Ellen’s Book Nook: Get a Head Start on Living More Fully in the New Year

By TMoM Team Member Ellen Bryant Lloyd  

As we all rush around preparing for the holidays, the thought of what awaits us in the new year, much less how we can live life more fully, is likely on the back burner. We have gifts to buy, decorating to do, cookies and other goodies to bake, services, events, and parties to attend and family and friends to see. While these are all fun things to do and enjoy, January 1 will be here before we know it. Each new year is an opportunity to take inventory of our lives and plan for how we would like it to look moving forward.

I thought it might be helpful to share book suggestions to give you a head start on setting yourself up to live more fully in the new year. I selected books that will help you slow down, be calm and present, live with intention, pay attention to what matters, heal and nurture relationships, make everyday count, live with joy and be happy. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic and joyful new year!

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sunim

Author Haemin Sunim’s book is a guide to mindfulness that shares a path to inner peace and balance despite the sometimes-all-consuming demands and challenges of everyday life. He begins with the premise that although the world moves fast, we don’t have to. In fact, when you slow down, the world will slow down with you. When we slow down, we can create deeper connections with others, find compassion and forgiveness. Slowing down allows us to see things which aren’t apparent when we are moving through life quickly, and helps us find balance, love, happiness, and spirituality. This book is a nice resource for finding all this and more.

Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World by Brooke McAlary

I had the good fortune to attend an event with the author of this great book a few years ago. I was intrigued as I heard the story of how she and her husband made changes and shifted from living a hectic, demanding life to living more slowly and with intention. As a result, they reclaimed a life with more connection, meaning, and depth. Her practical advice on simplifying, decluttering, and organizing will be most helpful in living a stress-free life and finding more happiness, peace and joy.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

James Clear’s powerful book is based on the idea that tiny changes can deliver remarkable results. After a significant accident, Clear developed habits that allowed him to overcome challenges and deficits and succeed not only in school, but in life. Applying his proven approaches and additional ideas drawn from research in biology, psychology, and neuroscience, the author has crafted strategies to teach people how to form good habits, eliminate bad ones, and apply small changes in behaviors that produce remarkable results.

This excerpt from the book sums it up well: “If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.”

Build the Life you Want by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey

Media icon, Oprah Winfrey, started reading Arthur Brooks’s “How to Build a Life” column in The Atlantic during the pandemic and was hooked. In his writing, he passionately addressed what she had always cared about — living a life with purpose and meaning. Winfrey became an instant fan and knew she needed to meet him and learn more about his work.

The two connected and decided to team up to craft Build the Life You Want, so they could share steps for everyone to begin a journey toward happiness. Their premise is that you can improve your life right now, not when things in your outside world change. They offer tools for emotional self-management and practices based in research to help you build the four pillars of happiness: family, friendship, work, and faith. Using these tools and pillars, you can take the reins of your life today and in the future as opposed to waiting and hoping things will, one day, be different.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz

Although this book is short, it is packed with meaning that will surely make an impact on your life. In The Four Agreements, Ruiz uncovers self-limiting beliefs that take away joy and create unnecessary suffering and shares a simple code of conduct based on ancient wisdom: “Be impeccable with your word”, “Do not take anything personally”, “Do not make assumptions”, and “Always do your best.”  These four agreements can immediately transform your life and set you up to embrace one that is full of true happiness and love.

The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living by Ira Byock

This book is written on the foundation that four simple phrases – “Please forgive me,” “I forgive you,” “Thank you,” and “I love you” have tremendous power and can heal and nurture relationships, both with ourselves and others. The author, a leader in palliative care, shares how we can practice these simple, life-changing words in our daily lives. The author demonstrates the importance of “stating the obvious” and offers insights into the power of letting go of old grudges and negative emotions so we can honor the relationships in our lives every day. Through story, he shows us how we can forgive, appreciate, and celebrate each other and live fuller, richer lives.

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven

This New York Times bestselling book is based on a graduation speech delivered by Admiral William H. McRaven, a former Navy SEAL, at the University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014. He begins by taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” and goes on to share ten principles he learned during his SEAL training that helped him overcome challenges in training, his Naval career and in life. He says, “if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

His speech went on to have over 10 million views and subsequently resulted in a book deal that helped place his lessons in the hands of many. The Wall Street Journal touts this book as one that “should be read by every leader in America.” The simple lessons he shares are life and even world changing.

1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently by Marc Chernoff and Angel Chernoff

This inspirational guide to living a happy, fulfilled life is filled with advice the authors gleaned from people identified as happy and successful. Topics include mistakes unhappy people make, tough truths that help you grow, timeless lessons for a life well-lived, ways to stop complicating life, and achievable things to do today. This simple book will help you nurture relationships, find time for self-care, let go of what is holding you back, overcome setbacks and find passion to achieve your wildest dreams. It is a book you will want to read and apply to your own life and even consider giving as a gift.

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

The author, Ingrid Fetell Lee, a designer by trade as well as a TED star, believes that “joy isn’t hard to find at all. In fact, it is all around us.” After making a discovery regarding environment and joy in graduate school, Lee formed the premise that small changes to surroundings can create great happiness in your life, contrary to previous thinking. Her groundbreaking research points out that there is a reason we feel better when walking into some environments, stop to watch a sunset, smile at baby animals, are drawn to beautiful blossoms on trees, or feel happy when we see confetti flying around.

Lee shares how the spaces we are in and the objects we interact with every day have a significant and powerful effect on our mood. For instance, our space has the power to make us feel anxious, competitive, or delightful. She believes our surroundings have the power to help us all live fuller, healthier, and more joyful lives. As she says, “What if the natural vibrancy of our surroundings is actually our most renewable and easily accessible source of joy?”

Ellen Bryant Lloyd is a writer and mom of two children, one who has flown from the nest and the other is not far from it. She blogs about perspectives on life and parenting at mindfulmom.wordpress.com and tweets at @EllenBLloyd. She is the author of FRECKLES and FRECKLES and The Great Beach Rescue, a freelance writer and memoir ghostwriter. Ellen lives in Greensboro with her husband, her daughter, when she is home from college, and the sweetest dog ever. She looks forward to seeing her son, who is now living and working in a nearby metropolitan city, as often as possible.

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