10 Best Books for Self Improvement in India 2021 (Robert T. Kiyosaki, Daniel J, and more)

Author R Stephen Covey shares with us seven habits one should adopt to become truly effective in whatever one would like to achieve. In this masterpiece, he explains that bringing a change in how we see the world can change our positive mental attitude and humanize our social relations.

Written by acclaimed author Robert T. Kiyosaki, this book is a financial classic. It provides sound, realistic guidelines to live a healthy life in terms of financial security. The book uses contrasting characters, the Rich Dad and the Poor Dad, to create a situation that explains the following: 

The poor dad remains poor because he works hard all his life to earn money but does not know how to make money work for him. On the other hand, the Rich dad amasses wealth throughout his life and knows how to make money work for him. This is just a short overview.

It covers several financial mistakes that one can make in his/her lifetime. Whether you are a novice or an expert with money, this book has some timeless lessons that can teach you a thing or two on developing the right financial habits. You can learn how to acquire assets, manage investments, and develop the right mindset to become rich.

Published in 1937, during the Great Depression in the United States, this book explains relevant guidelines on how to utilize the power of the subconscious mind to give yourself the life of your dreams.

The author, Napoleon Hill studied the lives of successful people and wrote this book taking examples from their lives. Throughout the book, he urges us to use the full potential of our mind to materialize everything that we dreamt of.

Moreover, theories on persistence and the Law of Attraction have been explained in detail. So if you wish to expand your knowledge on the same, this book is the one for you!

Our world is dominated by powerful technologies that are working to keep our attention scattered. In this powerful self-elevating book, author Alan Wallace urges us to practice Shamatha, a Buddhist meditation technique that keeps the mind away from all distractions.

The author says that by dissociating, which is to separate ourselves from this material world, we can free ourselves from worldly needs like the need for social distractions, feelings of hatred, and anger.

This book is best for someone interested in meditation. The practices explained will help to clear your mind of unwanted thoughts, worry, anxiety, and frustrations.

In this book, author Daniel J. Siegel has created a unique synthesis between meditation, psychoanalysis, and neuroscience. This book focuses on several case studies to give advice. 

The author uses real-life clinical examples to provide insight with a remarkable depth of empathy and humanity. If you are in the dilemma that there is more to you than what you seem now- then this book is for you.

This book will get you to think about the many aspects of your life in new and ancient ways. It is full of techniques and insights to help you reprogram your brain and use it optimally.

Another interesting read, this book by acclaimed writer, Dale Carnegie will teach you how to improve your social relations. It teaches you to become agreeable to everyone, develop integrity, and act like a people pleaser at all times. Ideal for people in the sales and marketing profession.

It will surely help you develop better social skills and win over that client you have been working hard to get on board for the last 6 months. One of the key takeaways from this book is to do something, however small or big, for another person to bring them a little parcel of happiness now and then.

This book by David D. Burns is ideal for you if you are suffering from depression or mood-related mental disorders. The author explains in detail the merits of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which consists of identifying thought patterns that have a detrimental effect on your self-image and moods.

He further shares ways of deconstructing these negative thoughts in order to break out of these destructive cycles. At present, CBT is the most effective therapy used by psychologists. This book is packed with scientific research, exercises, and examples to help you guide through your dilemma.

If you want to know how CBT works, which moods are central in your life, what thought patterns are causing your depression, how to overcome self-judgment and guilt, how to defeat approval and love addiction, and how your self-perfectionism is hindering you, then don’t look further.

Another masterpiece, Thinking, Fast and Slow takes a unique look at human rationality and irrationality. Written by the winner of the Nobel Prize for economics, Daniel Kahneman pours in a lifetime of research into an encyclopedic journey of explaining the surprising miracles and mistakes of our conscious and unconscious thinking.

He achieves an even greater miracle by weaving his insights into an engaging narrative that is compulsively readable from beginning to end. This book paints the most engaging collections of insights into the human mind.

It is a must-read if you are someone who is interested in how people think and how the mind works. Ideal for corporate brand strategists, it also explains how certain constructs in our society make us biased even before we realize what we are doing.

Wondering what fiction is doing in a self-improvement book list? Written by revered author, Paulo Coelho, Alchemist tells the story of a small boy from Andalusia and his adventures through the African desert to find treasures hidden in the Pyramids of Egypt.

Though it is a work of fiction, one can relate easily to a small boy’s story, who risks everything to follow his dreams. The beauty of this book lies in the author’s belief: And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. 

Once you start reading this book, it will be difficult to put it down. And when you are done reading it, you will start believing in miracles that can help you achieve your dreams.

Daring Greatly is not like any other self-improvement books. It will not give you new insights, research, or blow your mind. The book’s greatness lies in making you come face-to-face with the emotions you have kept hidden deep inside or know they exist.

This book will force you to have an honest conversation with yourself; it might not have done in a long time. Throughout, she mentions that vulnerability is not a weakness but courage. This book is for anyone who has struggled with judgment, destructive criticism, and fear of ridicule.