We all want to be confident—to feel powerful with our choices and be sure that, no matter what happens, things will work out for us. But self-assurance isn’t exactly easy to come by.
If you’re someone who feels insecure with yourself, you’re not alone. Everyone experiences self-doubt, others just deal with it better. But there’s no reason you can’t learn to be more confident.
Confidence Books
Here are some books that can help you increase your confidence and self-esteem.
1. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Clear and concise, this book offers 27 bite-sized chapters that contain stories, advice, and easy-to-implement exercises about making awesome changes in your life. You’ll learn to identify what’s holding you back, attract what you desire, and get the life you want.
2. The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden
As the title says, Branden talks about six action-based practices you can use daily to build a healthier mind, body, and personality. If you’re a parent, teacher, or mental health professional who wants to empower others, then this is the book to read.
3. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
Brown talks about how it is normal to feel unworthy sometimes but you must also realize that you are more than what you think yourself to be. In this book, she teaches you about ten guideposts that help you embrace your inner critic and be more accepting of your life’s “imperfections”.
4. The Confidence Gap by Russ Harris
People miss out on a lot of opportunities because of low self-confidence, whether it’s taking on leadership roles, speaking in public, or asking someone out.
Author Russ Harris surprising solutions to dealing with shyness and insecurities. Rather than avoiding the things you fear, you might benefit more from forming a better relationship with them.
5. The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a person who embodies self-esteem. He is happy despite the tribulations of his country, and continues to spread that happiness to other people, no matter their background.
Through stories, conversations, and contemplation, he talks about defeating the challenges of day-to-day living such as anger, anxiety, and insecurity.
6. It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
Even children can suffer from low self-confidence. In this child-friendly book, Parr delivers the importance of acceptance and understanding. It encourages them to celebrate their uniqueness and embrace their individual strengths.
7. The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
Schwartz believes that the size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. The more you are confident in yourself, the better you perform in life, and the bigger the things you win.
This book is a manual for building a better self-image. Because unless you’re ready to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, you’ll find it hard to lose the chains of low self-confidence.
8. What to Say When You Talk to Your Self by Shad Helmstetter
You are your worst critic. Often, the harsh judgment you inflict on yourself ruins your sense of self, making you worse than you really are.
Dr. Shad Helmstetter lays down practical information on practicing positive self-talk. Inside this book are practical tips about countering feelings of low self-worth, replacing negative mental programming, and taking charge of your life.
9. The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
Women are often subjected to harsher judgment in society. Here, broadcast journalists Katty Kay and Claire Shipman draw from their personal experiences to offer practical advice to women of all ages.
Instead of going the touchy-feely route, they combine these real-life experiences with research on genetics, gender, cognition, and behavior to guide women in being more confident and achieving the careers they want.
10. Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) aims to teach you to accept yourself, including all your weaknesses and underachievements. To do so means learning the difference between pain and suffering, and how to healthily process both.
Author Steven Hayes brings forth useful scientific techniques on how to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression in order to live a more fulfilling life.
Reading Books About Confidence
A majority of your problems might stem from a lack of self-love—a broad concept that includes self-worth, self-image, self-esteem, and of course, confidence.
You get scared asking for a raise from your boss. You get tongue-tied when talking to a cute girl or guy. You can’t open up to your family about serious topics. There’s a plethora of other situations that slowly drain you physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Reading books about confidence isn’t the final answer, but a start towards a solution for low self-love. It will take a lot of learning and practice, but you’ll slowly but surely mend your self-esteem and develop strong, healthy confidence.
What’s your favorite book about confidence? Share it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 10 Public Speaking Tips for Delivering with Confidence
- You’ve Got This: 5 Ways to Build Your Writing Confidence and Succeed as an Author
- Unstoppable Confidence: 3 Steps to Make It So You Don’t Have to Fake It
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
