Probably not a hot take here, but self help books are stupid. And yet, the only books I’ve seen fellow students, from my senior year of high school, to my freshman year of uni, in memory, read anything other than them. Atomic Habits, Rich Dad Poor Dad, “The subtle art of not giving a fu\*k”, even the “good ones” are bad. You’re not going to learn anything from someone else vomiting what they’ve learned through life at you. The best you’ll get out of it, is a rapid change in lifestyle based on someone elses experiences and observations, that they directly narrate to you with no context whatsoever. These authors also, throughout their reading, convince themselves so thoroughly of their rhetoric, and become so commited to the title they planned before they even thought of a single sentence, that they’ll spare you any helpful nuance that experience actually imparts upon you, the things that actually matter, that don’t make you an Andrew Tate, or a Jake Paul. I understand wanting the “secret sauce” or the “it” that “they” “get”, but the only person self help books are helping, is the author.
I never really understood the utility of self help books, when fiction books perfectly impart those same lessons, through a relatable and flawed character, where you can actually put yourself in someone elses shoes, and experience someone elses troubles, and come to the conclusions yourself, instead of hearing someone else say something that sounds like it makes sense at first, and connecting it to your own lacking experiences.l
I’m definitely overgeneralizing, and certainly some people have been “helped” by self help books, but I seriously think they’re a waste of your time.
by RenniSO