Reading expands our minds and opens us up to new perspectives, new realities, and new ideologies. Here are three books that shaped my daily routines and completely changed my life.

Reading is a wonderful way to escape reality, learn new skills, and gain insight into different perspectives. With all of the extra time I’ve been gifted with this pandemic, I decided to reread my three favourite motivational books about the power of positive thought, the law of attraction, and how to manifest the things I want.

In order to get into the zone, I pulled an armchair into my den, threw down a rug, and brought in a little side table, creating myself a cute little reading nook. Here, I can remain undisturbed while I read, snuggled up in my blanket with a hot drink… or glass of wine.

I’m going to throw in a little confession here. I bought these books that I’m going to tell you about on Audible as well… because even though we have more time available to us than usual, life still gets busy. This way, I can continue to reap the benefits and learn the lessons while I drive, wash dishes, clean my house, etc.

1. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

This book is seriously incredible. It takes you through a spiritual journey that helps you recognize and discover your true self. There’s one passage in this book that mentions flowers. It talks about how the Earth has always been surrounded by vegetation; however, when the first flower emerged on Earth, humans noticed it amongst the greenery. Not because it was vital to our survival, but because something so naturally beautiful invoked a feeling and awareness inside of us.

“This first flower provided no value to us as humans as it could not contribute to prolonging our existence, and so the first human who noticed it, just liked it.”

It played a part in the evolution of human consciousness as it could make us feel admiration for something that essentially did absolutely nothing for our survival. It made us feel connected to something beyond what we were. This first flower provided no value to us as humans as it could not contribute to prolonging our existence, and so the first human who noticed it, just liked it: the pleasing aroma, the beautiful curves of its petals, the radiance of its bright and brilliant colours, its intricate details. Since then, a flower has become a symbol of love, of purity, and of natural beauty.

This part of the book struck something in me. It gave me that tingling feeling that you get when you’ve discovered something new. After reading these paragraphs in this book, I realized that there were so many beautiful and small moments that I was missing. I don’t think I had ever just gazed at something like a flower or a sunset or a tree, and fully appreciated it with my undivided attention.

I came to realize that I was never truly present in this exact moment at all. My mind was always elsewhere, thinking about other things. Once I realized this, I was able to recognize what I was missing out on. Life will pass you by if you let it. Never underestimate the powerfulness of the positive feelings associated with the ability to give your full, undivided attention to what you’re doing in the moment that you’re doing it. The Power of Now, helps us understand why this is so important and how we can consistently remain in the now.

“I came to realize that I was never truly present in this exact moment at all.”

Although this read is kind of content-heavy, the book acknowledges that. It mentions that you will only take in exactly what you need in this moment. That’s why rereading this one is so important. Every time you open it up, you’ll get something new out of it. I mean, how cool is that?

2. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

I was first introduced to the concept of The Secret when I was in high school. My father brought home a video documentary of The Secret and tried to get my best friend and I to watch it. At the time, we laughed and made fun of the voices and the bad imagery in the documentary, not knowing how much we would use this knowledge later in life. As I grew older and more mature, I found the book sitting on the coffee table in my parent’s living room. I flipped through the pages, before deciding to borrow it… for life.

This book has shaped my entire adult life. I am a true believer in “what you believe, you receive”, and this book taught me that. In fact, the secret is not a secret at all. It’s referring to the silent thought pattern we use to manifest, also known as the Law of Attraction. This novel is an introduction to what you can accomplish with the right mindset. It taps into stories of real individuals who have used the theory in this book to change their lives dramatically.

“The secret is not a secret at all. It's referring to the silent thought pattern we use to manifest...”

If you know me, you may agree that I am somewhat of a go-getter. Once I decide that I am going to do something, I go for it with my whole entire heart. That’s because I believe the Universe won’t let me fail. If something doesn’t work out the way I expect it to, I still believe that the Universe is taking care of me by sending me exactly what I need. I attribute that to the teachings in The Secret and to my understanding of the Law of Attraction.

I know that if I wholeheartedly believe something to be true, it will be true. This works both positively and negatively, so having the right mindset is vital. If you’re stuck in a rut, or could use some positive change, I definitely recommend this read.

3. The Power by Rhonda Byrne

As I mentioned above, The Secret is an introduction to what you can accomplish if you truly believe in an idea. This book, The Power, takes this knowledge further and explains how to word your thinking, how to properly visualize your wants, and how to recognize when the Universe is listening.

The Power helps you understand that although you are intending to formulate a positive thought, it may not actually be positive at all. Sometimes what we assume is positive thought formation can actually be a pretty negative idea that we are projecting into Universe and attracting to ourselves. Positive and negative thinking become your self-fulfilling prophecy, so you want to be sure that what you’re attracting is actually what you want.

“...although you are intending to formulate a positive thought, it may not actually be positive at all.”

For example, In my journal, I used to always write sentences like, “I don’t make careless mistakes”. I thought that this was a positive way to manifest success in all aspects of my life as without making careless mistakes, I would stay on track with my goals. I thought that by repeating this sentence and truly believing it, failure would never be an option. However, I found myself making many mistakes. I was forgetting important appointments, I was disorganized when it came to prioritizing, I kept doing annoying things like stubbing my toe on the table, and I wasn’t communicating well with my husband. I felt unhappy. I was confused about why the Universe wasn’t listening to me and why I was making more mistakes than usual.

After discussing this with my mother, she gifted The Power to me and I quickly realized that my thoughts were worded all wrong. The Universe and the Law of Attraction don’t understand “yes” or “no”. What the Universe was hearing is “I make careless mistakes”, and so that’s what the Law of Attraction was giving me: careless mistakes. I learned that a much more effective way to word this thought was “I do all things carefully and I do them well”. To my surprise, the careless mistakes stopped almost instantly. I started to find more clarity and was able to do all things in a much happier and more positive way.

This book continues to help me in every aspect of my life. I reread it and listen to its audio version often — like, once a month. Positive thinking with the correct wording is a habit that I had to build, and so monthly refreshers of this book help keep my mindset and my goals aligned. This book also taught me how to recognize small victories as not all wins are obvious.

The Gist

Reading self-help books such as The Power of Now, The Secret, and The Power helped change my life for the better. I have become a happier person with a much more positive outlook on life. I have learned that small wins are still wins and patience is key.

What are some books or podcasts that you listen to to keep your mindset right?