Books for Every Resolution

About this time of year, we all start to struggle with our New Year's Resolutions. Why did I decide to work out 5x a week? you think. Why can't I just eat these cheetos? you whine to yourself. Why am I still so stressed? you cry. For resolution help from an author who truly understands your problems, check out the titles below.

For a healthy body:

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Famous omnivore Michael Pollan is the poster child of the local food movement. The Omnivore’s Dilemma has become a quintessential read for people hoping to reconnect with their food and find out not only where their food comes from, but quite frankly, what it’s actually made of. This book made me think more about growing my own food and supporting local farmers. For a shorter and more practical title from Pollan, check out Food Rules.

Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink

The mind is a terribly complex, wonderful, and smart organ. Unfortunately, we don’t always tune into what our brain is telling us. In Mindless Eating, food psychologist Brian Wansink outlines classic mistakes that we make that trick our brain and body into eating more food than we need. With topics like portion sizes, eating while multi-tasking, and the consequences of buffets, this book truly opened my eyes to being mindful of not just what I eat, but how I eat it.

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

A sillier take on living a healthy lifestyle, Drop Dead Healthy follows a year in the life of A.J. Jacobs, who has decided to live as healthy as a life as he can for a twelve-month period. He tries all sorts of exercise and diet regimens, but also focuses on less popular body parts, including ear, heart, mouth, feet, spine, and lung health. At times this book can get a little bit ridiculous, but Jacobs has a great sense of humor and also points out the silliness of trying to live a “perfectly healthy life”- as his title suggests, it could nearly kill you!

For a healthy mind:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin began her year with one simple goal in mind: to end her year an overall happier person than when she began. She tackled one aspect of her life, one month at a time, and overhauled changes to improve her home, family, love life, body, and mind to make herself and those around her happier. After reading, take steps to create your own happiness journey here.

168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

You’ve probably seen this quote floating around social media and Pinterest: “You have as many hours in a day in Beyonce.” 24 hours to be exact, and 168 hours in a week. How you use those 168 hours is almost entirely in your own power, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. While we might not be Beyonce, 168 Hours helps you figure out how you’d like to spend those hours in a week. Want to run a marathon? There’s time! Want to write a novel? There’s time! Want to sit on the couch and watch all 10 seasons of Friends? Might not be the best choice you'll ever make, but there is definitely time. I hope you use your 168 hours in a productive and happy way, and hopefully Laura Vanderkam will help you do just that (For my full review of this book, click here).

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Perseverance is not the easiest trait to achieve. We all have set resolutions or goals in the past and most likely, we have no achieved every single one. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg takes a look at why some habits stick, and how small changes in your life could add up in a big way to achieving your goals.

For a healthy wallet:

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke by Suze Orman

Struggling with monthly rent/mortgage, student loan, cell phone, auto insurance and credit card payments? Are you resolving to save money this year? According to an article by the Huffington Post, 31 percent of New Year’s Resolutions revolve around money. Suze Orman’s read The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke, or YFBs as she likes to call them, is targeted to twenty-something females struggling to make their finances work. She offers practical tips including how to save money, pay off debt, start investing, and make wise money choices. Let’s be honest, you’re all young and fabulous, but it’d be nice if you ended the year without the broke title too!

Everything That Remains by the Minimalists

Minimalism is a popular growing trend. What a fascinating concept that people are discovering: if you buy less stuff, you will spend less money. If you spend less money, you will save more money. What an idea! Minimalists Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus were corporate drones until one day they realized they weren’t happy. They quit their jobs, downsized, sold many of their belongings and sought out a way to make their life happier without depending on stuff to make that happen. After all, that’s why we all want more money right? For happiness?  Everything That Remains helped me to take a step back from Target sprees and Amazon clicking and made me think about how I view money and possessions. Ultimately, what I do and am is more important than what I have, and this book served as a powerful reminder.

For a healthy heart and soul:

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler is probably the best human being on the planet. I love her and Tina Fey with my entire being. With confidence and humor, Amy Poehler’s memoir Yes Please is a must-read if you are looking for a friend to find the courage within yourself to be who you want to be. Poehler is a real person and shares her struggles candidly while still giving millions of pieces of sound advice that everyone should follow. One of my favorites: “The earlier you learn that you should focus on what you have, and not obsess about what you don’t have, the happier you will be.” Every girl needs a confident, self-accepting (and hilarious) role model, and yours should probably be Amy Poehler.

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

You’re all probably familiar with Cheryl Strayed after the bestseller turned Oscar-nominated film Wild. What you might not know is that author Cheryl Strayed also wrote a column for a website called the The Rumpus. The column, titled Dear Sugar, became a huge hit, and Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of those columns. Cheryl Strayed is a beautiful writer and an unconventional advice-giver. She has a way of making you see all sides of an issue, and realizing that following your own inner light is the best decision you can make. Inspirational, funny, heart-warming, and powerful, I guarantee you will find yourself written somewhere in this book, and hopefully you will be a kinder, wiser, more confident person for finding it.

Good luck with your New Year's Resolutions and stick with 'em!