Why I Stopped Reading Self-Help Books

Self-Help books can do more harm than good if we’re not careful about how we use them.

There comes a point in life where we start to ask questions.

Perhaps our relationships aren’t going as well as we’d like them to. Perhaps we’d like to develop better habits and get lean. Or maybe we want to learn how to crush it at work.

And so, as people have done for thousands of years, we seek out teachers and often turn to the self-help section of our local bookstore.

There’s no doubting that many of these books are full of wisdom that can help us to stand on the shoulders of giants, and get closer to our goals much faster. It’s simply not possible to learn in a single lifetime through experience alone what thousands of people have learned and distilled into books for us.

But like most things in life, nay, all things, it is about striking a delicate balance.

Beware of the ‘Should’

Turning to a handful of self-help books to solve specific challenges or problems in your life is one thing, but getting too deep into the world of self-help can leave us forever feeling like we are not enough. At some point, we just need to get on with it.