5 Great Reads to Inspire Your FitHer Journey
Reading has been proven to lower the heart rate and reduce stress—it’s a great way to step away from your screen and refocus your brain away from the noise of a busy day!
The team at FitHer love sharing a good book, especially if it motivates, challenges, and inspires. Here are 5 of our favourite reads to inspire you on your FitHer journey.
Image credit: Aidan Hornsby
Atomic Habits - James Clear
We’re a bit obsessed with this book; it feels like the instructions to success that many of us are searching for. Atomic Habits teaches you exactly how to create simple, practical, and achievable habits that ensure success. 1% better than the day before adds up to considerable change over a week, a month, or a year.
After a life-changing accident, James Clear was forced to create new ways to achieve his goals. His exploration and innovation have resulted in James becoming a world-leading expert on habit creation. “Atomic Habits” shares James’ research and wisdom along with the stories of successful leaders, entrepreneurs, and athletes. He debunks the myths about willpower and motivation and instead provides a “path of least resistance” approach to creating powerful and lasting habits.
The Resilience Project - Hugh Van Cuylenburg
The Resilience Project is the story of how and why the program of the same name began in schools, sports teams, and workplaces across Australia and now the globe. It follows Hugh Van Cuylenburg’s journey from being a teenager living with a sibling suffering from mental illness to today, where The Resilience Project workshops have reached over 1,000,000 Australians and played an enormous role in our national wellness.
Hugh tells emotional, impactful, and often hilarious stories from his now more than a decade-long mission to improve the lives of all Australians. His stories give perspective to, and shares empathy with, the challenges many of us confront at various times in our lives. Through the principles of gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness, Hugh gives real-world suggestions on how to bring joy to the world on a daily basis. His manner is generous, fun, and filled with love!
Grit - Angela Duckworth
“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” We have all heard this quote or something similar a million times; it’s regularly touted by athletes and celebrities the world over. The reason that it’s so popular is that it happens to be true!
Former corporate high-flyer, school teacher, and now psychologist, Angela Duckworth, has devoted years to researching the determinants of success. What she discovered, is that talent, regardless of the area of expertise, had little to do with success. Grit - a combination of passion and perseverance - is a primary attribute of almost all successful individuals across all domains of life.
Grit eloquently identifies and describes the qualities that equate to Grit. Angela uses personal stories of successful individuals to illustrate how grit is more often than not central to their achievements. Their stories, along with Angela’s research, will inspire you to find your own grit and teach you how to encourage it in others!
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You Take Care - Laura Henshaw & Steph Claire Smith
You Take Care is a chat with best friends, or perhaps a cool young aunty who wants to share her life experiences with you in the hope that you may feel more joy and less heartache. It’s glittered with open honest stories of triumph and vulnerability as well as some special notes about pregnancy and motherhood.
Unfortunately, humans learn best through natural consequences so sometimes you just have to go through the discomfort in order to grow. Laura and Steph can’t protect you from everything but they do offer the comfort of knowing you are not alone and you can survive. They also gift you some tips and tricks to steel yourself with the confidence, resilience, and self-love to embrace the rollercoaster that is life.
Can’t Hurt Me - David Goggins
Can’t Hurt Me is the story of a man doing his absolute best with the tools he has available to him. It’s an engaging and inspiring story that at times beggars belief. It’s not, however, easy to recommend! In fact, if you are not the most discerning reader or tend to take things very literally, perhaps give this one a miss.
Can’t Hurt Me is the story of a deeply damaged individual and his journey to overcome his demons to push his mind and body beyond normal limits. The book is littered with toxic masculinity, bravado, and sometimes even misogyny, so it feels odd to recommend it here at FitHer.
But despite all of that, there is an underlying theme, whether David Goggins recognises it or not, of self-empowerment, and of strength in the face of adversity. As a teen, David had every reason to check out of life and drown in a dark and painful childhood. Instead, he set himself lofty goals and focused on celebrating his life's victories, big or small. David draws on his “cookie jar” of success to drive himself to achieve incredible things that few humans on the planet could ever dream of.
What are you reading? Connect with us on socials and share a great with the FitHer tribe!