Your mindset is a set of beliefs, values and assumptions that shape how you make sense of yourself and the world. It influences how you think, feel, and behave. It’s sometimes called an unconscious frame of reference, a world-view, our disposition or attitude, a philosophy or outlook that guides how we approach life, tackle challenges, learn new things, and deal with success or failure.
Your mindset is your own unique lens on life – the assumptions and expectations you hold about yourself and the world around you. It’s how you make sense of everything that happens and decide what is or isn’t meaningful for you.
When we better understand our mindset, we can adapt and shift what we choose to believe, improve our health, decrease our stress, reflect, learn and grow, and become more resilient to life’s challenges. Here are some excellent books on how to do that.
I recommend these books because I’ve read them and found them useful in my own life and work. If you come to my office, you’ll find them on my bookshelf – well thumbed, highlighted and bookmarked to the good bits. I’ve read plenty of other books on these topics that didn’t make the cut. Also, please note, as an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission (at no cost you) on any purchase made through links on this page.
Mindset: Changing The Way You Think To Fulfil Your Potential – Carol Dweck
In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck breaks down how the way we think about our abilities can lead to better results, more resilience, and a more fulfilling experience in almost everything we do. Here are the main ideas from the book:
Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset:
- Fixed Mindset: This is when you believe your skills and intelligence are set in stone and can’t really change. People with this mindset might avoid challenges, fear failure, and give up quickly.
- Growth Mindset: This is when you believe you can improve your abilities with effort and learning. People with this mindset love a challenge, learn from their mistakes, and see failure as a chance to grow.
Belief Shapes Your Actions: How you see your abilities affects how you tackle life. If you think you can grow and get better, you’re more likely to take on challenges, keep going when things get tough, and learn from your failures. If you think you’re “just not good at it,” you might shy away from trying at all.
Challenges are Opportunities: People with a growth mindset don’t shy away from tough situations. They see challenges as chances to learn and improve. Those with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, might see them as threats and avoid them.
Effort Leads to Growth: In a growth mindset, putting in the effort is seen as a way to improve. It’s not something to be embarrassed about; it’s part of getting better. But in a fixed mindset, if something takes too much effort, it might feel like you’re not “naturally” good at it.
Failure Isn’t the End: People with a growth mindset see failure as a learning experience, not as proof they can’t do something. They see it as part of the journey. But those with a fixed mindset often see failure as a sign they’re just not capable and might give up.
How We See Others’ Success: If you have a fixed mindset, someone else’s success might make you feel threatened or jealous. But with a growth mindset, you see others’ achievements as inspiring and proof that you can get there too with effort.
Mindset Affects All Areas of Life: Whether it’s school, work, sports, or personal relationships, mindset plays a huge role in how we perform and grow. People with a growth mindset tend to do better because they keep learning, stay persistent, and view setbacks as just part of the process.
You Can Change Your Mindset: The best part? You’re not stuck with one mindset forever. You can change it! By becoming aware of how you think and working on shifting your perspective, you can develop a growth mindset that helps you grow and achieve more in life.
Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life – David Robson
In The Expectation Effect, David Robson explores how our expectations and beliefs shape our reality, often more than we realise.
The Power of Expectations: Our expectations — what we believe will happen — have a huge impact on how things turn out. If you expect success or happiness, you’re more likely to experience it. On the flip side, expecting failure or stress can actually bring those things into your life.
Mindset Shapes Reality: Our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations influence everything from our health to our performance. If you expect to be healthy, for example, you’re more likely to take actions that keep you healthy and actually feel better over time.
The Placebo Effect: Believing in a treatment (even if it’s just a sugar pill) can lead to real improvements in health. It shows how powerful our mind’s expectations can be in shaping physical outcomes.
Expectation and Performance: Whether it’s a big presentation at work or an athletic performance, your expectations can directly impact how well you do. Expect to fail, and you might not put in your best effort. Expect to succeed, and you’re more likely to rise to the occasion.
Changing Expectations for Better Outcomes: We can intentionally change our expectations to improve our lives. By shifting your mindset to expect positive things, you set yourself up for better results. It’s about actively working on your belief system to create more positive outcomes.
Expectations and Stress: The book also highlights how our expectations can trigger stress. If you expect something to be hard or overwhelming, your body and mind respond accordingly, making it feel tougher than it actually is.
The Science Behind It All: Robson backs up his ideas with research and real-life examples, showing how our brains interpret and respond to our expectations. It’s not just self-help fluff — there’s real science showing how powerful our thoughts can be in shaping the world around us.
Practical Tips for Shifting Your Mindset: Finally, there’s practical advice for changing your expectations. Even small shifts in how you think and approach life that can have big effects on your happiness, health, and success.
By understanding and adjusting our expectations, we can unlock new levels of success, well-being, and personal growth. It’s about realising that our mindsets play a much bigger role in shaping our experiences than we might think.
To buy The Expectation Effect go HERE
The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life – Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility is all about shifting the way we think and approach life to unlock new opportunities and create positive change.
Change the Frame: We can change our perspective on any situation. Instead of seeing challenges as obstacles, we can choose to view them as opportunities for growth and creativity. It’s all about shifting how we frame things in our mind.
The Power of “Yes, And…”: Embracing possibilities by saying “Yes, and…” instead of shutting ideas down with “No, but…” This mindset helps us build on ideas, collaborate better, and stay open to new solutions, both in work and life.
Giving an A: Instead of focusing on flaws or what’s wrong, the Zanders encourage us to give people an “A” right from the start — meaning, we see their potential and assume the best about them. This helps create an environment of trust, support, and possibility.
The Decline of “The World as a Zero-Sum Game”: We often operate from a mindset of competition, thinking that if one person wins, another must lose. Instead, the authors suggest we embrace the idea that life is full of infinite possibilities where everyone can succeed and grow together.
Leading from the Heart: Leadership isn’t just about authority or power — it’s about inspiring others through passion, vision, and empathy. Leaders who operate from a place of possibility can unlock creativity and motivation in their teams.
Being in the “Zone”: This is about getting into a state of flow where you’re fully engaged, not worrying about outcomes, and simply creating. This mindset helps unlock creativity and allows for true personal and professional growth.
Transforming Scarcity into Abundance: Switch from a scarcity mindset (thinking there’s only so much to go around) to an abundance mindset (believing there are endless possibilities). This shift opens up new opportunities and helps people see that there’s more than enough success, love, and happiness for everyone.
Living a Life of Possibility: Approach life with an open mind and heart, ready to embrace new experiences, ideas, and possibilities. By doing so, we can transform our relationships, careers, and even our sense of self.
To buy The Art of Possibility go HERE
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – Angela Duckworth
Grit reveals how passion and perseverance, rather than talent, are the key to success.
Grit is More Important Than Talent: Grit — defined as a combination of passion and perseverance — is a better predictor of success than natural talent. It’s not about how smart or skilled you are, but about sticking with something long enough to see it through.
Passion + Perseverance = Grit: Grit isn’t just about working hard, it’s also about caring deeply about what you’re doing. It’s that long-term passion that keeps you going, even when things get tough. If you’re passionate about something and stick with it, you’re more likely to succeed.
Effort Counts Twice: Duckworth talks about the formula: Talent x Effort = Skill, and then Skill x Effort = Achievement. The key takeaway is that effort is what turns talent into skill, and then skill into achievement. No matter how talented you are, it’s your effort that matters most.
The Importance of Perseverance: Perseverance is about pushing through difficulties, staying committed to your goals even when it gets boring or hard. People with grit don’t quit — they keep going, even when the initial excitement fades.
The Power of Practice: Duckworth stresses the importance of deliberate practice. It’s not just about putting in the hours, but about focusing on improving, learning from mistakes, and getting better each time.
Developing Grit: Grit can be developed over time. You can build it by finding something you’re passionate about, setting long-term goals, and keeping focused on those goals despite challenges. The more you practice perseverance, the grittier you get.
Grit Over Time: Success isn’t about quick wins — it’s about sustained effort over the long haul. People with grit are in it for the long term, even when things get tough, and they keep moving forward.
Grit in Different Areas of Life: Grit applies to various areas, from education and business to sports and personal relationships. It’s the drive to keep improving and pushing through obstacles that leads to success in all aspects of life.
Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness – Steve Magness
Do Hard Things is all about redefining what it really means to be tough and resilient. It challenges the idea that toughness is just about pushing through pain and shows a more balanced approach.
Resilience Isn’t Just About Endurance: Magness argues that we’ve got resilience all wrong. It’s not about just gritting your teeth and enduring hardships. True resilience comes from knowing when to push yourself and when to recover, balancing effort with rest.
Toughness is About Adaptability: Instead of the old idea of “toughness” being about enduring pain and suffering, Real toughness is about being adaptable. It’s about handling challenges in a way that helps you grow and learn, not just brute force through them.
The Science of Recovery: Rest and recovery are a huge part of toughness. It’s not about constant hustle — it’s about knowing when to push and when to take a step back to recharge.
Stress is Helpful, but Only If Managed Right: Stress isn’t bad for you, but only if you manage it. We need stress to grow, but it has to be in manageable doses. Too much stress without recovery leads to burnout, while just the right amount can help build resilience and strength.
Real Toughness is Learned, Not Just Born: Toughness isn’t something you’re born with, it’s something you develop over time. By pushing yourself in the right ways and recovering properly, you can build real mental and physical toughness.
Embrace the Struggle: Embrace challenges and struggles, but in a way that’s sustainable. It’s not about seeking out discomfort for the sake of it, but about finding ways to use tough situations to build resilience and grow.
The Importance of Purpose: Having a clear sense of purpose or a “why” behind what you do makes it easier to push through tough times. It helps keep you focused and motivated, even when things aren’t going well.
The Myth of “No Pain, No Gain”: The book challenges the classic “no pain, no gain” mentality, pointing out that pushing yourself to the limit without proper care or recovery doesn’t make you tougher — it just burns you out. Real toughness involves smart effort, not just hard effort.
Overall, Do Hard Things is about understanding that real resilience comes from balancing effort and recovery, pushing through challenges in a smart, sustainable way, and learning to adapt. It’s a much more thoughtful approach to toughness than the traditional “just keep going no matter what” mindset.
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think – Brianna Wiest
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think is a collection of thought-provoking essays that challenge common beliefs and encourage a shift in perspective. Here’s a quick look at the key themes in the book:
Self-Awareness and Growth: The importance of understanding yourself, recognising your habits, and being aware of the patterns in your life that hold you back from personal growth.
Let Go of Limiting Beliefs: Let go of negative self-talk, toxic beliefs, and the idea that you’re “stuck” in a situation. Challenge the stories you tell yourself and replace them with empowering ones.
Mindfulness and Presence: The essays also highlight the importance of living in the present moment. Instead of obsessing over the past or worrying about the future, focus on what’s happening now and make the most of it.
Embrace Change: Change is a constant; embrace it rather than resist it. Weist explores how to deal with transitions in life and how change, although uncomfortable, can lead to personal transformation.
Redefine Success: Rethink what success means. It’s not just about achievements and external validation but about inner fulfillment, peace, and staying true to yourself.
Take Responsibility for Your Life: Take control of your choices and actions, and understanding that you have the power to create the life you want, rather than blaming others or circumstances.
Healing and Self-Love: Wiest emphasises the importance of self-compassion and healing old wounds. Her essays highlight how embracing love and care for yourself can lead to emotional freedom and a more fulfilling life.
The Power of Perspective: Throughout the book, Wiest highlights how our perspective shapes our experience of life. By changing the way we think about situations, we can change how we feel and react to them.
101 Essays is about challenging old thinking patterns, letting go of what no longer serves us, and embracing a mindset that promotes growth, healing, and self-empowerment.
Reasons Not to Worry: How to be Stoic in chaotic times – Brigid Delaney
Reasons Not to Worry is a practical guide to applying Stoic philosophy in our modern, hectic lives. Here’s a quick look at what the book covers:
Stoicism for Stressful Times: Delaney introduces Stoicism as a way to deal with stress, anxiety, and all the chaos that life throws at us. She explains how this ancient philosophy can help us keep calm and focused, even when everything around us feels overwhelming.
Focus on What You Can Control: Learn to focus only on what’s within your control and let go of the rest. Stoics believe we should not waste energy on things we can’t change. This mindset can reduce stress and help us feel more grounded.
Embrace Life’s Uncertainty: The Stoic approach encourages us to accept uncertainty and embrace the unpredictability of life. Instead of fearing the unknown, we can choose to face it with acceptance and strength.
Practical Stoic Exercises: The book isn’t just about philosophy — it’s filled with practical tips and exercises that help you apply Stoic principles in day-to-day life. Whether it’s journaling, mindfulness, or just changing your perspective, Delaney gives real-world advice on how to use Stoicism to feel more at peace.
Find Freedom in Acceptance: A big part of Stoicism is accepting what we can’t change. This can actually lead to more freedom, as it allows us to stop fighting against things we have no control over and focus on what we can actually influence.
Build Resilience: Stoicism can help us build resilience. By training our minds to stay calm in the face of adversity, we can handle life’s challenges with more grace and less stress.
Living a Better Life: Stoicism is a way to live a better, more fulfilling life. By shifting our mindset, letting go of worry, and focusing on the present, we can lead more intentional, peaceful lives, even in chaotic times.
Reasons Not to Worry is all about taking ancient Stoic wisdom and using it as a tool to navigate modern life with more calm, clarity, and resilience. It’s a practical, down-to-earth approach to Stoicism that makes the philosophy easy to apply in everyday situations.
To buy Reasons Not to Worry go HERE
The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage – Ryan Holiday
The Obstacle Is the Way describes how to turn life’s challenges into opportunities using Stoic philosophy. Obstacles don’t have to hold us back — they can actually be the key to our success if we approach them the right way.
Perception is Everything: The way we see an obstacle determines how we respond to it. Instead of viewing challenges as something to avoid, we should reframe them as opportunities to learn and grow. It’s all about changing how we perceive problems.
Action Over Emotion: When facing an obstacle, it’s easy to get caught up in frustration or fear. It’s important to take action rather than get stuck in negative emotions. By focusing on what we can do, we gain control over the situation.
Turn Setbacks Into Growth: Instead of seeing setbacks as failures, see them as stepping stones for growth. Obstacles push us to think differently, adapt, and get better, so each challenge can actually move us forward in the long run.
The Power of Persistence: When we keep pushing forward, even in the face of difficulties, we build resilience. Staying committed to our goals, no matter how tough things get, is what ultimately leads to success.
Embrace Challenges: Rather than avoiding obstacles, we embrace them. Every challenge presents an opportunity to test our limits, improve our skills, and become stronger. The more we face and tackle obstacles, the better we become at handling life’s ups and downs.
Focus on What You Can Control: We can’t control everything, but we can control how we respond. By focusing on what we can do, we free ourselves from unnecessary stress and frustration.
The Role of Resilience: Resilience is key to overcoming obstacles. Tough situations test our ability to bounce back. When we develop resilience, we become better equipped to handle whatever life throws our way.
The Long-Term Perspective: Obstacles often seem much bigger in the moment than they do in hindsight. Taking a long-term view helps us realise that what seems like a big problem now might not even matter a year from now. It’s a mindset shift that encourages us to not only accept adversity but to thrive because of it.
To buyThe Obstacle is the Way go HERE
Stoic at Work: Ancient Wisdom to Make Your Job a Bit Less Annoying – Annie Lawless
Stoic at Work is written in a humorous and approachable style. Annie Lawless blends Stoic philosophy with light-hearted, relatable examples that make the concepts easy to digest and apply to everyday work situations. While the book still covers serious topics like managing stress, dealing with difficult people, and maintaining focus, the tone is casual and fun, making it feel less like a self-help book and more like a conversation with a friend who’s offering some practical life advice.
Stay Calm Amid the Chaos: Stoic ideas can help you stay calm and level-headed, no matter how stressful or chaotic your workday gets. Whether it’s a difficult meeting or a crazy deadline, Stoicism teaches you how to manage your reactions and keep your peace of mind.
Focus on What You Can Control: Focus on what’s within your control and let go of what isn’t. This mindset helps you stop stressing over things you can’t change (like office politics or things that go wrong) and put your energy into what you can actually do something about.
Deal with Difficult People: We all have that one coworker, right? Stoicism can help you deal with difficult people without letting them affect your mood or productivity. Instead of getting caught up in drama, Stoics stay focused on their own actions and responses.
Improve Your Work Mindset: See work not just as a place for earning money, but as a way to practice self-discipline, patience, and personal growth. It’s about shifting your mindset so that work becomes a space for learning and development, rather than a source of frustration.
Turn Challenges into Opportunities: Use Stoic wisdom to turn obstacles into growth opportunities. Every challenge at work can be an opportunity to practice resilience, improve your skills, and become a better version of yourself.
Take Ownership of Your Work: A Stoic approach to work involves taking responsibility for your own actions, instead of blaming others or external circumstances. Embracing this mindset helps you feel more in control and less frustrated by things outside your power.
Maintain Balance and Wellbeing: Stoicism teaches that personal wellbeing is just as important as professional success, and by keeping a clear mind and staying grounded, you can handle whatever comes your way.
Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Livin – Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman
Daily Stoic is a year-long guide to applying Stoic philosophy to everyday life. Each day, you get a short meditation based on the wisdom of ancient Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, along with a practical takeaway to help you stay focused, calm, and resilient no matter what’s going on. It’s a great way to bring Stoic principles into your daily routine and live with more clarity, purpose, and peace.
I’ve been using The Daily Stoic ever since it was first published in 2016. It’s one of the first things I do every day as part of my regular morning mindfulness and reflection practice.