Each and every year tens of millions of ordinary people spend their hard earned money on tens of millions of personal development books. Each year surveys tells us that an increasing number of people are unhappy in their lives, don’t like their job, concerned about their finances or suffering from stress. Am I missing something, or is something really wrong?
One problem, of course, is that too many personal development books are simply feel good books – no better than a good thriller that you can’t put down but that makes no difference to your daily life. Again, more than a few personal development books are penned by millionaire self help ’gurus’ , who couldn’t get their head around the cut and thrust of average everyday existence. The Brian Tracys and Deepak Chopras of this world are not struggling to pay the mortgage or the school fees. Practicing the seven steps to this or the seven secrets to that is simple when you’re rolling in it!
But, the biggest issue that I have with self-help books, however, is that they don’t give ordinary everyday people with the simple, practical daily steps that you can take to change your life. These books don’t provide the reader with any understanding that personal development is something that you have to do not just every day, but many times every day. The reader doesn’t appreciate the commitment needed. Nor will the normal reader be able to understand the benefits – because he or she has yet to do enough to experience them for themselves. Above all, I’ve yet to read a self help book that provides the readers with a compelling enough reason to actually commit to changing how they go about their lives.
Basically, self help books are like poorly produced vacation brochures. These books encourage the reader to read about the destination but they don’t convince the reader to actually purchase your ticket and take the journey. That’s why self improvement writers are becoming wealthier while the ordinary guy in the street looking for a bit of practical advice is getting more disillusioned.
Self help means just what it says – it’s the ultimate do it yourself. If you went out and bought a new electric sander or power saw, you’d read the instructions and then start actually using your new toy. Unfortunately, we were not delivered with a user’s manual – but we do need to understand how we operate before we can operate ourselves to the best of our ability. Before you can alter the course of your life, or simply be happier, you need to know why you’re not happy at present, or why it is that you’re not wholly at ease with who you are. Psychology provides plenty of understanding about how we work – but the problem that I have with psychology is that it’s mainly negative.
But, if you do want to change your life, if you want to take that journey, if you want to experience life the way that it’s meant to be lived, you’ve got to start with the baby steps of, for starters, coming to terms with what makes you tick and, then, the subtle changes that can be simply and repeatedly made to tune up what is an immensely powerful piece of equipment… you.
