Self-Help Books

Talks and writings of the law of attraction, and the power of the mind have become very popular nowadays.  Around 7 billion dollars in self-help books are sold each year, and if you count all the audio tapes, infomercials, weight loss programs and personal coaching systems being sold in the United States,  the figure comes close to 10 billion.

From a point of view,  these figures indicate that the general public is leaning toward  a betterment of their own lot in life.   It is a fact that people have the ability to enhance their current level of happiness.  That we can get out of debt, lose weight,  live in an abudance of love, money, and good health.  But if the underlying need to seek improvement stems from a deep sense of being incomplete, not good enough,  unhappy, or depressed,  then no matter how many books we read, tapes we listen to, or seminars we attend to, the continuing need to spend more money on self-improvement systems will never stop growing.

This is not to say that self-help books  do not offer practical advice, or that the reading of them is a complete waste of time.  Many of them are well-written, well-researched, and very helpful indeed.  But from the reader's standpoint, if the need to read them comes from a shaky foundation such as lack or the feeling of inadequacy, the problem will continue to persist, and the buying and collecting and reading of these types of books will just be a reminder of this belief: that there is something really wrong with you.

Reading lots of these books, one after another, creates a false feeling of hope.  Most of us do not know how to read books anyway.  If you read a book only once, all you do is to become familiar with its subject.   To really understand it,  you will at least have to read it 10 times.   With a long list of books to buy and read, where are you going to find the time to do that?

Living with a deep feeling of unworthiness is a horrible way to live.  And it mostly comes from a belief that we have convinced ourselves in believing.  It is the lie that robs us from our healthy sense of worth.  Telling us that there is something really wrong with us, fixing our attention to what we believe are a long list of things we wish we never had in our lives.

This belief comes from various sources. One source is living in a society that is dominated by consumerism.   I am sure that you have heard this before.   A capitalist society works by making people buy things, and by teaching them that the  products being developed are things that they need to buy to better their lives.  So, billions of dollars are spent to tell you, that unless you have a particular product, you are left out, not good enough, etc.

Other more complex sources are traumas and painful experiences from early in life.   But in the final analysis,  the feeling of not being good enough is produced in our own brain by a belief from something that we told ourselves repeatedly after a painful experience  or set of experiences;  from what we read in magazines, newspapers, see in TV, the movies,  etc.

Everything that I am writing to you about in this post can be expanded to many pages.  But the message  that I want to convey is this:  If you feel the need to buy a book because you think you are not good enough,  don't do it!   Address the feeling.  Listen to your thoughts,  your self-talk, ideas of life, etc.  Instead of a book,  study yourself, what drives you to do the things that you do and it will be a far greater investment of your time.

In your reflection, you will find, that you are an amazing creature.  A miracle of nature, who has been given the gift of life.  That no matter your short-comings, past mistakes, or current situation,  you have the ability to stop and think, and appreciate all the goodness that surrounds you.  The people that are in your life,  your health,  good moments,  special moments, etc.

Thanks for reading.

Hans.