My reading list for 2021 & the surprise gift of patience
Boredum.
For my adult mind, it’s the glorious, luxurious feeling of having absolutely sweet FA to do.
No servitude for my teenage master, no commitment “pings” from my planner. Having my work life neatly tucked behind committed boundaries & not feeling an obligatory inkling of guilt for my undone household chores.
I feel no need to fill empty hours. Nor do I wish time away. My mind is finally able to bask in an afternoon of nothingness without the constant urge of needing to drive anything forward, in fear of missing out.
In 2021, for the first time in forever, I felt boredom. And it was wonderful.
While I started reading a book-a-week in 2017 to chorale my anxious thoughts & grow my burnout induced, non-existent attention span, I didn’t realise I was quietly developing another mind-tool on the side.
Patience.
Noun/: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Acceptance a full life is not a fulfilled life
Acceptance of the things I cannot change
Acceptance that drive must be balanced with idling
Acceptance that rushing blinds us to opportunity
Acceptance there is more to gain through the process than by achieving a distant outcome
And acceptance the only person I need to prove anything to, is myself
When I read, my mind becomes preoccupied by the words & engulfed in their meaning. It pulls me into the present & allows me to accept exactly where I am. In that moment, the rest of life’s bustle, stands still.
This year, I’ve fallen a few books shy of my total of 52. A reality that I’m surprised doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
In fact, it puts an enormous smile on my face.
Reading a-book-week is about my commitment to my mental fitness, not the achievement of a number.
It’s about holding myself accountable for addressing my mind’s frailties & using my innate strength of discipline to create a plan that works for me. Without my reading a book a week, I never would have written or self-published my work well-being memoir, My Beautiful Mess.
Reading is now a part of my own story.
For those who think reading a-book-a-week is “easier said than done”, I get it. I felt exactly the same way.
My gentle comment to you, all great things are hard. From my experience, it’s worth every effort.
Peta x
High performance Coach | Commercial Growth Consultant | Speaker |
Author of My Beautiful Mess - Living through burnout & rediscovering me
Here are my books for 2021!
Please feel free to join me on Instagram @petasitcheff , follow my journey for 2022 or drop a recommendation in my DMs.
Sensitive is the New Strong – The power of empaths in an increasingly harsh world
Anita Moorjani
Atlas of the Heart – Mapping meaningful connection & the language of human experience
Brené Brown
The Resilience Project - Let’s Go – It’s time for us to let go of shame, expectation & addiction to social media
Hugh Van Cuylenburg
What Happened to You – Conversation on trauma, resilience & healing
Bruce D Perry & Oprah Winfrey
Anxiety at Work – 8 strategies to help teams build resilience, handle uncertainty & get stuff done
Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton
The Big Leap – Conquer your hidden fear & take life to the next level
Gay Hendricks
Masters of Scale – Surprising truths from the world’s most successful entrepreneurs
Reid Hoffman
The Happiest Man on Earth – A Holocaust survivor shares how he found gratitude, kindness & hope in the darkest of places
Eddie Jaku
The Panic Years – dates, doubts & the mother of all decisions
Nell Frizzell
My Life in Full – Work, family & our future
Indra Nooyi
No Cure for Being Human (and other truths I need to hear)
Kate Bowler
The Everyday Hero Manifesto – Activate your positivity
Robin Sharma
Invention: A Life
James Dyson
The Act of Living – What great psychologists can tell us about surviving discomfort in the age of anxiety
Frank Tallis
Educated – A memoir
Tara Westover
Life is Tough & So Are You
Briony Benjamin
Plan B – a guide to navigating & embracing change
Shannah Kennedy
Fully Human – A new way of using your mind
Steve Biddulph
Power Play – breaking through bias, barriers & boys clubs
Julia Banks
The Leading Edge – Dream Big, spark change & become the leader the world needs you to be
Holly Ransom
Burnout – a guide to identifying burnout & paths to recovery
Gordon Parker, Gabriella Tavella & Kerrie Eyers
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig
All In – How obsessive leaders achieve the extraordinary
Robert Bruce Shaw
The Kindness Revolution – How we can restore hope, rebuild trust & inspire optimism
Hugh Mackay
When Things Fall Apart – heart advice for difficult times
Pema Chödrön
How to do the Work – Recognise your patterns, heal from your past & create your self
Dr Nicole LePera “The Holistic Psychologist”
When We Become Strangers – how loneliness leaks into our lives & what we can do about it
Maggie Hamilton
Can’t Even – How millennials became the burnt out generation
Anne Helen Peterson
Emotional Female – A brilliant young surgeon’s journey through ambition, dedication, exploitation & burnout
Yumiko Kadota
The Way to Integrity
Martha Beck
The Mind Strength Method – Four steps to curb anxiety, conquer worry & build resilience
Dr Jodie Lowinger
The Woman Who Lost the Sun
Dr Carrie Hayward
Raising Leaders – Using the principles of parenting at work to become & create great leaders
Wendy Born
Limitless – upgrade your brain, learn anything faster & unlock your exceptional life
Jim Kwik
Magnetic Stories – Connect with customers & engage employees with brand storytelling
Gabrielle Dolan
Silence – The power of quiet in a world full of noise
Thich Nhat Hanh
Start Where You Are – how to accept yourself & others
Pema Chödrön
Truths From an Unreliable Witness
Fiona O’Loughlin
No Rules Rules – Netflix & the culture of reinvention
Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer
Think Again – The power of knowing what you don’t know
Adam Grant
The FBI Way – Inside the bureau’s code of excellence
Frank Figliuzzi
The Most Powerful You – 7 Brave paths to building the career of your dreams
Kathy Caprino
Conscious Leadership – Elevating humanity through business
John Mackey
Welcoming the Unwelcome – Wholehearted living in a brokenhearted world
Pema Chödrön
The Values Compass – What 101 countries teach us about purpose, life & leadership
Dr Mandeep Rai
Brave Not Perfect – Fear less, fail more, live bolder
Reshma Saujani
No Time Like The Future – An optimist considers mortality
Michael J. Fox