Why You Need to Stop Reading Self-Help Books

For those of you who buy my books, thank you.*  For those of you who read them, I appreciate it, and I hope they guide and inspire you.

But I want to give a special shout out to those who go the extra mile and start to implement some of the ideas I've written about.  I hope they're changing your life like they've changed mine.  I hope my book has earned its place on your shelf.

*Thank you for supporting my blog.  If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission.

The illusion of self-help

Do you know the best way to market a product?  Demonstrate how it will make the buyer's life better by saving them time or money, helping them deal with their problems, improving their relationships, or some other positive change.

Do you know the best way to market a book?  Make the same promises.

But if you've read self-improvement books, including mine, you may have realized that the quick fix doesn't exist.  What you read in a book or on a blog is not going to make you a better, happier person.

Only implementing what you read will do that.

You and I are both smart enough to realize that reading alone won't change a thing.  You must think about and digest the ideas, try new things, do things that scare you, make experiments and fail at them, try again, tweak some things, practice, get reinspired and practice some more – and keep at it continuously, especially when you don't feel like it.  It's a bumpy, uncomfortable process that takes a lot of effort.

And that's why self-help books are popular.  Reading is easy.  It doesn't take long.  And reading a book makes you feel like you're doing something.  But it's really just a way to procrastinate.  Unless you put something into practice, real change will elude you.

How to change

Implementing change is hard.  If you want to make your life better, you're going to have to do things that don't come naturally to you, and you're going to have to do those things over and over.

So what do you want to change?  Do you want to declutter your home, get your finances under control, eat healthier, or something else?

To begin with, I bet you can already think of one small action to move you in the direction you want to go.

• To declutter, you already know you should get rid of duplicates or remove things you haven't used in a year or more.
• To overcome debt, you already know you should stop using shopping as entertainment and put the credit card away.
• To improve your diet, you already know you should limit fried foods and sweets and add more fruits and veggies to every meal.

So do it.  Do this one action today, tomorrow, and so on.  Right now, it isn't your default behavior, but that's exactly why you want this change.  You're trying to make your reflexive action different from what it has been.

If you get pretty good at this initial change, and need new ideas or inspiration, by all means read a self-help book.  Think about what you read, learn from it, and then choose another action to move forward.

Without action, the self-help book is just a paperweight.  Clutter.  But if you follow through with action, that book becomes something to return to and gain knowledge and encouragement from.  It earns a place on your shelf.

I'm proud of all my books, but if you're looking for a primer on minimalist ideas and a simpler life, may I recommend The Daily Minimalist?  Minimalism isn't magic, but it can do amazing things.  It can help you get control of the scattered pieces of your life.  It can let you find more time for what really matters, and more money for the things you really care about.  Minimalism can increase your energy and focus as you pursue your most important goals.

The Daily Minimalist is filled with hundreds of tips and encouragements for the art of simple living.  I think it deserves a place in your home.