Reasonable Resolutions

Self-help books for little improvements you can make

It's 2023 and many of us are thinking about the changes we want to make moving forward. Of course, change is hard and New Year's resolutions are famously impermanent. So before you go trying to revamp your whole life, consider four key areas where we can all use a little help, plus some practical guides that can help you take small incremental steps to improve your life.

Take a chill pill

Our lives often seem frantic, our every waking moment filled with nonstop stimulation. These days, it seems that everyone is suffering from anxiety and stress of one type or another. Meditation and mindfulness can be extremely helpful in calming our frenetic thoughts and bringing an ease to our emotions. Here are some of our favorite guides for calming down our brains.

• The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation—Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of being awake and fully aware.
• An Ordinary Dude's Guide to Enlightenment—Self-proclaimed ordinary dude John Weiler shares his path for finding inner peace and purpose.
• Bedtime Meditation for Kids—Certified hypnotherapist Cory Cochiolo shares 30 fuss-free techniques and activities to help kids calm down and get to sleep.
• 5-Minute Daily Meditations—Meditation teacher Sah D'Simone offers this guide for mindful living in our busy world with short and accessible daily meditations that speak to the most common problems.

Eat cleaner-ish

It's been well documented that on-and-off fad dieting doesn't generally improve our long-term health. These days, experts encourage finding a way to incorporate new habits into your diet without sacrificing the joy of food. Here are some of the best books we found around improving your overall diet without giving up pleasure.

• Intuitive Eating for Every Day: 365 Daily Practices & Inspirations to Rediscover the Pleasures of Eating—Cofounder of the Intuitive Eating movement Evelyn Tribole returns with this life-changing path to cultivating a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body.
• The Well Plated Cookbook: Fast Healthy Recipes You'll Want to Eat—Comfort classics with a lighter spin, from the creator of a popular healthy-eating blog, Erin Clarke's delicious recipes are fast, budget-friendly, and clever.
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Complete Food & Nutrition Guide—The newest edition of the trusted nutrition bible by Roberta Larson Duyff offers flexibility, allowing readers to personalize their own paths to healthier living through simple strategies.
• How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease—Internationally renowned nutrition expert, Michael Greger reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind a diet that can help prevent and reverse many causes of disease-related death.

Move your body

If the thought of going to the gym makes you break out in hives, you're not alone. Many of us struggle to imagine how we can make more time/energy/stamina to adopt an exercise routine. These books offer gentle, gradual approaches to breaking through the mental, physical, and emotional barriers that are keeping us from fitness.

• No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness—Motivation scientist Michelle Segar offers a simple four-point program that will empower you to break the cycle of exercise failure once and for all.
• Cross-Training for Dummies—Whether you're looking to spice up a dull workout routine or get back to fitness after an exercise hiatus, this book by Martica Heaner and Tony Ryan will help you get back on track.
• 100 No-Equipment Workouts Vol 1: Easy to Follow Home Workout Routines with Visual Guides for all Fitness Levels—No more worrying about finding the right equipment, attire, space, or time to exercise. Darebee's Neila Rey is committed to democratizing fitness by removing the barriers to it.
• Yoga for Everyone: 50 Poses for Every Type of Body—If you think you're not cut out for yoga, think again! This guide from Dianne Bondy is a must-have volume for those who want to take up yoga but don't know where to begin.

Read more!

As we all know, reading is good for us in a variety of ways. It decreases anxiety and stress. It helps us broaden our horizons and grow empathy for others. It gives us an opportunity to learn, well, everything! You probably wouldn't be here if you didn't already know that, but maybe you're in a bit of a reading rut or just looking for ways to freshen up your reading list. Here are some ideas from some of our past blog posts:

• 20 January Releases We're Excited About
• 2022 Book Award Roundup
• Fresh Fall Reads—History Edition
• Find Your Next Series
• 20 Short Books You Can Binge in a Day (or Two)
• Really Big Books: 16 Long Reads that are Worth Your Time

As always, we love hearing from you. So let us know if you have any recommendations for books or ideas that have helped you improve your life. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for daily book recommendations, literary tidbits, and more.

Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon