Human rights, universal and inalienable, refer to those instrumental conditions that allow a person to achieve personal fulfillment. This term includes those freedoms, powers, needs, institutions and other constructs related to basic primary goods. In other words, and although it may sound redundant, human beings have the right to be happy.
Personal development and growth are essential for long-term happiness, as they drive the refinement of personal skills and one’s potentials. This translates into well-being with oneself (self-awareness), ease of relating to others (emotional intelligence) and the ability to carry out complex tasks (perseverance). All of this brings long-term benefits, but also self-esteem and a better ability to resolve conflicts in the moment.
Personal growth is essential for personal development, but as they say, we are not born learned. Therefore, on this occasion we present to you the best personal growth books With them, you will learn in one way or another to detect your strengths and shortcomings: once you know yourself, you can begin to build the foundations of what you want to become.
Below, we present 20 books that have caught our attention in one way or another in the field of personal growth. From the development of emotional intelligence to combating cognitive biases, among these pages you will find a series of vital keys to improve as a person.
1. Emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman
The first step to growing as an individual is always learning to understand others and act accordingly to what is expected of oneself. Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to this ability to recognize one’s own and others’ emotions, discriminate between feelings and learn to categorize them, and, finally, use all of these concepts to guide one’s own thinking and behavior.
The popularization and establishment of this term is due to the work that we show you here. Among its pages you can find the bases of the theories of emotional intelligence (EI) and you will reflect on its neurological bases and social importance Without a doubt, a classic of modern psychology.
2. Emotional intelligence 2.0: strategies to know and increase your coefficient
Goleman’s book is essential for establishing the foundations of IA, but you must also learn to put them into practice. This work collects this idea and presents 66 proposals to improve emotional intelligence, in the areas of self-knowledge, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.
3. Emotional intelligence in the company, Daniel Goleman
If what you are looking for is to learn to manage your emotions in the workplace and become a good leader, this is your book. In it, personal growth is focused on business emotional intelligence, a social area limited to its own needs and guidelines. If you want to be a good company manager, this reading is mandatory.
4. FACTFULNESS: Ten reasons why we are wrong about the world and why things are better than you think, Hans Rosling
To channel personal growth on the right path, it is necessary to recognize that the negativity bias is present in every corner of our reasoning. Perhaps the product of an evolutionary mechanism, faced with two events of equal intensity, We always look at the one that is negative compared to the positive or neutral
Hans Rosling shows us, with statistics and objective facts, how negative bias disrupts our perception of reality and pulls us down as individuals. Nothing is as bad as you think, and this play will show you why.
You may be interested: “Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection”
5. The book that your brain doesn’t want to read: How to reeducate the brain to be happier and live fully, David del Rosario
Reeducating the brain is possible, and psychological approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy are based on this premise: Everything that is learned can be unlearned, as long as the causes of the previous impositions are known In this work, David del Rosario (researcher and scientific communicator) turns neuroscience into a transformation tool that teaches you to be happy based on neuroscience.
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6. Think fast, think slow, Daniel Kahneman
In this work, Daniel Kahneman (Author) represents 2 different systems, which model how human beings think in general. Special emphasis is placed on the dichotomies between fast and slow thinking, and the immense amount of biases that affect the process of the former.
One of the most read self-help books in the world, which is said soon. This work postulates the following idea, as groundbreaking as it is essential to know: if you are dominated by dissatisfaction, guilt and complexes, do not project yourself onto others. Both the cause of these sensations and the engine of change are in you If you discover the “wrong areas” that prevent you from moving forward, you will be able to cut them off and begin the path of personal growth.
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8. A new world, now, Eckhart Tolle
A cult work in the field of spiritual literature. In it, the concept of the role of consciousness, identified with one’s own ego, is tested, which should become the instrument of a different and deeper understanding of who we are. To grow as people and as a society, the conception of oneself and what surrounds us must change.
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9. The pathology of normality, Erich Fromm
A brutal critique of the concept that current capitalism and society have made of the “normal” and ethically accepted man We are the process of our socioeconomic situation, an essential idea that we must take into account if we want to grow as people: unfortunately, the current functioning of the economic regime is harmful to individual mental conservation.
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You may be interested: “Erich Fromm: biography of the father of humanistic psychoanalysis”
10. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle
Another of the works that conceive growth as a more holistic whole on a spiritual level. With more than 5 million sales worldwide, the author already mentioned in another book on this list has shown that many readers are interested in focusing their personal growth from a more internal, personal and ethereal point of view.
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11. Lead yourself: PHASE method, the definitive method to be more productive, Agustín Peralt
Personal growth is not only based on achieving spiritual peace with oneself, as productivity also plays an essential role in what we conceive as “success.” This work explains the bases of the PHASE method, a series of techniques focused on productivity and use of time. According to the author himself, with this methodology it is possible to increase production by 30%.
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12. The power of habits: Why we do what we do in life and at work, Charles Duhigg
Understanding the way habits work on a psychological level is the first step to carrying them out and not failing in a routine. This work will introduce you a series of methods to avoid failing when putting your habits into practice and, therefore, grow in the area you want at each specific moment.
Rumination and cyclical thoughts prevent personal growth. Memories of mistakes and digressions keep us stuck in the past, so they do not allow us to look into the future. For those hyperstimulated and overthinking minds, this book is ideal, as it proposes a mechanics and piloting course for super-efficient brains.
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14. Wake up, Anthony de Mello
Again, we return to works that try to focus personal growth on spiritual development. To be better people and more efficient, we must connect with our “spiritual self”, which It will allow us to stop being at the mercy of circumstances and take the reins of our own existence
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15. Educate with emotional intelligence: How to make our children sociable, happy and responsible, Steven E./Friedl Elias, Maurice J./Tobias
Personal growth begins from childhood. The more emotional tools a person acquires in their development, the more likely it is that they can apply them and develop in the best possible way. This work places special emphasis on emotional intelligence in children.
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16. Introduction to psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud
You might be surprised to see this eminence in the field of psychology on this list, right? In reality, many think that to achieve personal growth it is necessary to dominate those tendencies, fears and repressions that populate our subconscious. If we bring to the surface everything that we do not know limits us, we will be able to master it and expand our self-awareness beyond the superficial
Without a doubt, an essential work for anyone interested in the field of human psychology.
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17. Psychopathology of everyday life, Sigmund Freud
Another of the works focused on the study of psychoanalysis, in this case applying the bases to daily events. We assure you that many of your most unremarkable behaviors will be reflected in these lines.
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18. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra
A completely different approach to achieving personal growth In this work, it is argued that development is obtained from knowledge and learning to live in harmony with natural laws. According to the author, this balance brings a fluid flow of happiness and abundance to the lives of those who seek it.
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19. Self Control, Kelly McGonigal
To grow as people, we must be aware of our impulses and learn to control them, not get carried away by our emotions or fall into cyclical consumerism. According to the author, willpower is a biological function that can be improved through aspects ranging from nutrition to sleep or presence. Here you will learn to take control of your impulses.
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20. Power without limits: The new science of personal development, Anthony Robbins
“Life will pay any price you ask for.” Under this maxim, Anthony Robbins tells us that The failure in personal growth does not lie in the circumstances, but in our own vital attitude This work tries to show us the true hidden power of the brain and how to channel it in the best possible way.
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What do you think? From humanism to emotional intelligence, through negativity biases, impulse control, spirituality and psychopathology, here we have presented works that explore personal growth from various approaches. Surely one of them is for you: go to the nearest library or sales portal and start your path towards personal improvement.
