Five Books That Changed My Life

I had grown up seeing my father reading lots and lots of books and because he would read a lot, I never found him at loss for words.

 He was an avid reader and a prolific writer. Not only he would read, but also he had written a good number of articles. He was a great leader; he could influence anybody. Be at the dinner table or at his office conference’s, he would win million hearts.

  He was a man of letters, extremely erudite His presence would daunt normal people. He would always egg us on reading books. As a kid, I would turn deaf ear to his persuasions for reading.

 But later on, when I entered college, I found my way to the fiction and self-help section in the college library, though my father had maintained a full-fledged library which comprised almost all the genres, Issuing a book from the library would give me extra motivation owing to the timeline it would come with. 

When I set out on the path of reading, I had promised myself to read at least 50 books in a year. But unfortunately, I couldn’t complete the task due to a combination of my own college studies, personal challenges, and plain old lack of motivation.

So, a few years after completing college. I set a goal and gave myself one day one book reading challenge and then 3 days 3 books reading, thereafter. Honestly, I don’t succeed every time,  but accomplishing it even once in a month gives me enormous pleasure.

 So, what follows is not the list of five best books but these books changed me at a deeper level and helped me view things from a positive perspective and morphed me from my old self to my better confident self.

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Atomic habits 

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it—but all that had gone before.”

― James Clear

I heard an audio version of the book. I found this book very stimulating and helpful that I read it one more time on kindle and recommended it to all of my friends and students.

This book is a great guide to break bad behaviors and adopt good ones in a few steps. The author shows how small, everyday routine compound and add up to bring positive change in our life.

The main take away from this book is that all habits are based on a four-step pattern which comprises cue, craving, response, and reward.

If we want to form new habits, we should make them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. A must-read book for those who are struggling to make changes in their life because they can’t break their old bad behavior.

 ikigai - The Japanese life philosophy

 

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -Hector Garcia

I read this book when lockdown started. This book came as an angel in my life during the lockdown period. ikigai means “a reason for being” – the thing that can get you out of bed each morning. According to Japanese culture, everyone has ikigai.

 It refers to the value that one finds in his life or the things that make someone feel that their life is valuable. That no matters what’s going on in your life, good, bad, ugly.!

 Eat something but don’t skip the meal, run for five minutes if you can’t Run miles, talk to your Parents, Siblings, Friends but don’t detach yourself. Don’t stop, just don’t stop!  This is what this book taught me. 

Highly recommend it to all those who are inching close to an existential crisis during this testing time.

 The Alchemist

 “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

― Paulo Coelho

I cling to this whole idea, and I love Paulo Coelho for writing this wonderful book. He is one of my favorite authors, The Alchemist I have read three times; I can read it umpteen times and never get bored.

 Each word written is like an extract from the BIBLE. 

 A fiction genre, it’s an inspirational story of a shepherd, Santiago who leaves his flock and land to pursue his dreams of finding a treasure.

 On the journey, he learns how to deal with yourself when you have nothing in your pocket and nothing in your mind.  He learns that the only thing that stops you from moving ahead is fear, and he said:

“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer”.

His guide in the desert, the Alchemist replied:

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse then the fear itself”.

A recommendation for those who, for the fear of failure never take action. 

The Power of Our Subconscious Mind

“All of us have our own inner fears, beliefs, opinions. These inner assumptions rule and govern our lives. A suggestion has no power in and of itself. its power arises from the fact that you accept it mentally.” -Joseph Murphy

All of us at one point or the other, come across a point in life when nothing makes sense, we lose control of our emotions. And we want to quit the things we are doing.

 I too encountered it during the last  year of my Engineering, I was growing despondent, with each passing day.

 My father sensed that he tried to motivate me and recommended some books. I picked out this book, a magic wand he handed me I must say.

 Positive thoughts and affirmations were nowhere in my dictionary. I gave close attention to each and every detail and started applying techniques given in the book. Miraculously whatever I wished for came true.

 I read many books in the same genre. The power within, The monk who sold his Ferrari, The Secret.

my life took a complete u-turn, it changed drastically for the better . I grew confident. I failed many times, but every time I failed, I got up and my resilience became my identity.  

A good start in the self-help genre. Must read!!!

Brida -

 

“if, in the beginning, there were so few people on the face of the earth, and now there are so many, where did all those new souls come from?"

The answer is simple. In certain reincarnations, we divide into two. Our souls divide as do crystals and start cells and plants."

Our soul divides into two, and those souls are in turn transformed into two and so, within a few generations, we are scattered over a large part of the earth.

We form part of what the Alchemists call the Anima Mundi, the soul of the world; the truth is that if the Anima Mundi were merely to keep dividing, it would keep growing, but it would also become gradually weaker. That is why, as well as dividing into two, we also find ourselves. And the process of finding ourselves is called love. Because when a soul divides, it always divides into a male part and a female part.

In each life, we feel a mysterious obligation to find at least one of those soul mates. The greater love that separated them feels pleased with the Love that brings them together again.

But how will I know who my soul mate is?

By taking risks. By risking failure, disappointment, disillusion, but never ceasing in your search for love. As long as you keep looking, you will triumph in the end.”
― Paulo Coelho.

I got goosebumps when I read this extract for the first time. Brida is one of my favorites in the fiction genre.

  Paulo Coelho never ceases to impress his readers. This is the story about brida, a young Irish girl, and her quest for knowledge. written in very lucid language.

 A must-read for those who love to read about soulmates.

If you hate reading but want to inculcate reading habits. These five books would be a great start,  as these books are very thought-provoking, engaging, and written in a simple and lucid style. 

Happy Reading ...