Thought Catalog

5 Books That Will Change Your Life In 2022

While many of us lead busy lives, I believe reading should always fit into it somewhere. It’s not just about expanding your mind, but it’s about opening yourself up to new perspectives, new ideas, and new ways of being that will form and create who you are going to be in life. While there could be a hundred books on this list that have influenced my life in some way, there are five in particular that have had the greatest impact.

1. How To Break The Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza

This is one of those books that you’ll have to read more than once; it’s a scientific model explaining how our thoughts, feelings, and emotions create our reality. Oftentimes, we feel “stuck” in our lives which results in constantly thinking the same thoughts, feeling the same way and engaging in the same actions. To eliminate the proverbial “hamster wheel” that so many people are walking on, you can learn to change your thoughts, which in turn changes how you feel, and from there, inspires you to take new actions in your life to create a whole new reality.

2. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

One of my all-time favourite books that I’ve read countless times over. This book is about tapping into the courage within yourself to live a creative life. It’s about thinking “big” and not being afraid of the limitations that we create for ourselves but instead allowing the magic of creativity to guide your path forward. By staying devoted to the path and learning how to work with your fear, rather than against it, you can learn to live a creative life not bound by any external factors like money, fame, or success—but more importantly, just doing it for the love of the craft. In my opinion, this can be applied to anything you may want to do in life.

3. 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by Brianna Wiest

So many amazing life lessons all piled into one book; Brianna goes into depth on a variety of topics related to emotional intelligence, well-being, and living a meaningful life. One of the passages that most resonated with me was the chapter regarding the “Uncomfortable Feelings that Actually Indicate You’re on the Right Path.” So often in life, we get caught up in what other people are doing and we never feel good enough about our own direction in life. Feeling “lost” or “directionless,” however, is a gift in a sense—it allows us to open our minds up to new possibilities should we decide to be one with the uncomfortable feeling it presents and seek to better understand what it is that you TRULY want in your life, not a reflection of what others may want for you. This is powerful, and once you begin applying it to your situation, you will see your thoughts quite literally change your life.

4. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Utilizing his witty sense of humor throughout, McConaughey offers incredible insights about the lessons he’s learned throughout his life and how he’s gotten out of difficult times. Encompassed within this book is his life’s story; you gain a better understanding of where he came from and how he began from nothing to create the flourishing career in acting that he’s built for himself today. It’s not only an inspiring memoir that makes you want to go after the life of your dreams, but it proves to the reader that anyone can achieve anything they desire if they’re willing to stick with it long enough. “We must be more than happy to just be here,” he states, and to be alive is a blessing that we need to cherish every single day is something that’s prevalent throughout this piece.

5. Atomic Habits by James Clear

For me, this book really just put all of the pieces together. Taking the knowledge learned from the other four books and creating small “systems” or “habits” that will help you make progress every day towards the life that you want is the key to being able to live the life you’ve always wanted. He states, “Changes that seem small and unimportant at first, will compound into remarkable results over time if you are willing to stick with them for years,” illustrating that success and fulfilment comes down to the awareness of knowing what you want, backed up by small actions you stay consistent with every single day.

Whether you’re a bookworm or just a casual reader, these are five books that will change your life in more ways than one! So give them a read in 2022, and hats off to the authors for making such incredible books with a lifetime of knowledge seeped within them!