Books to Transform Your (Work)Life
One of the most frequent questions we get on our Free Coaching Calls and in conversations with Wild + Brave Humans on social media is "do you have some book recommendations? What can I read to add to learn more and live better?"
I think it's because we're always sharing great research from the field of behavioral neuroscience, and wild ideas from positive psychology. If you tune in, you're bound to come across a topic you want to dig deeper on. So here it is, the short list of great books we pulled research from for our current Wild + Brave series. We call it "Work Happy" and it focuses on helping you develop engagement, success, and fulfillment in your work and life.
You'll notice we single one book out in particular below. We've put it on our list of all-time favorites list labeled "Read This Book Before You Die" because not knowing what's contained in its pages is killing us.
Don't worry if you don't have time to grab any of the books here though; you can always just stay tuned in to Wild + Brave to get our email digests and focused sharing to enrich your work life at your pace.
As a lifelong reader, I know most of us go through seasons of reading more (explosive growth seasons are often characterized by this), and at other times we may quit reading for growth altogether. It's normal. Feel free to bookmark this page for later if you're not ready now. They'll be here waiting for you when you become ready for them.
Happy Reading,
Coach Morgan
READ THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU DIE (BECAUSE WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW IS KILLING YOU)
The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You and How to Get Good at It — Kelly McGonigal Ph.D.
This book will transform your relationship with stress, broaden your understanding of what is happening in your body with stress, and help you escape the fear and anxiety that is the inevitable product of the modern misunderstanding of stress. Unlike some voices who tell us to engage only in the “good stress” and avoid all the “bad stress,” the research in this book teaches us the danger of seeing stress as bad at all, teaching us instead to understand and positively engage our stress response to help us do what matters to us. Living out your values, dealing with trauma, surviving a difficult season, connecting with our loved ones and community, and enjoying life to the fullest all require the help of our stress response.
SPOILER ALERT: most of what we think we know about stress and its detriments only applies to ONE of our THREE stress responses. You’ve heard of “Fight or Flight” but do you know the two other types of stress responses your body is capable of? The stress response isn’t evolutionary baggage, but rather part of the power for living well in modern life.
AUDIOBOOK NOTE: The audiobook version of this book is excellent, read by the author, making it easy to hear the full meaning of all the interesting research.
Recommended Reading for Working Wild + Brave
Recommended Reading for Working Wild + Brave
The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You and How to Get Good at It — Kelly McGonigal Ph.D.
The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal — Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones — James Clear
Hyperfocus: How to be More Productive in a World of Distraction — Chris Bailey (author of The Productivity Project)
Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business — Charles Duhigg
Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence — Daniel Goleman (author of Emotional Intelligence)
Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection — Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D.
The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance — Tony Schwartz, Jean Gomez & Catherine McCarthy, Ph.D.
Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes — Tom Rath (author of StrengthsFinder 2.0)
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It — Kelly McGonigal Ph.D.
Changing to Thrive: Using the Stages of Change to Overcome the Top Threats to Your Health and Happiness — James Prochaska Ph.D, & Janice Prochaska, Ph.D.
The Power to Get Things Done (Whether You Feel Like It Or Not): Stop Robbing Yourself of Productivity and Success — Steve Levinson, Ph.D. and Chris Cooper
Better Than Before: What I learned About Making and Breaking Habits - to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life — Grechin Rubin
FULL DISCLOSURE:
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