2021 Personal Growth Reading Challenge

WHEW, we’re almost there: 2021. As a meme I saw recently said, “March again in three months? I’m still processing last March…”

While last year did feel like it went on for eleventy-hundred years, it seems like for a lot of people (me included), there were pockets of unexpected good to be found amongst the challenges, even because of the challenges; moves, career changes, re-evaluation of life priorities, new opportunities, and more. If you want the chance to reflect on these, I shared some end-of-year journaling prompts here.

Whether the last year has felt more like riding the wave or a dramatic wipeout, time marches onwards and the new year is almost here. With that in mind, I want to share a new personal growth reading challenge for 2021—one that is low-pressure, flexible, and gives you the chance to turn inwards and reflect on the most important areas of your life.

As the last year has shown, much can happen in the world that is beyond our control. But, when we take our view from 20,000 feet to two inches, there is plenty in our immediate lives we can do to support ourselves. That’s what this reading challenge is all about: paying attention to and nurturing those areas of life that can make a tangible difference to our day-to-day experience.

The monthly themes are aligned with those in The Year of You: 365 Journal Writing Prompts for Creative Self-Discovery (now officially an Amazon best-seller!), so if you’re working through the journaling prompts in the book, this challenge makes a great complement to that.

2021 Personal Growth Reading Challenge

A couple of notes about this year’s challenge:

• I’ve made this challenge more minimal than previous years. A book a month is focused but doable and gives us all time to read and digest at leisure.

• I purposefully haven’t shared suggestions for specific books at this point (although I will share progress updates through the year on Instagram using the hashtag #bwya2021readingchallenge and here on the blog). Choose a book that speaks to you, even if it doesn’t fit the topic perfectly.

• If a certain topic doesn’t feel relevant? Find a book that does. The below is just a guideline; feel free to use what works, leave what doesn’t, and make it your own.

Here are the monthly themes for this year’s reading challenge.

A book about…

• January: Identity (what makes you you, personality, authenticity)

• February: Your past (including familial relationships)

• March: Your environment (what’s directly around you—for example, your home—or a broader aspect of environment)

• April: Fun

• May: Your career

• June: Your relationships (romantic and friendships)

• July: Your growth

• August: Money

• September: Travel and adventure

• October: Your health

• November: Spirituality

• December: The Future

You can also find these themes in a handy dandy checklist you can print off: