My Favorite Tools and Resources for Self-Development

This blog post discusses all of the tools and resources that have helped to change my life in the past couple of months. I talk about my favorite podcasts, books, YouTube channels, and more. All of these resources have shaped me into a more happy, healthy, and spiritual person. Enjoy!

If you haven’t noticed from my recent YouTube videos, social media posts, and overall internet vibe…I’ve changed a lot. Changed in a good way. I’ve become an entirely different person in just a few months and am finally on a path of peace and happiness.

Amazing, right?!

I’ve always hoped to get to this point, yet never fully believed it would happen. It seemed like a magical, fairy-tale land that I could dream about, but not actually go to.

But alas, here I am.

The past couple of months of my life have been full of major transformations mentally, spiritually, and physically. In the summer of 2020, I had hit an all-time-low with my mental health (which is a tough title to come by considering I’ve struggled with my mental health for years). However, the silver lining in that situation was that there was nowhere else to go but up.

If I could date the pivotal moment where change began, it would be with this video: “I gave myself permission to do nothing for the rest of 2020”.

Starting from square-one, I first allowed myself to rest. It wasn’t glamorous. Most days were spent in bed, doing the bare-minimum, simply making it through to the next day. However, after giving my brain a break from the years of unrealistic expectations I built up for myself, I slowly but surely started to implement new habits into my lifestyle.

I’ve showcased many of these habits in my videos (especially my weekly vlogs), so I won’t be discussing the details of them here. For context, some of the daily practices I’ve since added into my life are yoga, meditation, journaling, law of attraction, manifestation, shadow work, spirituality, etc.

Related post: How To Start Journaling

Again, this post won’t be discussing the habits themselves (although I will link to any future posts written about them). Rather, this blog post will be all about the tools and resources I used to get to this point.

How did I start building these habits? Where did I learn to do yoga and meditation? What did I read? Listen to? Was there a specific guide or plan I followed?

Before I get into the resources, I must emphasize that there is no definitive path I took or could give you, that will lead you to the results I’ve had. Everybody’s journeys and destinations are different. You can use the same tools, but will most likely have different interpretations of them than I did. Which is totally okay! Encouraged even, because we are all living individual, unique realities.

Discovering all of these resources simply came from my unwavering desire to learn and grow as much as I could. I kept an open mind and was led to the right people, places, and corners of the internet to find them. Also, many of these tools have led to one another!

Here are the top resources that have helped me grow into a better, happier, more spiritually-aligned person in the past couple of months:

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Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, meaning I will make a small commission if you choose to use them. It helps to support the time I put into writing these posts! Thank you 🙂

Podcasts

One of the new habits I’ve implemented into my life are daily, hour-long walks. Sometimes I enjoy walking in silence, simply being with my thoughts or listening to nature, but these walks are the perfect time to listen to podcasts. And an hour a day, almost every day, means I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts.

Mindset, Magic, and Manifestation

My absolute favorite podcast is the Mindest, Magic, and Manifestation podcast by Mikayla Jai. I seriously cannot recommend it enough. Mikayla talks all-things personal growth using manifestation and mindset techniques, spirituality, practical action steps, with a no-bullshit (but light-hearted) attitude.

I love this podcast because Mikayla and I have very similar lifestyles: she’s 22, an entrepreneur, and into all-things-spiritual. Whatever she talks about, I can relate to in some way. There’s never an episode I don’t learn from or am uninterested in. (I think I’ve actually listened to every one of her episodes, and definitely a few multiple times over.)

This podcast just has everything I could ask for wrapped into one, and Mikayla’s personality is like hearing it all from your kick-ass best friend. It has opened my mind to so many new concepts about spirituality, manifestation, and living your best, badass life.

Link to podcast here | Mikayla’s Instagram

Manifestation Babe

Manifestation Babe by Kathrin Zenkina discusses just what the title suggests: manifestation. Kathrin, like Mikayla, is another high-vibe, motivating woman that has taught me so much about the law of attraction, manifestation, energy work, spirituality, etc.

She makes these concepts easy to understand, shares her personal success stories, as well as brings on a variety of interesting guests to share theirs. An overall extremely motivating podcast.

Link to podcast here | Kathrin’s Instagram

Ella Ringrose Podcast

You guessed it! Another spirituality-centered podcast hosted by an inspirational young woman. Ella’s podcast just gives me the best vibes because it feels like I’m having a lovely chat with an old friend. You can tell she truly cares and is excited about providing the best information, stories, and advice to her listeners.

Link to podcast here | Ella’s Instagram

Honorable Mentions:
The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast
The GaryVee Audio Experience
The Health Code Podcast
The Ed Mylett Show

YouTube

YouTube is quite literally my life. I could accredit at least 90% of what I know from going straight to YouTube and Google with every question, interest, and inclination I have. Of course, you probably already do this too, so here are some specific ways I’ve used (and still use) YouTube during my personal development journey.

*Fun fact: Although YouTube presents itself as a social media platform, it is actually the second largest search engine behind Google!*

Yoga with Adriene

When I decided that I wanted to start doing yoga, I simply learned by following yoga practices on YouTube. There are literally millions of amazing yoga videos, but Yoga With Adrienne quickly became my favorite. Every day I would sit on my floor, open up YouTube, and randomly pick a video of hers to follow. It became my ritual.

I love Yoga With Adriene for many reasons: her flows are extremely beginner-friendly, her energy is soothing and welcoming, and because she has hundreds of videos, there’s a yoga flow for every situation.

I seriously cannot recommend her enough to every person that asks me about yoga. Like I mentioned, there are so many other great yogis and practices on YouTube that I sometimes go to when I want to ~switch things up~. And let’s not forget another amazing detail, they’re all for free!

Link to Yoga With Adriene here.

Guided Meditations

YouTube has also immensely aided me in my meditation journey. I find that meditation feels very unapproachable to many people because the thought of sitting there in silence for an extended period of time seems borderline insane. Let me let you in on a secret…you do not have to meditate in silence!

Like yoga flows, there are millions of guided meditations for you to follow. Simply search “guided meditation for ________” (peace, anxiety, sleep, beginners…you fill in the blank). Starting with these helped me build my meditation practice.

After listening to dozens of different guided meditations, some have become my favorites. Here are a few I recommend:

If I’m not in the mood to follow a guided meditation, then I’ll simply play some hz frequencies while meditating on my own. If you’re unfamiliar with hz frequencies, they are essentially specific vibrations that align your brainwaves to their energy (because everything in the Universe is made of energy). Again, you can just search “hz frequency for ________” (healing, positivity, manifestation, etc.). 

My personal favorites are:
417 hz – removing negativity
432 hz – mental and emotional clarity
963 hz – spiritual connection

Pretty much these just act as background music to my meditation sessions so I don’t have to sit there in complete silence. If I find my mind wandering, I simply refocus my attention on the music.

Tarot Readings

Before owning tarot cards and doing my own readings, I watched a lot of tarot readings on YouTube. These videos not only got me interested in tarot in the first place, but also helped me to get acquainted with the meanings of the cards. All I did was search “tarot reading for (insert your zodiac sign here)” and it led me to a lot of great readers that I would watch on a weekly basis.

Now that I have my own deck of tarot cards, I use Biddy Tarot as my #1 reference for their meanings. The site has comprehensive descriptions of all the cards and their reversals.

Other topics I frequently research on YouTube:
– Astrology and learning about my birth chart
– Law of Attraction and manifestation techniques
– History of these spiritual practices

*Disclaimer: I wanted to mention that all of these resources I discuss are simply tools. I recommend that you do not take anything you see or hear for the absolute truth without doing more research on it and coming to your own conclusions. I use all of these resources in conjunction with each other to try and find the best, most reliable information on whatever topic I’m researching. Just food for thought!

Books

If you didn’t already know, I am a sucker for self-help books. It might actually be concerning the number of self-help books I have read at only 21 years old… Anyways!

Here are some of the books that have helped shape me into who I am today:

You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

This book is practically my bible. I don’t remember when I got it, maybe some time in high school, but I have read it at least 7 times. Yes. That many.

Something about this book just connects all the right dots in my brain and motivates the hell out of me. The writing style of Sincero is easy-going, approachable, and entertaining (I actually take a lot of inspiration from her writing for my own). It’s like reading a letter from your best friend. She has a direct, no-bullshit approach to owning your power and making life work for you.

You Are A Badass is a great book for beginners because it talks about topics like law of attraction and manifestation, without exclusively stating that’s what it’s about. It’s filled with silly anecdotes and Sincero’s personal struggles that make it easy for anyone to relate to.

Like I said, I have read this book a ridiculous amount of times yet still go back to it over and over. Each time I read it I learn something new or it reminds me of important lessons I may have forgotten. 10/10 recommend.

Link to buy this book here.

You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

Although this book is about money making, I can give it the same praise as I did for Sincero’s original You Are A Badass book. Honestly, I may even like this one more.

Yes, it’s about money. It may make some people uncomfortable to even buy in the first place. But, if you’re feeling that way, then you probably need to read it (*wink*). However, the information in this book extends far beyond money and can be applied to virtually every aspect of your life.

Both of my You Are A Badass books are well-read and heavily highlighted, so when I’m feeling like I need a pick-me-up, I simply flip open a page and am guaranteed to find something valuable.

Link to buy this book here.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic is for all my fellow creatives out there. It discusses owning your creativity (which we all have – it doesn’t have to be in a literal, artistic sense!) and going for your dreams.

Being a creative is hard. Our society pretty much tells us that it’s pointless – we should get “real” jobs that are “secure” blah blah blah. This book is just a nice reminder that doing what you’re passionate about is always the right path, even if it’s not a traditional one. Like the others, I have read this book a few times, have my favorite parts highlighted, and can pick it up anytime for some motivation.

Link to buy this book here.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

You all have probably heard of the Marie Kondo Method (or officially named “KonMari Method”) of organization. If not, you must read this book.

The title is accurate because this book did change my lifestyle and mindset surrounding possessions, spending habits, cleaning and organizing. I read it for the first time probably over 4 years ago and still use her methods of decision-making, organizing, and tidying. I could even accredit this book to helping me become, and stay, a minimalist.

Essentially, Marie Kondo outlines her original method of organizing your home by only keeping possessions that “spark joy”. It’s simple, but effective.

Like I said, I read this book years ago but ever since have used her methods such as: vertical folding clothes in drawers, holding up every item and asking “does this spark joy” when considering to get rid of it, tidying by category not location, and more. Reading this book and transitioning to a more minimalist lifestyle has saved me from unnecessary stress, time, and money.

Link to buy this book here.

Notes:
– I personally loved these books, but there are people out there who hate them…and that’s okay! Only you can decide whether they are beneficial to your life.
– There are still so many books I plan on reading, so I will update this list as I see fit.

Pinterest

Finally, good ol’ Pinterest.

Like Youtube, Pinterest presents itself as a social media platform but it is actually another search engine! Therefore, it is optimized for you to search whatever you desire and then curate your home feed to those interests.

I will use Pinterest to research any and all of the topics previously discussed. What I love about it is that it exposes me to so many interesting and insightful blogs that I would’ve otherwise never found (probably how you found my blog too!). Anytime I’m ready to research something new, I use my holy trinity – Google, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Here are some specific topics that I frequently use Pinterest to learn about:
– Tarot card meanings and interpretations
– Tarot card spreads
– Moon cycles and rituals
– Journaling prompts (especially shadow work)
– Astrology
– Human Design (this is a new topic I’ve discovered and will definitely discuss more)
– Blogging techniques and strategies
– Vegan recipes
– Art inspiration, fashion, quotes…everything!

Another thing Pinterest is perfect for is vision boards. This is how most people use Pinterest – to look at pretty and aesthetic pictures. And I’ll be the first one to say that is 100% okay! Actually, it’s a great tool for manifesting.

I leisurely scroll through the boards I created, filled with images of things I want to manifest into my life, all the time. I look at the pictures, visualize my life being that way, and use that inspiration to keep working towards those goals. Using Pinterest for visualization is so powerful.

Check out my Pinterest here.

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Whew, that was a lot.

I hope you all found this list of tools and resources helpful! I will be adding to it as I find more, so keep this bookmarked to reference again 😉

Let me reiterate that these are all just tools and that the real change comes from within. Some people will love them as much as I do, others won’t. Both are okay! It all depends on the timing and characteristics of your personal journey. But, I hope for at least some of you, these tools will lead to revolutionary discoveries.

Wishing you all the best of luck and lots of love x