4 Books To Develop Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness is an ongoing journey. Books by great authors are one way to expand your knowledge as you grow. Each book in this small, non-exhaustive list offers insight into human thought and behavior.

Reflecting on how our emotions and feelings influence our behavior is a key step in self-awareness. Each book offers anecdotes and practical steps that when put into practice can improve the quality of your life significantly. 

Atomic Habits

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

James Clear, Atomic Habits

The author, James Clear, believes that our habits say a lot about who we are, but more importantly, who we want to be. Tiny steps every day compound to the person we intend to be over time. Being self-aware takes deciding who we want to be and building better habits to become that person.

This book is like life hacking your way into better habits. One method that worked really well for me was pairing something I like to do with something I need to do. I love to dance to high BPM music. Now before every workout I start a little dance that helps pump me up. It makes a huge difference.

When read over time you can slowly start to implement the principles that resonate most with you. I recommend one chapter a day,

Indistractable

“As is the case with all human behavior, distraction is just another way our brains attempt to deal with pain. If we accept this fact, it makes sense that the only way to handle distraction is by learning to handle discomfort.”

Nir Eyal, Indistractable

Indistractable is a great guidebook on how to make more time to do the things we want. One of the first steps towards self-awareness is creating the time and space to reflect. Many of us feel like we don’t have time to do that on top of our responsibilities and obligations. The truth is, we often distract ourselves with our phones, friends, tv, or busy work instead of doing what really truly want to do.

Nir Eyal writes that we must address our emotions around the distractions in our life, and learn how to deal with discomfort. The more we get into the routine of being a little uncomfortable, the easier it will be. 

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion 

“The second important thing to understand is that we, too, have our preprogrammed tapes; and, although they usually work to our advantage, the trigger features that activate them can be used to dupe us into playing them at the wrong times.”

Robert B. Cialdini, The Psychology of Persuasion

This book dives into six psychological principles that drives human social behavior to say “yes.” It’s powerful to understand what influences you on a deeper, psychological level. Not only can you make wiser decisions, but you can also connect with others on an empathic level.

That means building deeper relationships, and expanding your network, among many possibilities. The more you can recognize the processes that drive our human nature, the more you can empower yourself to choose what influences your behavior.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior 

Expectations change the reality we live in. The value that we attribute to something fundamentally changes how we perceive it.

Brafman, Ori. Sway

To turn the tables of the previous book, this book dives into the mental models of why we do things that aren’t good for us. As humans we often fall into irrational behavior. We act without thinking critically because it’s what we’re used to, or because everyone else does it.  Over time as you become more aware of these thought patterns that lead to irrational behavior, you’ll be able to resist irrational behavior more.