I’m addicted to self-help books. It’s true. I love nothing more than page-after-page of words that help build
If you’re in a personal rut and you just can’t seem to shake it, give books a chance. “But I don’t believe in someone telling me what to do…” “Nah, those book won’t help me…” “I’m already too far gone mentally, just let me be miserable.” GIRL – please. As my dad use to tell me when I was a kid, get your head out of your ass and start working on yourself.
Rewind nearly 10 years ago. I was NOT in a good head space at all. I was severely depressed caused by self-identity issues. I was at a point in my life when my self-worth was at an all-time low and I truly didn’t know who I was anymore. For 19 years of my life I was a confident (not cocky) woman who thrived off of competition, hard work and leadership. I went to college and my identify washed away from me. I let a certain person take that away from me putting me in a major depression from my sophomore year until two years after I graduated. It’s easy to hide emotions in college from friends with the help of consuming lots of alcohol and making bad life decisions. Talk to my mom on the other hand and she was the one getting re-occurring crying phone calls. I seriously hate myself for putting my mom through that because now that I’m older, I’m sure she felt completely helpless on the other end. There was nothing she could do but try and calm me down and tell me everything would be okay, even though she knew it wasn’t. I love you, Mom!
It wasn’t until I started running in 2011 that I was able to rediscover myself, reignite that fire within me that fuels from hard work, dedication and inspiration. I was turning into the old Amanda. I was setting goals. I was motivated to become a better version of myself. I was loving myself again. It was that year that I read Kara Goucher’s book and it taught me about positive self talk, mantras, power words and visualizations.
You need to dream the impossible. You need to dream that you’re standing at the finish line, sitting behind the CEO desk, holding a beautiful baby – whatever it is, DREAM IT! Envision your success and fight for it. In the words of Jen Sincero, “Success requires commitment, motivation, focus, a sense of purpose, and courage, and it requires that you continually strengthen these muscles so you meet each new challenge with a big ole can of get-the-fuck-outta-my-way.”
Fast forward to today, and self-help books line up on my book shelf. There is nothing wrong, I repeat NOTHING wrong, with working on yourself. Your mental strength. Your mental awareness. And most importantly, your self love. What do they say on the plane, put your mask on before you help others. YOU need to be a peak mental wellness to be best for everyone else. Dig deep inside yourself. Find the root cause of your hesitations. Start reciting mantras. Start believing in yourself. START REALIZING HOW MUCH OF A BADASS YOU ARE.
Some of my favorites are You are a Badass, You are a Badass Everyday, Girl Wash Your Face, Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and many more!
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