Hey HN. I'm in a bit of a rut. Feeling with no sense of goal, unmotivated to do basic shit, and falling back into dangerous old habbits. I have a nice job and still perform well on it. I'm just trying to became inspired as opposed to "smarter", which is what the technical books I usually read do.<p>And yes, going back to therapy is on my line of sight :D
I'll give a casual read that became one of my favorite books:<p>Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan<p>It's got some tech aspects to it since the main character is starting to get into using programming to investigate a mystery and that bit definitely feels motivating. We all have a bunch of problems that we deal with in every day life that we just need a little push to start solving. But it also is just a solid mystery book that's somewhat rooted in history with some great characters (although I think the main character and his love interest are kind of the blandest of the bunch). I don't want to say anymore since I'll get into spoiling it but I'll leave you with this:<p>festina lente
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidential" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidenti...</a><p>Even if you have zero interest in the culinary world, you'll still enjoy the stories - and maybe even get motivated by some of them.<p>The crappiest CRUD-app making Java job in a toxic office is a cushy vacation compared to the life of a chef :)
If you're into audiobooks, I recommend <i>"You're It! On Hiding, Seeking, and Being Found"</i>, a series of talks by Alan Watts [0]. I'm not sure if it can pull you up out of the rut, but it may help you to get out of it sideways.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6583629-you-re-it-on-hiding-seeking-and-being-found" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6583629-you-re-it-on-hid...</a>
I really enjoyed Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. It's more of a kick in the pants than an inspirational book, but it actually helped me think about (and act on) my priorities.
*Master of Doom*<p>My takes (in random order):<p>- Both <i>Johns</i> already bagged years of professional game development experience <i>before</i> ID was formed. Romero started submitting games to magazines in mid-80s and Carmack in 1989. This probably explains why they managed to push out games so fast.<p>- John Carmack went from Apple ][ tile mapped games (Shadowforge and Wraith) to horizontal smooth scrolling (Commander Keen) in about 1 year, and to ray caster (Wolfenstein) in about 1 year, and to BSP (Doom) in a bit more than 1 year, and to real 3D (Quake) in 2.5 years. And this is only the rendering part. He was super focused and super efficient.<p>- Tools are really important to rapid iteration. Romero's 2D editor (forgot the name) was used throughout the early years, which says something.<p>- Early programmers *have* to deal with assembly language routinely. This probably dispelled a lot of "magic" and one of the primary reasons why some of them were so good. Essentially everyone who programs games for long enough is a low level programmer. I wonder if modern programmers should take the same grinding.<p>- This is probably controversial but I believe Romero leaving ID tipped the balance and I find ID games starting from Quake 2 are less interesting.<p>- Everyone who wants to get serious about tech should take a few weeks off and concentrate on learning and working on difficult stuffs. Preferably more time but a few weeks should be the minimum.
Jubilee, Margaret Walker.<p>A tree grows in brooklin, Betty Smith.<p>Cutting for Stone, Abraham Varghese.<p>They are not light reading. But you do feel like you are a better person after you’re done reading them.
The World as Will and Representation, Vol 1, by Arthur Schopenhauer.<p>It is still a very original book, and will strongly influence your thoughts on basically everything: love, music, literature, architecture, science, religion.<p>Volume 1 is also amazingly accessible, and often very funny. If you don't like dry philosophy books which must invent their own language systems, but still fail to bring their basic points across, you will be in good company - because Schopenhauer <i>hates</i> them. He frequently reminds the reader that if someone has truly and fully understood something, he can explain it in simple sentences. And Schopenhauer delivers.<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/World-Will-Representation-Vol/dp/0486217612/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Q9I3SJS1DJC4&keywords=the+world+as+will+and+representation&qid=1652367559&sprefix=world+as+will%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/World-Will-Representation-Vol/dp/0486...</a>
"Seek and ye shall find."<p>Read the New Testament and then the Bhagavad Gita. Jesus's words are uplifting but there's a lot of information that he gave the disciples that didn't make it into the Book. The Gita can be viewed as the "missing manual".<p>- - - -<p>I just lost my cat recently and had a birthday, so I'm in a deeply existential mood.<p>"All things are impermanent." It's as true as true can be. One day the cat is here, fluffy and meowing. The next day the cat is gone, and unlike the one in the story the cat is not ever coming back. <i>Everything</i> is like this: temporary, transient, contingent, impermanent.<p>The only thing, if anything, that we can "take with us" or that outlasts us is the effect we had on the world around us while we were alive. That is the closest thing to a "possession" you'll ever have.<p>So look to that. If you seek meaning in life, try helping people. Be kind. Cherish every moment. Feel and express love.<p>Hope this helps. :)
You might like these btw:<p>I run this site and we have authors pick their favorite books around topics/themes, here are a few that were inspirational/uplifting that might hit the right spot.<p>The best books on actually living before you die
<a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/actually-living-before-you-die" rel="nofollow">https://shepherd.com/best-books/actually-living-before-you-d...</a><p>The best uplifting contemporary novels
<a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/uplifting-contemporary-novels" rel="nofollow">https://shepherd.com/best-books/uplifting-contemporary-novel...</a><p>The best uplifting climate fiction books
<a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/uplifting-climate-fiction" rel="nofollow">https://shepherd.com/best-books/uplifting-climate-fiction</a><p>The best fantasy books that are the most uplifting
<a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/fantasy-that-are-the-most-uplifting" rel="nofollow">https://shepherd.com/best-books/fantasy-that-are-the-most-up...</a><p>My personal rec is Killer of Men by Christian Cameron. I LOVE this book and it really hit me at the right time. I love it as it is written by a Greek warrior looking back over his life as an older man, and it is a great story based on a really interesting time in history. As he walks you through his life I loved his attitude and the way he navigated it, I got a lot of inspiration and lessons from it.
This sounds a bit clichéd, but bear with me:<p>Definitely check out Leonardo da Vinci's biography by Walter Isaacson. It gives a delightful account of da Vinci's life and his exploits. It's hard not to feel inspired after reading it. (It also has 120+ illustrations of da Vinci's drawings and notes. They're all digitized; you can flip through them here[0].<p>A random teaser from a recent comment[1]: da Vinci spent a lot of time dissecting human corpses and horses and made many draft drawings. Then he declares in his notebook, <i>"I'm going to write a treatise on human anatomy; it will be better than those created by surgeons because I can draw exploded views of arms and muscles from different angles."</i> He never finishes it. But, he discovered[2] the functioning of the aortic valve in the heart!<p>[0] <a href="http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=arundel_ms_263" rel="nofollow">http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=arundel_ms_263</a><p>[1] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29495779" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29495779</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/919082/the-aortic-valve" rel="nofollow">https://www.rct.uk/collection/919082/the-aortic-valve</a>
I'd strongly suggest Simon Sinek:<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108725-start-with-why" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108725-start-with-why</a><p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16144853-leaders-eat-last" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16144853-leaders-eat-las...</a><p>presently reading:<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38390751-the-infinite-game" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38390751-the-infinite-ga...</a><p>Before these, I've really appreciated:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effecti...</a><p>Someone already suggested Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl:<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Me...</a>
...and I absolutely agree!<p>Next in my queue is Flow by prof. Mihai Csikszentmihalyi:<p><a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness" rel="nofollow">https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_s...</a><p>Happy reading! :)<p>Edit: formatting
Hope in the dark by Rebecca Solnit[0] is helpful for thinking about your own actions in a larger context<p>The mindful self compassion workbook[1] is a cbt like guidebook to treating yourself well (mentally/emotionally)<p>Brene Brown’s books [2] help mentally reframe shame and give you an added awareness to how your past experiences/mental patterns influence your current experience/interpretation of events. She also has a ted talk on Netflix for a short intro to her overall approach.<p>Braiding Sweetgrass[3] by Robin Wall Kimmerer is currently one of my favorite books. Some aspects are depressing particularly around our current culture but I found it also gave me hope by laying out an alternative and healthier way of interacting with the world.<p>[0] - <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/hope-in-the-dark-untold-histories-wild-possibilities-updated/9781608465767" rel="nofollow">https://bookshop.org/books/hope-in-the-dark-untold-histories...</a><p>[1] - <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/the-mindful-self-compassion-workbook-a-proven-way-to-accept-yourself-build-inner-strength-and-thrive/9781462526789" rel="nofollow">https://bookshop.org/books/the-mindful-self-compassion-workb...</a><p>[2] - <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/daring-greatly-how-the-courage-to-be-vulnerable-transforms-the-way-we-live-love-parent-and-lead-9781592408412/9781592408412" rel="nofollow">https://bookshop.org/books/daring-greatly-how-the-courage-to...</a><p>[3] - <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/braiding-sweetgrass-3e12996d-ea04-4dd2-b9a9-04cfd82f361f/9781571313560" rel="nofollow">https://bookshop.org/books/braiding-sweetgrass-3e12996d-ea04...</a>
"There's no such thing as a dragon" by Jack Kent. It's a short story written for children with a very good message for all ages. Here's a very young Dr. Jordan B. Peterson going through it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54FMA895OA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54FMA895OA</a>
Reading history always makes me feel better. For example the periods after the founding of the US or the period after the end of the US civil war. Turns out we've been doing stupid stuff for a long time. And yet I generally agree with the way we've progressed, even though there's still more to improve.
I’ve been searching for a book that helps me identify some goals for myself for yearsss. Once i get some I’ll have read enough books to know what to do with them but nothing so far has helped me become inspired.<p>Closest I’ve come so far is to read books that make me cry with laughter! I feel at my best after reading these kinds of books and more inspired than any self help book has ever made me feel.<p>My no 1 recommendation is “let’s pretend this never happened” by Jenny Lawson (aka the bloggess) of all her books it’s hands down the best and the funniest and i reread it regularly because it’s so unpredictable and unlikely! (Though the randomness does feel forced at times)<p>The only other book that springs to mind is getting things done by David Allen it helped me sort things out of my head to make room to be inspired.
I highly recommend two books:<p>Awareness by Tony Dmello
and The greatest salesman in the world by Og Mandino<p>Some context: Last year was an awful year, lost my entire net worth and got super depressed- work lost its meaning and took sometime to recover- I wrote about it here: <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvnn3a/i-lost-dollar400000-almost-everything-i-had-on-a-single-robinhood-bet" rel="nofollow">https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvnn3a/i-lost-dollar400000-a...</a><p>But a friend recommended both of those books and they helped me get back on track- PS. I am very much an atheist, so the recommendations might seem offtrack but both of the books carry remarkable advise.
Maybe the problem is you're trying to "feel good" rather than confront feeling bad.<p>My recommendation is Simone de Beauvoir's <i>Ethics of Ambiguity</i>. It details various strategies people have for confronting their own existential terror, and ultimately works to develop an ethical system for a world without meaning.<p>I've found it very insightful for helping to recognize your own behaviors that are effectively ways of denying the true existential questions that are haunting you throughout your life.
I reread "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling whenever I feel I'm in a rut. It's pleasantly soporific during reading, but kicks me back out of the rut at the end. No idea why.
Not self-help books really but I can recommend the George Dyson trilogy for inspiration/perspective.<p>Darwin Among the Machines<p>Turing’s Cathedral<p>Analogia<p>I would also look into the possibility of attending a guided hallucinogen session a la Pollan
I highly recommend “How to Live, or a Life of Montaigne” by Sarah Bakewell. The book follows the life of the French nobleman of the 1500’s who was a wine grower, philosopher, and essayist named Michel Eyquem de Montaigne.<p>The book is organized by his writings on the various aspects of life, and his thoughts on what other philosophers have written on these topics.<p>I found the book to be inspiring, especially for personal journaling of my own thoughts on life.
- The Road to Mecca by Muhammad Asad [0]<p>- Listen to recitation of the Quran [1]<p>0. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Road-Mecca-Muhammad-Asad/dp/1887752374" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Road-Mecca-Muhammad-Asad/dp/188775237...</a><p>1. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22KYHiTrEc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22KYHiTrEc</a>
Maybe an off-the-wall recommendation, but I found Anxious People by Fredrik Backman to be inspirational and uplifting.<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53799686-anxious-people" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53799686-anxious-people</a>
Born a crime by Trevor Noah. It’ll make you laugh and cry, but it is so good and inspirational. The audiobook is also phenomenal.<p>Untamed by Glennon Doyle is also great, though is more geared towards women.<p>Also, the stoics. I’m enjoying the practicing stoic by Ward Farnsworth. They’re surprisingly accessible
The Commanding Self by Idries Shah
It is a curious choice, I admit, but it takes you out of the mundane reality into fresh view of life. Expanding your view is a great cure for depression. I was also very inspired by Shah's "Thinker from the East".
Still Me, Christopher Reeve's Autobiography. It contains not only his story about becoming Superman, and the story of how he coped with disability after falling off a horse, but also the best story about Robin Williams I've ever come across.
<i>A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy</i> by William B. Irvine. A gentle and persuasive introduction to modern Stoicism.<p>Note: Insofar as it aims at tranquility (apatheia = avoidance of passions), it might not help you to get more motivated, though.
Mans Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl really changed my perspective on life. I recommend it wherever I can. Some parts are not so uplifting due to the context, but the overall effect it had on me certainly was
Anything that helps you identify your values so you can align your habits and routines with them:<p>- Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl (existential psychologist and holocaust survivor - some principles of finding meaning in life's circumstances from someone who went through a concentration camp)<p>- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson (Despite the politicized figure he became, the book is more about finding meaning in adopting responsibility with each rule being an example of how to do so)<p>- Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Mason (light hearted self help, but some nice principles in it)<p>- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (a little dated, but contains some nice aphorisms. Audible has a really great version read by Richard Armitage, the guy who played Thorin in the Hobbtit)<p>- Give the New Testament a shot (not everyone's cup of tea, but several billion have found it helpful in finding a meaningful life so its probably worth a shot)<p>Also, don't neglect audio books! I've found going for walkins while listening to these kind of books a great way to relax and reflect.
Crap, the best ones I've read are mostly in Spanish, books by Gabriel Rolón or by Jorge Bucay were really helpful to me to help me reframe my POV of the world.<p>I tried to find translations for them, but with no luck.
It's hard to know what somebody else will find inspiring, but I can share a handful that I personally found to be so:<p><i>The Fountainhead</i> - Ayn Rand<p><i>It's Not About The Bike</i> - Lance Armstrong<p><i>Ultramarathon Man</i> - Dean Karnazes<p><i>Charles Proteus Steinmetz: The Electrical Wizard of Schenectady</i> - Robert Bly<p><i>Report From Engine Co 82</i> - Dennis Smith<p><i>The Universe Speaks in Numbers: How Modern Math Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets</i> - Graham Farmelo<p><i>The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth</i> - Paul Hoffman<p><i>The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan</i> - Robert Kanigel<p>Also, I haven't read it yet myself, but I have heard good things about <i>The Last Lecture</i>[1] by Randy Pausch, and have it queued up to read soon.<p>[1]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Lecture" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Lecture</a>
If you are okay with reading fantasy books: <i>Legends & Lattes</i> by Travis Baldree (a veteran warrior wants to leave violence behind and open a coffee shop)
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott<p>Shoe Dog by Phil Knight<p>Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger<p>How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen<p>Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins
I’ve added some movies I love too :)<p>Books
‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho
‘Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress’ by Steven Pinker
‘Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You’ by Bill Burnett, Dave Evans
‘Exhalation’ and ‘Stories of Your Life and Others’ by Ted Chiang<p>Movies
‘It’s A Wonderful Life’
‘Dead Poet’s Society’
‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’
‘King Richard’
‘Shawshank Redemption’
Anything Studio Ghibli