My Dad loves setting goals. We grew up in a family where New Years Day involved some sort of goal brain-storming session. It was something we groaned at and moaned about (and looking back on some of them now I must admit to smirking a little), but on the whole, I am surprised by how many actually came to pass.

The practice has lapsed greatly over the past decade. Something to do with having young children seems counter-intuitive to making any sort of plans, but along the way I have started to reclaim a little of my former driven self.

Nowadays it is less of what I hope to achieve, however, and who I want to be instead.

Motherhood has a insidious propensity to swallow you whole, if you let it, allowing long held dreams to fade into the background as we give ourselves over completely to the tending of others. While there is some light in this notion, to surrender everything in the name of becoming ‘Mum’ really ends up doing no one any favours. Our children are engaged in a process of separation from us from the very moment at which they are born and this only seems to speed up as they grow. I have found that I am so much less resentful and so much more alive when I allow myself the freedom to pursue my own loves and life as well.

Goals may not be your thing, and to be honest, they still haven’t really taken a hold for me either (sorry, Dad!), but I do have a yearly book list – a time-honed collection of tomes that inspire and reorient me, turning me back towards the person I want to become. I gain new insights each time I read them and remind myself of what is important.

Here are my top three books to read each year:

Essentialism (Greg McKeown)

This book is packed with rich insights into how to build a thriving, successful, meaningful life. Essentialism is a way of living – shunning busyness, embracing a life of no regrets, setting boundaries to ensure your days match your values. It is endlessly practical, applicable to career and family and is a breath of fresh air in a world that pulls us in so many unnecessary directions.

The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo)

If you aren’t into self-help type titles but love fiction, this one is for you! Following the journey of Santiago – an Andalusian shepherd boy – as he roams the world in search of treasure, this book is packed with wisdom about appreciating the journey, following one’s dreams and listening to your heart. Coehlo is a thoughtful and layered thinker, and if you want more, you can listen to his interview with Krista Tippett of On Being ‘The Alchemy of Pilgrimage‘.

French Women Don’t Get Fat (Mireille Guiliano)

Thanks to the timely recommendation of a great friend, I rediscovered this book recently and absolutely loved it. I’m not at all a diet person (I love food far too much for that!) and Guiliano captures perfectly the paradox that is the French way of life – savouring the little moments and tastes, enjoying the delights, while also rethinking the movements of the everyday activities and how they can be used to best advantage. I am a French woman at heart and I’m learning to live more like one thanks to this title. (And although the title seems exclusive to women, I do believe that there is much in there that could be easily translated to men as well!)

Now, over to you! What are your must-read annual titles? Those books that get you every time and you learn something new when you revisit them? Let me know down below!