35 Life-Changing Self-Help Books for Personal Growth

Self-Help Books for Everyone

Self-help, self-care, and self-confidence are the goal around these parts! We are all working to become our best selves and learning from some of the best authors. You know we couldn’t keep these gems to ourselves! Get ready for some of the BEST self-help books you can keep coming back to over and over.

Woman reads self-help book to experience growth and positive change | The Dating Divas
Woman on couch reading self-help book

Find the genre that fits your need the best and start there.

Table of Contents
  1. Self-Help Books for Everyone
  2. Self-Help Books for Growth
  3. Self-Help Books About Self and Body
  4. Helpful Books about Marriage and Family
  5. Self-Help Books About Habits
  6. Productivity Improvement Books

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Self-Help Books for Growth

1. Who Moved My Cheese – This is a classic for a reason! Learn to cope with changes in your life and how to move past what could be seen as an end.

Change is a constant, but this self-help book will help you cope. | The Dating Divas
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

2. Daring Greatly – Vulnerability is not a weakness; in fact, it might be your greatest strength.

Dare to be better than you were yesterday through vulnerability. Daring Greatly is a self-help book that will push you past your comfort zone. | The Dating Divas
Daring greatly by Brené Brown, PhD MSW

3. You Are a Badass – It’s true and it’s not changing, but you might need to change how you think of yourself after this read!

Be proud of you! And if you aren't already, this self-help book can help you get there. | The Dating Divas
You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

4. The Inner Game of Tennis – A must-read for athletes and anyone who wants to understand how to conquer new skills.

Learn how to embrace new skills with The Inner Game of Tennis, a self-help book that leads to peak performance. | The Dating Divas
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timonthy Gallwey

5. The Anatomy of Peace – Conflict is something we would all rather avoid, but it is also a constant in life. Learn how to find the root of conflict and then solve it.

Resolve conflict with skills presented in The Anatomy of Peace. | The Dating Divas
The Anatomy of Peacy by The Arbinger Institute

6. The Happiness Advantage – Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. Flip the script with this great book.

7 principles in this self-help book will keep you happy and smiling. | The Dating Divas
The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

7. Imaginable – Develop your imagination and the ability to look forward with optimism.

Prepare for a future full of optimism with this self-help book. | The Dating Divas
Imaginable by Jane McGonigal

8. The Happiness Trap – If you’ve ever found yourself trapped in a downward spiral, this book may be for you. It will help trap you the other way – straight to happiness!

Trap yourself in happiness with this self-help book. | The Dating Divas
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

9. The Daily Stoic – Daily meditations that share wisdom from the past and change the trajectory of your future.

One of the best self-help books for someone who craves wisdom about living. | The Dating Divas
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselm

10. Essentialism – Life is full of so many things to do, but this book will make you consider what is actually essential. It’s so helpful to take time and reflect on what is really important.

The self-help book, Essentialism is a way to help you find the most important parts of your life. | The Dating Divas
Essentialism by Greg McKeown

11. Braving the Wilderness – We crave true belonging, but often, don’t know where or how to find it. Brene Brown is here to help!

Self-help books should bring you to a better state, Braving the Wilderness does that. | The Dating Divas
Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown, PhD, MSW

Self-Help Books About Self and Body

12. Health At Every Size – Find joy in movement and what health means to your specific body type. It will be a boost to your healthy and your self-esteem.

Health can come at many sizes and this self-help book's going to share how. | The Dating Divas
Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon, PhD

13. More Than a Body – Your body is an instrument, not an ornament. Relearn how to honor your body for you and what you need. It’s generally sorted in the self-help books for women group, but anyone struggling with body image could benefit.

One of the best self help books for women and anyone who struggles with body image. | The Dating Divas
More Than a Body by Lindsay Kite, PhD and Lexie Kite, PhD

14. Living In Your True Identity – Dig deep to find your true self and really start living. Don’t allow social media to steal away who you really are.

Embrace who you are with this self-help book for women. | The Dating Divas
Living in Your True Identity by Brooke Snow

15. Come As You Are – Discover the previously unknown facts about your body and see how it changes your sex-life for the better! This book comes highly recommended and is one of the best self-help books for women for a reason. Get ready!

Maybe the most recommended self-help books for women. | The Dating Divas
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D.

16. The Body Keeps The Score – Trauma hangs around and can make major changes on your body. Take time to see how your body is keeping the score.

Listen to your body with the help of this self-help book. | The Dating Divas
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.

17. Body Talk – Live your best life loving the body you have now. It’s another great self-help book for women who have struggled with body image.

Self-help books for women need to be positive, and this is that! | The Dating Divas
Body Talk by Katie Sturino

Helpful Books about Marriage and Family

18. The Antelope in the Living Room – Told in a narrative format, this book is going to walk you through how to compromise in your marriage.

This is a great self-help book for women working on their marriage. | The Dating Divas
The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle

19. The Empowered Wife – Take charge of your own life and your own habits instead of bending over backwards to try and change your husband. Find your power with this incredible self-help book for women.

One of the best self help books for women empowers them. | The Dating Divas
The Empowered Wife by Laura Doyle

20. Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday – Persue your passion and leave the grumps behind! Don’t let the burden of dishes and laundry keep you from being happy. Definitely one of the best self-help books for women and moms who feel they are losing themselves.

Self-help books for women can be so empowering. This is a great take for mothers. | The Dating Divas
Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday by Valerie Woerner

21. The Gift of Failure – Learn how to allow your kids to fail, and how they will learn from it. No more helicopter parenting here!

Self-help books aren't just for yourself, this is such a great family-self-help book. | The Dating Divas
The Gift of Failure by Jessicay Lahey

22. Good Inside – You and your kids, you’re both good inside. This parenting book will help you discover how to see that truth amidst the storms.

Self-help books for parenting can be so helpful, Good Inside is not different. | The Dating Divas
Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

23. The Power of Fun – No more fake fun around here! Find how to truly have fun and enjoy doing it.

Self-help isn't all serious, learn to have fun! | The Dating Divas
The Power of Fun by Catherine Prince

Self-Help Books About Habits

24. The Power of Habit – In order to change your life, you have to change your habits. Easier said than done! This book will help you understand the science behind habits and how to control them instead of the other way around!

Self-help books to get your habits to work FOR you. | The Dating Divas
The Power of HAbit by Charles Duhigg

25. Atomic Habits – 1% changes can make major differences! Learn how to make the small changes that lead to big results.

Change habits with self-help books. | The Dating Divas
Atomic Habits by James Clear

26. How to Break Up With Your Phone – Change your habit with your phone. This self-help book will help you change how you use our most common tool.

27. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – We’ll give you a little spoiler: be proactive, begin with the end in mind, sharpen the saw! Read or listen to this classic of three decades to find out the other four.

28. The Miracle Morning – Can you commit to a morning makeover? Take your time to learn the benefits and then apply what you glean!

29. Leadership and Self-Deception – Stop the self-justification and find a way out of the box that you built around yourself!

Productivity Improvement Books

30. The Lazy Genius Way – Do you love life hacks? This book is one giant life hack for you! It will help you answer the question “What can I do now that will make life easier later?”

31. The Compound Effect – Get rid of those bad habits and start your trajectory towards the success you want.

32. Four Thousand Weeks – Push the anxiety of not having enough time out of your mind.

33. Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey is a money guru for a reason. As with all things, each principle might not apply to you. Take what you can and leave what doesn’t fit.

34. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – This was so popular (and controversial) when it came out, but the ideas are solid. Keep what you love (what sparks joy) and get rid of the rest.

35. Extreme Ownership – Leadership development taught by Navy SEALs? Yes, please.

We can never get enough self-help books, knowing there’s so much out there to learn and apply to our lives! We hope you found something on this list that spoke to you, too. Enjoy!

Want to explore a few other ways to improve your life, love, or relationships? Check out these posts!

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Shanelle

I am a reading, singing, shopping queen! (I'm very lucky that my handsome hubby likes shopping as much as I do) Married for 9 years and ready for forever, I love spending time with Brigham (my husband) and our 4 kiddos. I teach high school English during the school year and in the summertime, we love to go on adventures in the great outdoors.

Learn more about Shanelle
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