Caution: Self Help

I don’t know exactly how many personal development or popular self improvement books sell each year – but I do know that it is the fastest area of growth in publishing with millions of books being sold each year. I also know that, if you tune into your evening news, look at any newspaper or go browsing the web’s chat-rooms and forums, these self help books make little or no difference.

Surveys conclude that we are more anxious, stressed and worried than ever before – even a global war didn’t give rise to such abject fear as we are witnessing in a millennium where we all swallowed the idea that humankind was finally moving to a new level. Indeed, the wartime spirit that galvanized nations into powerful forces during World War II, has vanished from a brave new world where obsession with money – or needing enough of it to feel secure – is the the way most people in the developed world now operate and it’s every man for himself. What the hell has happened – and I use the world ‘hell’ deliberately because it appears to me that everyday life for many is much nearer to hell than heaven.

Bestsellers like ‘The Secret’ and ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ point towards a brighter, better life if you use your mind in the appropriate manner. On the other hand, Barbara Ehrenreich in her book, ‘Smile or Die’, claims that positive thinking has destroyed the US and ruined the world.

Having worked in the self improvement ‘business’ since 1996 – having started out before it was fashionable to confide in your friends or colleagues that you were ‘into it’ – I am firmly of the belief that people who read these self help books are not just fooling themselves but are a danger to themselves and those around them. They read a bit, get high on a little ‘feel-good’ after-glow, perhaps even put something of what they’ve read into practice for a bit and then convince themselves that things are either better or, even more dangerous, about to get better – this is a general excuse for doing absolutely nothing whilst ‘waiting for something to happen’.

Books don’t change your life. Action is what changes your life – real action every day – action that you have to take yourself. And I’ve seen precious little evidence of action. Sure, I see plenty of reaction – but everybody reacts, we’re experts at is and it makes the world we live in worse rather than better.

So, put away your self help books and ask yourself this probing question? What action could you take today that will improve your lot if life? Not knowing your life, I’ve no idea whether major change is called for or, maybe it’s just something small. But I do know this – I am regularly questioning myself, challenging myself making certain that I keep taking the little and large actions that need to be done to push – yes, you’ve got to push yourself – my life towards more and more happiness and excitement. And I regularly see the results.