It’s no hidden secret that books are probably the best and most effective ways to improve yourself, learn new skills, and grow in life. But how? In an age of distractions and constant pressure from all directions, how do you make out time for reading regularly? That’s where audiobooks come in. No matter what you’re doing, audiobooks help you in listening to books at your convenience.
So, whether you’re traveling to work or washing your utensils, you can learn new skills, create new habits, and improve your life in general. These audiobooks are sure to help you in getting better in different aspects of your life, from making decisions to achieving new milestones on both your personal and professional fronts. Without wasting any more time, let’s dive right into our selection of the best self-help audiobooks you should listen to.
1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, narrated by Patrick Egan
If you just take the title of the book, which has been created very intentionally, there are two ways someone can read it in their mind. One, without a pause after the word thinking in the title. Two, with a slight pause after thinking. And there’s a good chance that the first is an example of someone thinking fast and the other of someone thinking slow. Now, you might naturally think that the first is preferable.
But no, we often tend to think fast using our intuition which is filled with biases and misconceptions. And, in the process, we discard our rational and thinking brain which helps us make better decisions. Through this book, Kahneman shows and teaches how and when to use your intuitions and how to keep them at bay when you’re making a decision. By completely changing the way you think and form your decisions, you can potentially change your life for the better.
2. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns, narrated by George Newbern
Our awareness of mental health might have grown in recent years, but the resources available to each of us remain scarce and largely unavailable. A lot of us don’t know how exactly to deal with anxiety, negativity, depression, and a host of other mental health issues that are a part and parcel of many of our lives. Therapy or medication doesn’t always work and there are limited resources that are effective.
Don’t worry though, because this audiobook helps you in developing a positive outlook toward life and understand where your negative emotions are rising from, so you can cut them off at their roots. Employing cognitive therapy, he gives you steps and exercises to carry out on your own that help you in understanding yourself and get better in no time. Easy and effective, the audiobook is a critical resource in today’s stressful times.
3. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, narrated by Timothy Miller and Claire Hamilton
As humans, we tend to get distracted by things, even more so in today’s world filled with distractions and choices. But the key to succeeding in your life and career is to chase as few things as possible. This is the key idea behind this audiobook: finding that one thing that can take your life and work in a specific direction.
Gary and Jay teach you tricks and methods to cut through all the noise in your life, focus on that one thing, and gain immense success in that one particular thing. The audiobook has been wonderfully narrated by Timothy and Claire who voice it with personality and varying intonations, which make for a great listening experience.
4. Outliers: The Story of Success, written and narrated by Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by the author himself, the audiobook feels like Gladwell giving a personal class to you directly. The basic premise of the book is simple: how do the outliers become what they become? The ultra-successful people in different fields, how do they reach such heights? Often, we pay too much attention to their personalities instead of looking at their stories.
That is what the book does. It looks at their culture, their personal histories, and their secrets. How did they become what they became? In finding the answer to that question, Gladwell also shows the answer to how you can be an outlier in your life too. Curious and compelling to read, this is the story of success in its very fundamental form.
5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change by Charles Duhigg, narrated by Mike Chamberlain
How do we form habits over time? And can we change them? The book is the answer to all the questions when it comes to habits and how we can create and leave them as per our will. Applying recent research in behavioral science, he shows how to transform your life through habits. Habits are, after all, the difference between what we want to achieve and what we get in the end.
With stories and anecdotes spread throughout, he presents his arguments and steps convincingly. The book helps you see the true power of habits and use them in your life. Whether it’s about improving your physical or mental health or about getting success at work or in your personal life, the right habits can change everything.
6. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, narrated by Naoko Mori
What makes you want to get out of bed every morning? What truly inspires you? That is your ikigai. The small point where your dreams and desires meet satisfaction. If you can find your ikigai, you can be happier, live longer, and lead more meaningful lives. But how do you find that? Surely, if it was that easy, everyone would have found theirs and would be content.
But, in fact, it is pretty easy to find, as the audiobook shows. All your desires, habits, skills, and interests point in that specific direction where your ikigai resides. All that remains is finding it and transforming your life completely. Calm and meditative, the audiobook helps you reconnect with yourself and helps you find what you want in your life. The beautiful narration by Naoko Mori further enhances the peacefulness and insights of this book.
7. Dopamine Detox: A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Get Your Brain to Do Hard Things by Thibaut Meurisse, narrated by Joshua Alexander
With videos and modes of entertainment getting shorter and shorter in length, our attention spans also reduce. Shorter attention spans also mean an inability to work while remaining focused. The constant stimulation of our senses leaves us finding the next new thing, the next thing to shift our attention to, for another dose of dopamine. But how do we stop that? How to get out of that cycle? That is what this audiobook is about.
To stop chasing dopamine for once, and try to get out of this vicious cycle. The idea is to reduce your modes of being stimulated for forty-eight hours or two days continuously, so you can focus on the things you want to focus on. The book looks into what dopamine is, how it works and affects you, and tips and exercises to reduce distractions in your life. Not only does it help in increasing your focus and attention, but it also teaches you to live your life in the present moment.
