Star Psychologist Adam Grant Says Reading These 3 Books Will Make You Happier in 2025

Are you hoping for a happy, productive, and successful year in 2025? Wharton psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant has some reading suggestions for you. In a new Substack post, Grant named 10 books coming out in January or February this year that he says will “feed your mind.”

Two of the books, he writes, will lead to greater happiness and well-being. And a third can help you fix what’s not working in your company, your workday, and your daily life. It’s well worth checking out the whole list of 10 books, but these three have the potential to change your life for the better. And the happier you are, the better you’re likely to do in every area of your work and life.

Most of us often feel out of control of our emotions much. (Just consider how you felt the last time someone rudely cut you off in traffic.) But what if you could manage those emotions and get them to work for you instead of against you? In Shift, Kross, a professor in both psychology and business at the University of Michigan teaches readers how to use their emotions so that they are a tool rather than a curse. “This is a page-turner from a top psychologist that’s grounded in science and filled with practical insights,” Grant writes. The book comes out February 4.

The book’s subtitle is, “How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life.” And that’s exactly the argument Oishi makes in what sounds like a fascinating book. Most of us believe that a good life contains both happiness and meaning, which might mean different things to different people. But maybe there’s more. “Building on his pioneering research, this psychologist introduces a third dimension of the good life: having new and interesting experiences,” Grant writes. Life in Three Dimensions comes out February 4 and sounds like a fascinating read.

Feeling frustrated or feeling stuck, especially at work? Reading this book might really help. Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working uses a systems approach to help you find the areas where a relatively small effort can yield a disproportionately big benefit. As Grant notes, Reset is a sequel to Heath’s huge bestseller Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, co-authored with his brother Chip Heath. “One of my favorite behavioral science communicators explores how to fix what’s broken,” Grant writes. Reset comes out January 21.

Reading these three books sounds like a great way to boost your own happiness in the coming hear. And here’s another. There’s a growing audience of Inc.com readers who receive a daily text from me with a self-care or motivational micro-challenge or tip. Often, they text me back and we wind up in a conversation. (Want to know more? It’s easy to try it out and you can easily cancel anytime. Here’s some information about the texts and a special invitation to a two-month free trial.) These texts can help you look beyond your daily tasks, bring mindfulness to both your work and your life, and may help you be happier as well.