards the best version of yourself, gazing upon your newfound moral horizon.
Overall, positive reading material has the power to inspire needed change, cultivate a positive mindset, and improve both emotional and mental well-being. By regularly engaging in bibliotherapy, we internalize values and beliefs and are more likely to apply them in our lives.
I implore everyone to find a book that reflects their own compass and begin this wonderful journey of discovering the best version of yourself. The statement of “one size does not fit all” applies here as well, as each of us is on a unique path of improvement and self-discovery. One path isn’t better than the other, they are just different and that’s alright. Below is an abbreviated list of books that I have found beneficial over the years. Enjoy, and remember, everything is going to be ok.
- Man’s Search for Meaning. Viktor Frankl
- Meditations. Marcus Aurelius
- The Success Principals. Jack Canfield
- The Untethered Soul. Michael Singer
- Night. Elie Wiesel
- The Fountainhead. Ayn Rand
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. Lori Gottlieb
- The Schopenhauer Cure. Irvin S. Yalom
- The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho
- Can’t Hurt Me. David Goggins
- The Four Agreements. Don Miguel Ruiz
- The Richest Man in Babylon. George S. Clason