The beginning of a new year is unlike any other time. December and January are overrun with reflection, planning, goal setting, and New Years resolutions. Some people find New Years resolutions to be overrated, but The Niche Movement leans into them because the New Year is a time to reset. A new year is the perfect time to chart the course for getting one step closer to finding the work we all love. And sometimes that course requires a big change. A transition to something bigger and better.
Thinking about making a big change is no joke. It’s an exciting (and scary) time that may find you questioning a lot of things like--
Where am I going?
How will I get there?
Why am I going there in the first place?
Is this worth it?
If your plans for 2019 include landing a new job, growing your side hustle, or getting a promotion, here are four books to read to help you work through the big changes. These books will help you sort through all the questions swirling around your head, so that you can have clarity and direction when you go after your big change in 2019.
1. Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride by David DeSteno
This book is a refreshing take on how we make decisions. Rather than rehashing the same old rational, logical models, DeSteno calls us out on our BS. “If delaying gratification and valuing the future are so important, and if we've been using science-backed strategies for decades to help us do it, why are most of us still so bad at it?” DeSteno argues that by pitting reason and emotion against each other, we create a false dichotomy and we short change ourselves. By combining reason and emotion, we can “use gratitude, compassion, and pride to pursue our goals and enable us to persevere and resist temptation - to increase our self-control and grit - while almost effortlessly helping us create the social bonds that will buttress us against stumbles, stress, and the afflictions of loneliness along the way.”
2. Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
This is one of those rare books that will radically change how you look at your life. Whether you’re looking for a job, pursuing a new job, or are thinking of changing careers, this book is a great place to start. This book will have you re-evaluating what you want, what you’re doing, and why. There’s more to life than the trivial things we concern ourselves with every day and Man’s Search for Meaning is a great reminder of that.
3. Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More by Morten T. Hansen
Do less, work better, and achieve more? This book caught my interest straight away. Hansen conducted a five year study to figure out why some people do better while working less, and in the process found seven practices that anyone can use at work. Their practices defy common wisdom about working and what makes people successful, and the best part? If you try these seven practices on for size, you won’t run the risk of burning out or sacrificing your personal life.
4. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
An oldie but goodie, I recommend this book to absolutely everyone I know. In terms of life transitions, this book is a wonderful read. It forces you to think deeply about how you’re showing up in life--or not. Based on decades of research on shame, vulnerability, empathy, and courage, Brown’s Daring Greatly will show you why vulnerability and courage are exactly what you need to have wherever it is you’re headed next.
Put these four books on your 2019 reading list, and you’ll be making big moves in no time. Whether it’s finding meaning with Victor Frankl and vulnerability with Brené Brown or learning to work smarter with Morten T. Hansen and make stronger decisions with David DeSteno, all four of these books provide the tools necessary to make bigger, bolder, and truer career changes in 2019. These books will help you be confident in your direction and decisions. So get out there and make some moves!