The 3-Book Rut Recovery Plan (Read Them in This Exact Order)
I’m willing to bet you’ve experienced a rut once of twice in your life.
Like you’re doing the things, but none of them feel right. You’re tired. Your motivation's hiding. And you’re wondering if this fog is your new normal.
I’ve felt it. So I started reading. And I found that these three books—read in this specific order—shifted something for me. They met me exactly where I was. And little by little, they helped me move again.
1. Start Here. This book is the pal who makes you feel like you’re not certifiable
This one cracked me open.
Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art calls it Resistance. That invisible force that shows up as procrastination, self-doubt, scrolling, cleaning your kitchen for no reason. Basically anything to avoid the work that matters.
Reading it was the first time I realized: oh. This isn’t just me being lazy or broken. This is fear, disguised as logic. And I can talk back to it. I can say, “F*ck off. I'm doing it anyway.” Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s one small step.
This book helped me stop feeling ashamed for being stuck. And that alone lifted something, which is why it’s the first book in my suggested trilogy.
2. Next, feel it and figure out how to reset.
After naming the rut, I had to sit in it.
Brené Brown’s Rising Strong met me in that middle place. The part where you’re not where you used to be, but you’re not quite moving forward either.
It helped me realize how often I try to skip over the “messy middle.” I want to go from stuck to thriving, without feeling anything in between. But real change doesn’t work like that. You’ve got to sit with the story you’re telling yourself, then choose a new one.
This book reminded me that being in a rut isn’t failure. It’s just a pause. And you can get back up.
3. Now you’re ready to hear the plan & start moving differently
This one came last for a reason. By the time I picked up The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett, I was ready to move. Not sprint. Just… shift.
This book doesn’t hand you a productivity system. It asks you better questions. It made me think about how I talk to myself, where my energy goes, and whether the way I’m working even feels like me.
It’s a mix of business, self-reflection, and deep honesty. And for the first time in a while, I felt like oh wait. I want to try again. Not because I “should,” but because I was ready to care again.
It helped me take small action without putting my entire identity on the line. And that’s what I needed. Not a plan. Just permission.
These books are investments. You’ll keep coming back to them in your life. Different chapters, earmarks, highlights.
You don’t need to read all three of these books right now. But if even one of them calls to you, pick it up. Start where you are.
To recap, here’s the order that helped me:
The War of Art showed me I’m not alone in the resistance.
Rising Strong helped me process what I was carrying.
The Diary of a CEO gave me something to do with it.
Start small.
You’ll feel yourself coming back.
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