It is the time of the year where I create my round-up blogs, and the first is will share the books that have made a massive difference to me over the past 12-months. Whilst the content of my blog during 2020 has needed to flex and change in response to our experiences, one thing hasn’t changed. I’m still utterly OBSESSED with personal development books! Today I want to remind you of the ones that have left their impact. Here is the 2020 round-up of the Balance Collective Book Club reads!
I started the book reviews nearly four years ago, linking to the monthly readalongs which are discussed each month in Creating Careers to Enjoy. Some are popular with lots of virtual chat, whilst others pass with barely an interaction; however they are received I always make sure there is a review and Clara Cliff Notes for those that are waiting to see if a book is worth reading/listening too. I try to make sure each book can add to my mission to creating a career to enjoy and are suitable for employed people, business owners and those that are curious to make a change.
The books that have really stayed with me have this year have superseded employment status and, I feel reflected what everyone needed this year; permission and insight to look after our well-being.
To with this in mind, here are the three must-read books from the 2020 Balance Collective Book Club:
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
What Professor Walker doesn’t know about sleep isn’t worth knowing – or he hasn’t discovered yet. He has dedicated his professional life to understanding more about sleep; he is the Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and Director of Sleep and the Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Why We Sleep* is Professor Walker’s first book, but not the first time writing about it! His research covers over 100 research studies.
Over the years we have all been given different messages about sleep; from the luxurious lie-in, teenage laziness, the risk of burning the candle at both ends or the praise for the person who is productive by getting up at 5 am! I am also sure we all know first-hand how we feel if we have a bad night sleep, either self-inflicted from a night on the town or new-born interruptions. Even though we all live with the repercussions of great or poor sleep, I don’t think many of us have actually considered why we sleep? For something that takes up quite a large part of our life, it’s about time we start understanding its function, so we can carve out time to make it happen!
Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
We have all been there. Feeling frustrated that people just do not understand you, that you feel like you are talking a totally different language. Wondering how some people seem to just get what they need, when they need it, when it feels like it is just so hard for you. Maybe you are looking to understand yourself a little bit more, after all, progress comes from personal development. Or maybe, like the catalyst for the title of this book, you feel like you are just “surround by idiots”.
The human need to drive to understand people, and why they do what they do, has been around as long as it can be recorded. Interestingly, lots of these theories, from the philosophical to the psychological, have four aspects. You may have heard of the Greek physician Hippocrates describing personalities – or temperaments – being linked to body fluids! It was believed that your mood, emotions, and behaviours were based on how hot/cold and wet/dry your fluids were; how these interacted would have a direct influence on who you were, and create one of four types of personalities: Phlegmatic, Choleric, Sanguine, Melancholic.
Fast forward to the early-twentieth-century and let me introduce you to William Marston. You may not know his name, but you will know his work; he created the early lie detector and the Comic Book Character Wonder Woman. Marston, unlike a lot of his fellow Psychologists, he was interested in the behaviour of the general population, and from this work created the DISC Theory. Each letter represents an element of personality – Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. See, four-types again! “Surrounded by Idiots” is based on this four-type theory, but references it as colours (Red =Dominance, Yellow= Influence, Green= Steadiness and Blue=Compliance). If you have been working with me recently, you will know I have re-introduced the DISC personality profiling tool model back into my coaching, after previously using it in my life as a Recruiter. So, you can imagine I was VERY interested to read this book!
The Comparison Cure by Lucy Sheridan
When I started reading The Comparison Cure, I thought it would be a useful research tool and something that could recommend for my coaching clients. By the time I had finished, I uncovered quite a deep-seated and personally problematic comparison issue! “The Comparison Cure: How to be less ‘them’ and more you” * by Lucy Sheridan, is a breath of fresh are in a world where it’s easy to feel like we are less than, on a regular basis.
Lucy is an internationally renowned Coach and wellbeing specialist and is the world’s first and only comparison coach. Her work supports those that have a desire to live on their own terms, pursuing their version of happiness as audaciously as possible. Sounds perfect for people looking to create a career to enjoy not endure, right?
This book has a great combination of science, reflection, and some hard-hitting conversation starters; helping you not only understand specifically where your comparisons issues lie, but where they could come from, how you are holding yourself back and how important communication is. What is great about the book, especially considering the mindset of a person who picks it up, is she makes you feel content with YOUR version of success, rather than berate you for feeling like this in the first place! It also allows you to really focus down on your comparison blind spots, and to understand what you can do to actually take steps forward. There are a few books that I will re-read in my life, and THIS is one of them!
So, there were my thoughts. What were your must-reads? Hop over to Creating Careers to Enjoy and share. Maybe they will make the 2021 list?
*These links contain affiliate links. If you click on them and buy I may get a few pennies but it won’t cost you anything extra.
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Clara Wilcox is a straight talking, practical and experienced coach helping clients navigate the tricky waters of returning to work, career changes and professional development. The Balance Collective is a social enterprise focused on improving the lives of parents, by working together to build inner confidence and promote a healthy work/life balance.
