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For as long as I can remember I have always been one who enjoys pleasure reading. Whether it is a biography, fiction, or self help, from classic to teenage genres, reading has always been important in my life. Most of my favorite books are stories about love and friendships that endure heartbreak and then find happiness again. Books that will soon be turned into movies. Stories that will make me so engulfed, I start to believe I am part of the adventure. Then there are books that I find meaning in. Mostly found in self help books. I love a good self help book. There is always something we can learn about ourselves, something that will make us a better person, even if the book isn’t directly related to our lives. I have read a fair share of these types of books and three of them have completely changed my life, knocked me off my path, woke me up, slapped me over the head and said “Maggie you idiot!”. These books are the books I think about the most, when I am happy, and when I am having a rough time in life. I try to remember their meaning and what I learned.
I wanted to share with you the three books that completely changed my life in hopes that maybe one of these books could change your life as well. I fully believe that things come to you at the right time, when you need it the most, and all three books I read when I needed to hear what they had to say. So here they are!
Zen And the Art of Happiness
I was introduce to Zen And the Art of Happiness through Carly, blogger and owner of The College Prepster. Carly kept raving about how much the book meant to her and how it changed her life. It was one of those books where you think “I should read this sometime”, but never really get around to it. I forgot about the book for a while and then one day Carly wrote about it again on her blog. I was going through a difficult time, a time when you think the world is against you. I decided to read it, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to hear a thing or two about how to be happy. Carly was right, this book changed my life. It is all about how you look at events and situations that happen to you. It’s the old saying “it’s not what happens to you that matters, it’s your reaction to it”. You take each incident, good or bad, and you believe that this happened for your benefit. Even if the incident is small like stepping on gum, or big like suffering from a heartbreak, you find the silver lining or believe that the silver lining will show soon enough. It is choosing to see the positive side of life. Since I have read this book I have firmly believed that everything that has happened to me benefits me for a better life. I try to stay as positive as I can. This has been challenging and sometimes hard to swallow that this incident only happened to benefit me. But in the end I look at my life and see how things are coming together, making sense.
The Body Book
The Body Book I read two years ago and it completely made me revaluate my thoughts on food and health. I always thought of myself as a healthy eater living a “balanced life”, when in fact I was still fueling my body with unhealthy foods. My so-called “balanced life” was definitely heavier on the unhealthy side. Reading this book I couldn’t put it down, it was definitely an “uh huh” moment for me. The book breaks down how food actually helps you and your body. How you can’t out exercise an unhealthy diet. It also talks about keeping your mind healthy and how it all connects together. It is so interesting and I learned so much from it. Ever since I read it I have really started to invest in my health, eating whole natural foods, exercising more, making sure I stay sane and happy. It even sparked my interest of nutrition where I enrolled in school to learn more. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to start a journey of healthy living, and for those of us who live, worship, and obey by living the healthy life. I wrote more about the book in this throwback post here.
Cameron Diaz recently came out with a new book called Longevity. It is the science of aging— I can NOT wait to dive into it!
The Secret
The Secret is no secret any longer. It seems like this book is all over the place, and for good reason too. I was introduce to The Secret when I saw a friend of mine reading it during summer camp where we both worked at during college . I was instantly intrigued by the title, not even knowing what the book was about, and knew someday I had to read it. I did not immediately buy it upon returning home from camp. It was another one of those “it came to me at the right time” situation. It was probably a year later when I finally decided to buy it and see what it was all about. If this book had legs it would have stuck one out in my path and knocked me down flat on my face. That is what it felt like while reading it. I was going through a time period where I was very heartbroken and felt everything in my life–the people, my job, myself, my surroundings, it was all negative. When I read about the law of attraction and keeping focus on what you want your life to be like, a light bulb went off: “Duh Maggie, your thoughts are creating your existence”. Of course I know if I think about winning a million dollars it will not magically show up on my door step the next day, nor no matter how much I envision it, I will never marry Ryan Gosling. What it will give me is the positive mindset for going after my dreams, giving and receiving love, abundance, and happiness. It will all radiate from me. I still read this book from time to time, when I need a little reminder to keep a healthy, positive mindset. I also bought the movie The Secret and read the follow up books: The Power, and The Magic. I was completely hooked, because it really did change my life more than any other book I have ever read.
What books have changed your life?
