5 Must Read Books To Get You Through Uncertain Times
By Charlene Lazewski, for Untangled Self Development Book Club
These books will help tune up your mindset, and provide you with empowering perspectives and essential shifts during times that feel uncertain and overwhelming.
Life is not always butterflies and honey. There are times where we wonder when we’ll laugh again like we once did, if we’ll go to sleep with joy and peace like we once did, or wake up with immense joy like we once did. The answer is yes. You can have all of this and more even during the twists and turns of life. It just takes a little more work and effort from you, but you can do it.
Just like we exercise in order to get to our ideal weight, to stay healthy, or to tone our bodies, we must also nurture our mindset. It never wants to remain stranded. It needs you. It wants to feel light during dark times, but you need to help guide the mind towards it. There are mindset and perspective shifts that must occur. And this is where these books come in.
These books will allow you to adjust your thoughts and align your perspectives accordingly. You’ll feel uplifted, stronger, stable, and empowered. All of this will heighten your energetic frequency, which will alter what once may have been negative situations in your life, to positive ones only.
I also think these are necessary reads for everyone around the globe based on the chaos happening in countries all around us, and within our own. Let’s read for a better world, a better us, and overall peace.
Be Water My Friend, by Shannon Lee
Bruce Lee is a cultural icon, renowned the world over for his martial arts and film legacy. But Lee was also a deeply philosophical thinker, learning at an early age that martial arts are more than just an exercise in physical discipline―they are an apt metaphor for living a fully realized life.
Now, in Be Water, My Friend, Lee’s daughter Shannon shares the concepts at the core of his philosophies, showing how they can serve as tools of personal growth and self-actualization. Each chapter brings a lesson from Bruce Lee’s teachings, expanding on the foundation of his iconic “be water” philosophy. Over the course of the book, we discover how being like water allows us to embody fluidity and naturalness in life, bringing us closer to our essential flowing nature and our ability to be powerful, self-expressed, and free.
Through previously untold stories from her father’s life and from her own journey in embodying these lessons, Shannon presents these philosophies in tangible, accessible ways. With Bruce Lee’s words as a guide, she encourages readers to pursue their essential selves and apply these ideas and practices to their everyday lives―whether in learning new things, overcoming obstacles, or ultimately finding their true path.
The Power of Receiving, by Amanda Owen
Once in a blue moon an idea comes along that once heard seems so obvious that you wonder why somebody hasn't written about it before. Amanda Owen's The Power of Receiving: A Revolutionary Approach to Giving Yourself the Life You Want and Deservepresents a new paradigm for the 21st century-a philosophy that values receiving as much as giving and demonstrates that giving is enhanced when receiving is embraced. With the formula: Believe + Receive = Achieve, The Power of Receiving presents a wholly original yet easily accessible road map for people to follow, showing readers how to restore balance to their over-extended lives and attract the life they desire and deserve.
Inspiring stories are featured about people who have experienced life-altering results after becoming skilled Receivers, including Ken who regained his hearing after a devastating hearing-loss, Julie who met the man she would later marry, and Don who received an extra $1,000 a month in his pay check.
Thriving Through Uncertainty, by Tama Kieves
Tama Kieves--inspirational coach, career transition expert and author of Inspired & Unstoppable--guides you through life's uncertain times, helping you discover the blessings within difficulties.
Tama Kieves knows a thing or two about dramatic changes. After graduating from Harvard Law School with honors, Tama left an unfulfilling life at a prestigious corporate law firm to pursue her passion and make a name for herself as a writer and inspirational speaker. Now, she dedicates her time to helping people face their fears, tackle uncertainty, and shift their mindset to achieve the extraordinary in their own lives. This book isn't just about getting through life changes, it'll teach you to use that change and uncertainty as a launching pad for joy.
Thriving Through Uncertainty proves that the moment your plans fall apart is precisely when your true destiny begins. With Tama's guidance, you can take hold of the blessings and opportunities hidden within uncertain transitional periods and begin to move forward. Weaving together practical exercises and techniques along with anecdotes from Tama's own experiences, you'll master key lessons like:
-How to control your mindset and mood to stay focused and happy
-Having faith in yourself and your journey
-Allowing yourself to feel pain and discomfort
-Continuing to thrive through future obstacles, and much more.
A Liberated Mind, by Steven C. Hayes
In this landmark book, the originator and pioneering researcher into Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) lays out the psychological flexibility skills that make it one of the most powerful approaches research has yet to offer. These skills have been shown to help even where other approaches have failed. Science shows that they are useful in virtually every area--mental health (anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, PTSD); physical health (chronic pain, dealing with diabetes, facing cancer); social processes (relationship issues, prejudice, stigma, domestic violence); and performance (sports, business, diet, exercise).
How does psychological flexibility help? We struggle because the problem-solving mind tells us to run from what causes us fear and hurt. But we hurt where we care. If we run from a sense of vulnerability, we must also run from what we care about. By learning how to liberate ourselves, we can live with meaning and purpose, along with our pain when there is pain.
Although that is a simple idea, it resists our instincts and programming. The flexibility skills counter those ingrained tendencies. They include noticing our thoughts with curiosity, opening to our emotions, attending to what is in the present, learning the art of perspective taking, discovering our deepest values, and building habits based around what we deeply want.
The Book of Beautiful Questions, by Warren Berger
When we're confronted with almost any demanding situation, the act of questioning can help guide us to smart decisions in the face of uncertainty. But the questions must be the right ones; the ones that cut to the heart of complexity or enable us to see an old problem in a fresh way.
In The Book of Beautiful Questions, expert “questionologist” Warren Berger shares illuminating stories and compelling research on the power of inquiry. Drawing from the insights and expertise of psychologists, innovators, effective leaders, and some of the world's foremost creative thinkers, he presents the essential questions readers need to make the best choices when it truly counts, with a particular focus in four key areas: decision-making, creativity, leadership, and relationships.
The powerful questions in this book can help you:
- Identify opportunities in your career or industry
- Generate fresh ideas in business or in your own creative pursuits
- Check your biases so you can make better judgments and decisions
- Do a better job of communicating and connecting with the people around you.
