What are some Books for Improving the Self?

>>8794470
Philosophy forst of all, as a foundation.
Self-help books next if they are focusing on practice.

Philosophy is probably 80% of the deal.

Thinking Fast and Slow
The Power of Habit

Both are science books, first you need to understand how your brain works before anything else

>>8794478
Wrong. You need to understand how your soul works and science is unable to tell you anything about the soul.

You want the Bible and philosophy.

The Ego and Its Own tbqhfam.

>>8794470
bhagavad gita
the upanishads

>>8794470
Taking actions towards goals and having constructive conversations with other people. No reading required.

File: 51aplFsfwlL.jpg (52KB, 399x500px) Image search: [Google]

52KB, 399x500px

>>8794470
this worked for me

the gospels. john or matthew are good ones to start with.

File: ZenoSunglasses.jpg (61KB, 767x887px) Image search: [Google]

61KB, 767x887px

>>8794470
Jules Evans: "Philosophy For Life And Other Dangerous Ideas".

Svend Brinkmann: "Stand Firm: Resisting the Self-Improvement Craze".

William Irvine: "A Guide To The Good Life".

I think philosophy is preferable to self-improvement in that we don't really have any self to improve. This might sound abstract but neuroscience has proven that there is no neuroanatomical center in the brain where the self, resides. Rather the self is transient and is constructed moment-to-moment upon interaction with the world and other people.
Therefore I would suggest going by philosophy such as stoicism which lays out ideas which are common to being human rather than one individual self. This provides solid markers which you can use to navigate your life.

Absolutely everything. The only question is prioritizing because one lifetime is not enough.
The world is a big, amazing place, and there is so much to learn.
On that note, I think that the most important skills to learn (after you learn how to simply "be"), are those that give you...
Access

Boating. More than half of the world is water.
Scuba/freediving. Most of the world's biodiversity is in the first 30m of that water.
Camping/hiking. The rest of the world's biodiversity is in nature.
Climbing. The world is full of high places.
Flying (if you have the money; sadly, I do not).
Swimming. This doesn't give you access to anywhere, but if you're going to freedive, SCUBA dive, or boat: know how to not die. I'll say more on this later.
These are things that you can do at any point in your youth, and if you learned how to "be" properly (and are not disabled), at nearly any point in your life. But sooner is better.
On the note of learning how to "be" properly, a lot of people clearly don't know or a lot of the problems we have would not exist, so how about a list there?
How to be a good human

Body control. You learn the basics as a baby, but an athletic art form like dance, eastern martial arts, parkour, or gymnastics will get you further.
Nutrition. Learn to eat a balanced diet. Keep your calorie intake/expenditure levels in check. More on this later.
Fitness. As Socrates said, “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."
Finances. Start early with learning how to make a budget and save up for things. I literally started saving my emergency fund in middle school, and by the time I hit high school I had a couple thousand dollars. You are never too young to save. Like nutrition, you want to monitor and control your intake/expenditure levels.
Mental health. All of the things I've said before work towards this. If you mess up in the other areas, you won't be in tip top shape mentally. Even if you do everything right like I said before, sometimes life says "screw you." Don't be afraid to say so when you are out of your depths and need help. One thing to work specifically towards mental health is rejection therapy. Learn to handle rejection, because life is gonna hand you a lot of it. Crushes. Jobs. Loans.

Not dying. Once again, fitness and body control come in, but this is also where we start getting into access-related skills. If you suddenly find yourself in a place you don't have "access" to, because circumstances changed and you no longer have the skillset to exist in that situation (e.g., go overboard, lose your camping supplies), you will get lucky or you will fail, which could mean dying or rejection rearing its ugly head again. Prepare for stuff you're likely to encounter. Learn to defend yourself. If you camp, learn to survive in the wilderness. If you boat or fish, learn how to swim. If you live in America or some other gun-prevalent country, learn how to render one safe at a bare minimum.
Life skills

Language. I would recommend knowing a European language, an Asian language, and English. If your native tongue isn't on this list, obviously learn that language, too.
Maintenance. Know how to fix your primary mode of transportation. If it's a post-mid-2000s car, know the basics. Know how to do common house repairs.
Good member of society. Everything up until now has been selfish, so we need to learn to help people. CPR. First Aid.
Employment. This ties into finances and good member of society. Learn some kind of marketable skill. Forget a job you enjoy; that's a fairy tale for 90% of people (if there is something marketable that you enjoy, ignore that sentence entirely). What you should find is something you can tolerate doing, that leaves you with time and money to pursue what you enjoy doing. Even if you enjoy your job if it's not your passion, make sure it leaves time to pursue things that are.
Expression. Find some way to express yourself that you enjoy. Writing, programming, painting, dancing, an instrument, photography. Learn at least one.
Cooking. Remember when I said more on nutrition later? Well this is it. It's not that hard. Chicks dig it. Dudes dig it. You dig it. Everyone wins. It's cheaper than eating out, too, so unlike a lot of stuff I list, even finances take a net gain here.
Computers. Let's face it. It's the 21st century. Know enough about computers that if you do have to call for help, IT won't facedesk when they read your ticket. And definitely know how to search the internet effectively with your favorite search engine.
Networking... if I knew how to do this well enough to give advice, I wouldn't be lamenting in a parenthetical that I don't have enough money to learn to fly. Know your people skills.
Law. Know your rights where you live and where you do business/travel.
Just for fun

Not everything has to have a purpose. Some of it is just fun. I don't actually have any suggestions here because we each find different things fun. My only advice is to try everything you can and stick with whatever is the most fun for you. If you can't pick just one, guess what?

Humans are amazing creatures, so you don't have to.
Don't let fear hold you back. Learn to thrive in the things you once feared. Water? Learn to freedive. Heights? Learn to climb, fly, or base jump. (This does not apply if it is a fear stemming from a real mental health problem; that should be handled by a professional).
Relationships

Incidentally, most of what I've listed so far is also helpful in finding a relationship: be an interesting dud(ette) and you will meet other interesting people, some of whom will be of the sex that interests you and some of whom you will have mutual attraction with.
But some stuff matters exclusively for relationships. "I don't understand wo(men)!" That's not a personal problem; the reason you failed is because it is impossible. (S)He is not simply a (wo)man. They are a person with all the value, intricacies, secrets, problems, dreams, etc. that you have. Treat them accordingly. The key to deserving a good (wo)man is being the kind of person a good (wo)man deserves. Oh and two skills here (they apply to all relationships and sometimes to other places as well):
Arguing productively. There are whole books on this, so I won't try to cover it here. All I can say is when someone gets mad, it stops being productive.
Etiquette. Again, there are whole books. For guys I recommend Peter Post's "Essential Manners for Men." It's not quite the de facto rule book that his mother's book is, but it has what it needs.
Closing

Let me end by saying this is by no means a complete list. This is to get you started. As I said, the world is a big, beautiful place. More than death, you should fear not truly living.

>>8795423
Let's reformulate OP's question than in improve skills. improve communication skills, time management skills, self discipline... let's summarize it as "self-improvement" without going all philosophical about the self itself.