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2017 Highlights as Self-help Books

For the next couple of days, we’re going to look back at the 2017 highlights to remind us of the closing year before welcoming a new one. It has been a year filled with heated arguments about politics, lots of Hollywood break-ups, make-ups, and baby rumors.

In today’s list, we’re going to talk about the self-help books that have made an impact on the readers, including the ones that tackle career, relationship, and life satisfaction. Reading self-help books is not only for those who find themselves in the middle of a crisis but anyone can benefit from it. It’s one of the literary pieces that we can learn so much from!

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

We are all victims of our own habits, mostly bad. No matter how much we try to push ourselves from moving forward, we still find ourselves in a constant cycle. This book by the New York’s Bestselling author, Charles Duhigg talks about the scientific process of how we can break free from our habits. It helps us see how we can optimize our time to be more productive and to avoid getting smitten by the marketing strategies in front of us. This book has super good insights that it turned a chain smoker to cigar-free life.

The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity

Most often than not, cheating in relationships can break them. Countless of times where couples try to make it work after the affair, but just couldn’t find themselves to trust again. We have been told that staying committed to a person is the only way to go in a relationship – except for this book.

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57% of men who are in a relationship admitted on having affairs

This book will offer some fresh insights that can be either silly to readers or are pure smart. It discusses how infidelity can actually strengthen a relationship, especially the ones that are heading to the boring phase. The infidelity can bring many emotions towards a partner that may not exist after years of being together. The author has been a witness of couples who have been involved in an affair, but they rediscover intimacy and passion in the process.

Everybody Lies

In Psychology and medicine, we have this phenomenon called placebo effect where a certain medication or object will give the desired effect even if it’s not meant to do that way. Take for example the classic study of the placebo effect. College students were put into a party and they were told that they are going to drink a cocktail. Hours later, students are starting to report being drunk and tipsy. Later do they know that those beverages were alcohol-free. Their minds tricked them into acting such behaviors even if it does not exist. This is also what the books are trying to say.

In this book, the author discusses that there is no significant difference in employment rate between Harvard graduates and students who were accepted in Harvard but went to a different school. It’s not about the school producing quality professionals, but being accepted in Harvard means a person is already smart enough.

The Power of Meaning

Sometimes we struggle with what really is our purpose in life. There are billions of people in the world making us question “what am I here on Earth for?” Emily Esfahani Smith, the author of the book is trying to tell readers that happiness and meaning are different entities. For her, meaning serves as a clearer route to a more fulfilling life. Let’s take a scenario of a parent.

Emily Esfahani Smith is a non-fiction author that focuses on a person’s happiness and meaning of life

It’s not every single day that a mother is happy with her kids, but being a mother gives her life a meaning. She is more fulfilled knowing that she is doing something good for her kids. Meaning can also be found in religion, civic duty, and social affiliation. All these things can add up to a person’s meaning in life. Emily also discusses the four pillars of meaning, which include transcendence, belonging, purpose, and storytelling. If a person can obtain these pillars, then he/she will be en route to a rewarding life.

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