Books like The Power to Change

I’m a person who thrives on having a peace-filled life, and the notifications and noise from constant technology can overstimulate me and keep me from being productive and creative. As soon as I read this title, I knew I needed it.

He promotes embracing a philosophy of using digital tools only when they support your deeply held values, help you reach your goals, and allow you to do deep work undistracted. He talks about doing a 30-day “digital declutter” to break tech addictions and rediscover offline activities that bring satisfaction. He emphasizes solitude, high-quality leisure, and intentional tech use to reclaim control over our time and attention.

The book offers practical strategies to escape digital overwhelm and live a more focused, fulfilling life rooted in purpose and human connection. He explains how constant connectivity and digital noise erode focus, well-being, and meaningful relationships.

I’ve devoted my life to helping teen girls know their God-given worth, thrive mentally, and live purposefully. When I was 18 and 21, I was hospitalized for depression and suicidal thoughts—something rarely talked about then. Today, one in three teen girls seriously considers suicide.

Social media is fueling this crisis, and I share Jonathan Haidt’s righteous anger. His research confirms what I’ve seen: social media isn’t just correlated with mental health issues—it causes them. His solutions, like restoring a play-based childhood and holding off social media for kids until age sixteen, echo my own.

This book is essential reading for every adult who cares about kids. It will stir you to act. This is a book every parent, educator, mental health professional, and adult should read. It is full of practical tips and suggestions that will protect kids. This should make you so righteously angry you’ll want to do something… show more.

A year ago, my life felt chaotic, and my soul a bit unhinged. I lacked peace and was often distracted and restless. From the nonstop onslaught of the world’s atrocities to the noise of social media, I felt consumed by the world's chaos and yearned for a simpler and more peaceful life.

The instant I read the title, I hit “add to cart” and “purchase.” When it showed up on my doorstep two days later, I devoured it and began implementing the practices he teaches, like the one-minute pause and the freeing concept of “benevolent attachment.”

His teaching has helped me reconnect with God, slow down, and begin to live life as intended. I truly feel like it helped me get my life back. And my joy. This book will help you be present, guard your heart, slow down, enjoy the beauty of creation, and find renewal in God through… show more.

I consider the author to be a thought leader among believers and has a fascinating reflection on how the digital world, and in particular, social media, has transformed our culture and the damage it has done.

He reflects on how it is numbing our minds, distorting our values, and eroding our spiritual and emotional well-being. He encourages Christians to resist digital addiction by pursuing wisdom, depth, and real-life community. He has a compelling critique of digital culture and a redemptive vision for reclaiming our attention, cultivating discernment, and living faithfully in an age of noise and distraction.

This book has helped me have an even more comprehensive understanding of the serious spiritual ramifications that social media and our devices bring and how they impact us on a soul level. 

Any kind of growth and improvement requires change. And change is hard! In the crowded field of books on habit change, Smart Change is a quiet standout. It’s one of the few on the topic written by an actual psychologist and the benefits of that are quickly apparent. But don’t be concerned it’s written like a textbook—it’s not. It’s relatable, interesting, and filled with easy, actionable ideas on changing any kind of habits and adopting lasting new behaviors that will feed your success. This is a book I refer to over and over again for both myself and my clients.

This is a fantastic read if you want to understand not only the why behind why you feel anxious, but more importantly, what you can do about it.

By understanding how the vicious cycle of anxiety can take root, Dr. Brewer does an incredible job of teaching us how we can change our behavioral patterns, particularly through mindfulness and distress tolerance. This is also a great read if you’ve ever wanted to kick a habit, like smoking, and have been unsuccessful in changing your behavior in the past. 

Like the prior book, this book takes principles from both science and mindfulness and applies them to life in interesting ways that help me feel strong and capable.

I love how it gives me perspective on aging and the various changes that we all undergo, both chosen and inevitable. The book’s concept of “rugged flexibility” applies super well for athletes, but it also reminds me to be resilient at work, in family life, and in all my relationships.

As a lifelong educator and coach, I’m constantly helping people think about their futures. One piece of advice I always give is to grab a copy of this book. Johnson is a futurist who works with large corporations, governments, and institutions on planning for the years and decades ahead. In this book, he brings his “future casting” process to the individual level, helping people change their story about their future and then showing them how to get there.

The future can feel daunting. Before reading this book, even I used to get tripped up thinking about it. Johnson reassures us with his measured thoughts on the topic and his clear, actionable program for seeing the future and your rightful place in it.

I love the science behind influence and changing minds. This Harvard professor and psychologist shares the science and gets into the nitty gritty of shifting someone’s beliefs. I love to geek out on the studies and charts that are shared in this book. He provides a process for persuasion and how to influence in stages. He helps us realize we all persuade and influence every day and in every career.

Learning to set boundaries – with work and with other people – was essential to helping me to recover from burnout, and this book is a practical how-to guide for how and why to set them.

In my own life, and in my work as a clinical psychologist, I have seen how chronic people-pleasing tendencies, and saying “yes” to everything, can lead to exhaustion and burnout. Having this book as a tool has helped me to be more intentional about saying no, and more assertive about standing up for my own needs.

As the author, Nedra Glover Tawwab, states in the book, “Burnout is overwhelming, and boundaries are the cure.” I couldn’t agree more!