The Lockdown Series - Books I’ve read during lockdown and why you should read them too!
4min read
I would love to read more than I do so I saw lockdown as an opportunity to do so!
I’m going to dive straight in with these, I’ll give a quick overview of each book and why I recommend reading.
Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
This book should be on everyone's bookcase! I hadn’t heard of this until recently, but I am so glad I discovered it.
It’s not too long at around 144 pages, but it is full of value. Frankl provides a very brief overview of his experience of the holocaust and Nazi concentration camps, he doesn’t go into too much detail as he believes there are enough books out there that do that. However, he covers enough that I could envisage the horror he endured. The first half of the book gives an overview of his experience whilst the second half looks at his theory of Logotherapy - which is the theory that human beings are mostly motivated by a search for meaning.
Ultimately Frankl believes that we are self-determining, and our outlook on life and our experiences influence the way we see and feel about life. In the words of Nietzsche - ‘He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how’. Man shapes his fate by the action he takes, the thoughts he thinks and the attitudes he has.
There were some really good takeaways from this book and I recommend it to anyone interested in the topic of mindset and life’s meaning.
Mindset - Carol Dweck
This is a fundamental book when it comes to learning about mindset, Dweck outlines the difference between growth and fixed mindsets. She explains how the power of our beliefs and thoughts can truly impact the way we live our lives.
The book is broken down into sections including mindset in sports, business, relationships and parenting, so you can skip the bits that might not be relevant to you, or you can read it all - I found the part about sports coaches not overly relevant so I skimmed over that section.
Ultimately this books is awesome when it comes to understanding that it’s not just our abilities and talents that bring us success, but how we approach our goals in relation to our mindset.
Write Yourself Happy - Megan C Hayes
This book is about everything I love, Positive Psychology and journaling. Hayes takes the concept of journaling and spins it on its head to focus on positive journaling rather than the traditional type where we journal when we feel sad, depressed or anxious.
It has several exercises throughout that focus on our positive emotions rather than negative.
I like the concept of this book and would recommend to anyone who enjoys journaling and wants to look at it in a different light.
Authentic Happiness - Martin Seligman
I’ll confess I haven’t finished this one yet, but I’m close. Martin Seligman is a fundamental figure and promoter of the theory of Positive Psychology. Again you may be sensing a theme here, but this book is also about how we are all capable of living a life full of real joy and happiness. We all have the power to make this a reality.
The ultimate goal of Authentic Happiness is to increase life satisfaction by increasing positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. The way we choose to live our lives determine these factors and influence our ability to flourish and feel fulfilled in life.
As I mentioned above you may have been able to sense a theme with the books I have been reading, they’re very much focused on happiness, positivity, feeling fulfilled and how we can achieve it all.
I’m a firm believer of we’ve only got one shot at life and we should make the most of it. Being happy and living a fulfilled life is the ultimate goal for me, and I hope that it is for you too!
I’ve listed below some books that I didn’t read during lockdown but I feel should also be on everyone's reading list
To Shake the Sleeping Self - Jedidiah Jenkins
I listened to this on Audiobook and I literally felt as though I was on Jed’s trip with him. Jed embarks on a soul-searching 10,000-mile journey from Oregon to Patagonia on his bike and it is one hell of a ride. Listening to his story made me want to set off on my own adventure, I recommend this anyone who loves an adventure and a story about living life without regrets.
Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
Big Magic is the book that'll give you the courage you need to pursue your creative interests by showing you how to deal with your fears, notice ideas and act on them and take the stress out of creation (excerpt take from Four Minute Books)
Good Vibes, Good Life - Vex King
Vex King’s book inspires you to: - practise self-care, overcome toxic energy and prioritise your wellbeing - cultivate positive lifestyle habits, including mindfulness and meditation in order to live the Good Life.
The Miracle Morning - Hal Elrod
The Miracle Morning makes it clear that to become successful, you have to dedicate time to personal development each day, and then gives you a 6-step morning routine to create and shape that time (excerpt taken from Four Minute Books)
I’m now about to start reading Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad!
I hope you found this useful, I’d love to hear if you do read any of these books! Let me know over on the gram or on email!