Top 15 Personality Development Books [Updated 2021]
Developing or changing the personality is not an easy task as the behaviour, attitude, communication abilities of any person are formed since childhood. Below is the list of books on personality development that you must read in 2021 –
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ( Get this book )
- Awaken the Giant Within ( Get this book )
- You Are a Badass ( Get this book )
- The Success Principles ( Get this book )
- The Power of Full Engagement ( Get this book )
- The 16 Personality Types: Profiles, Theory, & Type Development ( Get this book )
- Personality Development ( Get this book )
- The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life ( Get this book )
- Social and Personality Development ( Get this book )
- The Development of Shyness and Social Withdrawal ( Get this book )
- Seven Times Down, Eight Times Up ( Get this book )
- The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery ( Get this book )
- The 5 Personality Patterns ( Get this book )
- The Art and Science of Personality Development ( Get this book )
- The Development of Personality: Seminars in Psychological Astrology ( Get this book )
Let us discuss each of the personality development books in detail along with its key takeaways and reviews.
#1 – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen R. Covey
About the book
This international bestseller is one of the best personality books that focuses on how you can identify and build on your good personal as well as professional habits and that is what will differentiate you from an average person.
Book review
The author states that everyone has habits – some are good, some are bad and some have little to no impact on our life. The book doesn’t ask you to do away with the bad ones, it simply helps you to build on the good ones. The author suggests seven synergistic habits that complement each other in different ways. These habits will help you take control of your life, make smarter decisions, manage social relationships, overcome bad habits, enhance productivity, etc. The underlying message in the book is that changing your habits doesn’t just change the way you see the world but it also changes the way the world sees you and that can be the difference between success and failure.
Key takeaways
- It will help you become professionally as well as personally more effective.
- If you can practice these habits you will see the world in a different way and you will learn about the path to a successful life.
#2 – Awaken the Giant Within
by Tony Robbins
About the book
The book is a step-by-step guide that teaches the basics of self-mastery that helps in the discovery of true purpose and taking control of life as well as destiny.
Book review
The book is considered one of the best self-help books that were ever there. It introduces some powerful and life-changing techniques that can improve your life beyond imagination. But the real problem is that these methods are not that easy to implement or practice. The author has used the mix of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and existential psychotherapy to arrive at ideas that can be easily understood and applied in the real life. He has also drawn many examples from his own life so that as a reader you can connect with the issues. In short, it is a comprehensive book that suggests everlasting philosophies that can help you discover your passion in life and reach your true goals.
Key takeaways
- It is a practical and motivational guide that will help you with decision-making to reach your goals.
- It offers you some really helpful tips and solutions to some of the most critical life problems.
#3 – You Are a Badass
by Jen Sincero
About the book
This book is a practical guide that will help you in identifying the behaviors that are sabotaging your life and then it will aid you in changing these behaviors to take you where you wish to reach by the end of your life.
Book review
This book will teach you a lot of philosophies and share many beliefs that you must know to lead a badass life. It can be very interesting and engaging for someone who is new to the world of self-help books. However, if you are one of those who has read a lot of self-help category books, then some of the concepts discussed in the book might not seem new to you as you must have already read them somewhere else. What also makes this book different from the other self-help books is the author’s unique style of narration where she moves onto a topic indirectly but in a very interesting manner. To sum it up, this book will help you in achieving your life goals and dreams.
Key takeaways
- If you are a newbie to the self-help category, then this book is a must-read for you.
- It will help you in overcoming the mental barriers that may be holding you back from realizing your dreams.
#4 – The Success Principles
by Mike Piper
About the book
The book provides the blueprint of the route that you need to follow in order to achieve the goal you desire. Interestingly, the blueprint is prepared based on the success stories of some of the world’s most remarkable people.
Book review
This is an excellent book that coaches you on how to build your confidence, manage daily challenges, how to be passionate about life, etc. It will not just help you find the purpose of your life but also push you to realize your dreams. Besides the collection of many good ideas, it also narrates 64 timeless principles that are inspired by the real-life events of some of the most successful men and women throughout history. If you can practice the suggested principles every day, there is no doubt that you will definitely achieve whatever you want in your life.
Key takeaways
- After you complete reading the book you will only gain from the stories of these successful men and women.
- It intends to highlight that success starts from your own mindset. You can never succeed if you don’t believe you can succeed.
#5 – The Power of Full Engagement
by Jim Loehr
About the book
This ground-breaking book provides step-by-step guidance that will help you manage your energy in a better way both on and off the job, which is very important in the current world.
Book review
The book revolves around the idea that it is not time management that can help your work-life balance, rather it is your ability to manage your energy that can translate into high performance at work as well as healthy and happy family life. In simple terms, the author tells that the number of hours you put in a work doesn’t give you the desired result, but the quality of those hours does. That can only happen if you enjoy your life outside work, where you can recover from work-related stress. At the end of the day, you should understand that you are a human being and not a computer.
Key takeaways
- It is an interesting book that states that you should focus on managing your energy instead of managing your time.
- Although primarily focused on white-collar workers, the principles discussed in the book are more general in nature.
#6 – The 16 Personality Types
Profiles, Theory, & Type Development
Author: Dr. A.J. Drenth
Book Review:
Deep diving the Meyers Briggs typology, this book aims to explain the mechanism of the types of personality in a very detailed manner. It can help understand the rationale behind the behaviour of people in certain situations to deal with it in the best possible way.
Key Takeaways
- Compels to identify ourselves and clarify our own identity
- Rooted in the theories of Jung and Myers-Briggs
- Features of each personality types
- Book provides a detailed examination of development or change in personality over the lifespan.
#7 – Personality Development
Author: Swami Vivekananda
Book Review:
This book is a worthy compilation of the complete works of Swami Vivekananda and aims at guiding the readers to attain self-realization, which is the ultimate goal of life. Filled with illustrations and guidelines, the book is both instructive and provocative enough that it makes the reader feel the sense of urgency to change their personality for the better.
Key Takeaways
- Covers the different layers of personality
- Ways of controlling negative emotions
- Teaches to develop a sense of equality
- Unfolds the power of concentration
- Explains why and how pleasure is not the goal
#8 – The Alter Ego Effect
The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life
Author: Todd Herman
Book Review:
Unlike many other self-help books that suggest we step into an improvised version of ourselves, this book takes a leap forward by explaining why the new version is so important and how to put that into play at different stages of life.
Key Takeaways:
- Insight on how to create and control alter ego.
- Secrets behind the top athletes and executives on using alter ego
- Using creative imagination to find the inner hero and bring it out to the world with the help of alter ego
- Overcoming negativity, self-doubt, and insecurity that hold us back
#9 – Social and Personality Development
Author: David R. Shaffer
Book Review:
A well written self-exploratory book with more than just enough examples. It tries to connect with the reader with its easy and smooth flow, covering the major theories and concepts of social psychology and human development.
Key Takeaways:
- Focused on factors influencing changes in personality in the early ages and adolescence
- Causes, processes, and complexities of developmental change
- Emphasis on cultural influences on personality development
- Based on test theories and field research
#10 – The Development of Shyness and Social Withdrawal
Author: Kenneth H. Rubin, Robert J. Coplan
Book Review:
A definitive reference to shyness and social withdrawal, this book covers an up-to-date review of the major aspects of socioemotional development. The chapters range from the biological moderators of withdrawals to contextual implications and clinical implications. It is a good read for those who seek to get a deeper understanding of peer interactions and shyness.
Key Takeaways
- Development, causes, and consequences of social withdrawal
- Role of biological, family, and interpersonal processes in shyness
- The positive aspects of being unsocial
- The impact of social withdrawal on peer relationships and professional front
#11 – Seven Times Down, Eight Times Up
Landing on Your Feet in an Upside Down World
Author: Alan Gettis
Book Review:
Reading this personality development book is like being gently awakened refreshed and carefully guided towards enjoying the present. The book tries to reach to the realm of self-realization, self-responsibility, and self-healing in a very practical and realistic way with the help of interesting short stories.
Key Takeaways
- Lessons to learn acceptance, get rid of unwanted emotions, heal, renew, and to change
- A hundred brief stories that convey valuable insights to help feel better and function differently in difficult situations
- Help find the path to enlightened happiness
- Enlightenment is the sense of increasing knowledge and awareness is transformational.
#12 – The Road Back to You
An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
Author: Ian Morgan Cron
Book Review:
This book provides an engaging introduction and a clear explanation of the ancient personality typing tool Enneagram. The author describes how this tool of personality typing is different from others like Myers-Briggs. It focuses on how identifying both strengths and weaknesses, a special gift, and deepest fear are important while understanding ourselves.
Key Takeaways:
- The book provides an insight into an ancient personality typing system to describe how humans are connected.
- Spiritual discovery helps us become wiser and more compassionate.
- Teaches a sense of empathy apart from self-discovery.
- Understanding how one operates at its best or worst behaviour.
#13 – The 5 Personality Patterns
Your Guide to Understanding Yourself and Others and Developing Emotional Maturity
Author: Steven Kessler
Book Review:
A well-written self-help book that lets us take a look inside the people to find out their motivation so as to influence them and communicate with them successfully. The book tries to give a perspective for true change that can be used on a daily basis for references in our normal livelihood.
Key Takeaways
- Developing emotional maturity
- Discovering what motivates and matters to people in order to interact with them effectively
- Developing a true to life map for self-improvement
- The map is based on the core of the body and the flow of energy
#14 – The Art and Science of Personality Development
Author: Dan P. McAdams
Book Review:
This book is an integrative personality development from the early stages of life through old age. Based on research in neuroscience, traits, motives, goals, and narrative identity, the book offers scientifically defensible answers to questions about human nature. The author invites readers to introspect and to ask themselves how they came to be who they are.
Key Takeaways:
- Development of three distinct layers of personality:
- The social actor who expresses emotional and behavioural traits,
- The motivated agent who pursues goals and values,
- The autobiographical actor who constructs a personal story
#15 – The Development of Personality:
Seminars in Psychological Astrology
Author: Liz Greene
Book Review:
An interesting transcript of popular seminars conducted by the author, this book is a perfect blend of psychology, personality, and astrology. It is highly recommended for intermediate or advanced study on astrology.
Key Takeaways:
- Covers the stages of childhood, parental marriage, subpersonalities
- Examples and insights that explain the deeper meanings of archetypes found in planets
- Unfolding personalities expressed through progressions
- Insights on the implications of planets and sun on the lives of people
Also Read: Why Personal Development Can Help You Grow Your Home Business
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This has been a guide to Personality Development Books. Here we provide a list of Top 15 Personality Development books to read in 2021, its review and key takeaways. You may refer to the following books to learn more:-
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