It is always good to read, regardless of the subject, because you can let your imagination fly and also learn about something in particular. In the case of self-help books, they serve to be able to be better people, to be able to overcome a sentimental breakup, be more successful in a business, learn to forgive or say what we feel, etc.

While some titles are “classics” in the area of ​​self-help and explain steps to follow, ask you questions or tell you how to act, others are a story with a moral (or several), to use as a source of inspiration. They are not complicated at all to read nor are they extensive, but the good thing is that they contain a very powerful and deep message, which does not need to be embellished because it is direct and simple. The teachings in these books will cause a change in your vision of life and the world, the way you face each situation and how to get out of trouble.

If you have read them before, you can enjoy them again. Experts say that the same title read several times in life gives us new experiences and perspectives, because we are not the same today than two years ago or five years from now.

The Best Self-Help Books You Should Read

1 – Who has taken my cheese? (Who moved my cheese in English): “a surprising way to deal with change at work and in private life” is the subtitle chosen by Spencer Johnson, the author. It is written in the style of a parable and tells the story of two mice and their searches for cheese. It describes the four typical reactions of a person to a problem or situation, that is, to resist out of fear of something worse, to detect change early, to learn to adapt or to rush into action. It was launched in 1998 and is a simple yet devastating analysis of changes and problems, but above all, how to deal with them.

2 – The Knight in Rusty Armor (The Knight in Rusty Armor in English) is a self-help novel written by Robert Fisher, with some humorous elements, as well as motivation. It is a book that can be read from youth to old age and reflects the process of change in a person who cannot express their feelings. The protagonist is an egocentric gentleman who does not understand or value what he possesses, neglects the people and things that surround him. It becomes more and more enclosed in his armor until it rusts and he cannot remove it. Go on a journey along the path of truth to three castles. Explain the importance of opening up to the world and saying what it feels like.

3 – Man’s Search for Meaning (Trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen. Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager in German): is a psychology book written by an Austrian psychiatrist named Viktor Frankl and published in 1946. It relates personal experiences and the history of the field concentration camp of Auschwitz during the Second World War, but seen from the inside. It is divided into two parts, which attempt to answer the question, how does day-to-day life in a concentration camp affect the mind, the psychology of the average prisoner? It tries to understand the psychological changes of the prisoners, but at the same time it is an ode to hope and to value life.

4 – The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince in French): it is the best known novel by the writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, published in 1943. It is a story with watercolor illustrations where a pilot who is lost in the Sahara after an accident with his plane meets a little prince who comes from another planet. Philosophical issues and social criticism about how adults see things are included. Although it is considered a children’s book, it has very deep observations about the life and nature of man, such as the encounter between the little prince and the fox, where you can read the best-known phrase in the book: “it only looks good with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes ”. It invites reflection on love, human relationships and the loss of the things that are really important in life.

5 – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le Papillon in French), is a story that was made into a movie, written by Jean Dominique Bauby. Although it is not a self-help book with all the letters, it is an autobiography that tells the story of the writer, without resorting to “corny” but to an objective and hard story, as well as shocking. When Bauby suffers, at the age of 43, a massive embolism spends three weeks in a coma. Upon exiting this picture, he discovers that his body is totally paralyzed and he cannot move, speak, eat or breathe without being assisted. His mind works smoothly but he cannot communicate it to anyone. He can only barely move his left eyelid. In this “new world” he controls only two things: memory and imagination. It serves to value our life much more and enjoy the small details of each day.