Books have always been a huge part of my life. When I first moved to Canada at the age of 11, my family and I shared a very small apartment. For the first few weeks, we had no furniture aside from our beds and no tv. This meant that after school I would usually sit by the window and count the train cargos as they went by ( 10 out of 10 would not recommend).
After a while, I started visiting the school library and taking out a book to read when I got home. I took out a new one every single day because I got through them so quickly. And thus began my love for reading.
My tastes in books have changed since then. An article recently posted on Create & Cultivate shared the stories of 5 women and the books that changed their careers. The article made me start thinking about books that had an impact on me at various points in my life
Here are four books that have changed my life in the smallest of ways, but with the biggest impact
Happiness Project
I found the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin when I wasn’t happy. I think my unhappiness at the time is what drew me to the book. Gretchen’s experiment made me see happiness as a process of little things in our everyday lives as opposed to viewing it as a destination, which many of us often do. We believe that the next car, the next house, clothes or person will finally make us happy. It is not until we get those things and we realize that there are still voids that cannot automatically heal themselves at a set location.
The book also made me evaluate the way my days were structured and look at ways that I could experience happiness in the process of my daily routines. For me, this meant always cleaning up my space before going to bed. Which mean that I then wake up to a clean house and I start my day on a good note.
This book also inspired one of our most popular posts: 7 habits of Happy People
You are a Badass
While the happiness project changed the way I looked at happiness overall. You are a BadAss changed my view of money and mindset. At the time I was a college student working three jobs and trying to maintain an A average so that I would still qualify for my scholarship. To say that money was a huge stressor in my life at the time would be an understatement.
You are a badass made me realize that constantly stressing about money wasn’t going to make it suddenly appear in my bank account. It wouldn’t make sure my rent was paid or that I had groceries. However, If I could calm my self down enough to look at my life without the stress and analyze my sources of income and the resources available to me I could make it work and that has been my mindest/approach to money ever since.
Becoming
Michelle Obama – That’s it, Those are the life-changing words
Things you can only notice when you slow down
I bought this book by Haemin Sunim on my first solo trip to London, England so it holds a special place in my life. I remember reading this in front of big ben, eating ice cream on a lawn across the Westminister abbey and just being overwhelmed and proud that I could do this on my own.
The beauty of this book is that it forces you to slow down. It is not a book you rush through. The pace, the tone, and the advice force you to stop and reflect. And it contributed to me appreciating that particular phase in my life and inspired me to forge more meaningful friendships based on kindness, and empathy for others and myself
Honorable mentions
Junie B Jones series and RL Stein’s Fear Street for making me fall in love with reading