Lost in Your Career? Here Are Must-Read Books to Get You Back On Track
We’ve all been there — feeling like we have no direction or are lost in our careers.
You might struggle to figure out what truly fits you and what you want.
The best thing you can do is try to put things into a new perspective by reading a book.
Here are three curated comforting books to read when you feel lost in your career or even just life in general.
1. Failosophy: A Handbook For When Things Go Wrong by Elizabeth Day
The title itself attracted me to read this book. It narrates the failure that a person experiences as they grow and mature.
It tells real-life stories rather than forged positivity. The core is on how to train your brain to be happier.
Instead of ‘this ended’, ‘it existed.’
The quote above was one of the lines that changed my perspective on failure.
It made me think of failure as something to embrace, at least grateful that I could experience it and later learn from it to improve.
There are countless times when people on the internet or even advisors tell you to be the best version of yourself.
The truth is, there is no best version of you.
Instead, there are better versions because, in life, we should always strive to be better instead of trying to be the best.
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
What if you got to see what your life would look like if you chose a different path?
Matt Haig’s heartfelt and thought-provoking novel focuses on Nora, who finds herself in a mystical library at the edge of her life.
You can choose choices but not outcomes. So, the only way to learn is to live.
You can never control the outcome of your choices; every choice and hardship you go through shapes who you are today.
We often drown in thinking about what would happen if we chose a different path or a different choice.
But this book tells us that:
If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it. And don’t give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it.
We always strive to achieve a goal in our careers at certain times.
However, it’s essential to realize that everything we do right now is valuable.
In conclusion, it is important to always be present and count your blessings.
3. The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest
In this book, Brianna Wiest explains why people self-sabotage during hardships and how to improve or fix it.
She also describes minor everyday issues such as stress with the science behind it and assures the readers that it is normal to feel that way.
It’s not whether you ‘feel’ like putting in the work but whether or not you do it regardless.
Wiest tells us that self-sabotage could be disguised as irrational fears.
For example, we stay in a toxic environment just because we can’t stand having to leave or search for another place.
All we’re doing is avoiding the reality we need to face and temporarily relieving ourselves.
The human mind and body are programmed to be unsatisfied.
Hence, the internal fight is an ongoing problem for the rest of our lives, and it is only we, as the writers of our own stories, who know the best way to resolve and deal with it.
I want to convey a message: it is okay to fail to be better.
Dealing with career slumps, loss, or other negative emotions helps us learn valuable lessons and explore new solutions.
There’s nothing wrong with being vulnerable and imperfect.
Read more of our book recommendations:
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