Fixing the self-improvement concept (part 3)
In the previous two posts I wrote about some of the ethical issues with which the self-improvement “industry” is faced these days. However, those problems might be of small importance for the end-users, the consumers at the market end of the chain.
The #1 issue for the consumer is this, “does it work? Do I get any value for my time/money?”
And unfortunately, the answer to that question when it comes to self-improvement is a resounding “no” - in most cases.
Even though we could probably ignore the ethics of the people involved in self-improvement, we can’t ignore the results of the work that comes in direct contact with those ethics.
We don’t buy rotten tomatoes or untested vaccines, so why would we buy ideas that don’t work?
One could argue that they do work, that people are motivated by them; but how motivated are they? And in what direction? I would believe that they are motivated to buy the second book and attend another seminar; not motivated to start thinking for themselves and to take real action.
If I would buy a car that would need 50% of its parts replaced weekly, I would think of it as a poorly constructed car; self-help is that car.
So why doesn’t self-improvement work?
Well, first there are the ethics on which it is based; and then there is the naiveness of the consumers. Of course, the possibility of it never being intended to work shouldn’t be left aside either.
Detergents have labels that read, “eliminates wine stains.” People buy them for that promise (and some other reasons, of course).
Self-improvement’s promise is to change our life, maintain our health, make money, organize our life, find women and succeed in business. How can such promises be ignored? Especially when people only listen - really listen - to someone who makes a lot of money doing the thing he’s talking about (and self-help gurus make millions).
How to make it work: innovation
We do not need more self-improvement books, gurus, blogs, films and seminars. We have too many of those. What we need, what self-improvement *needs*, is innovation. No false or inactionable hopes and promises; only the truth (which is not always comfortable, mind you).
I am currently working on articulating some of my ideas in that aspect, but I will need a little more time, as the start of the year is a busy time for me.
I am aware that many people *will* be against innovation of any sort, especially radical innovation, because it would probably mean serious losses for them. However, that is not going to stop me from at least trying to change the concept and the industry.
You, the one reading these lines, will have the power to decide what will win.
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Armannd, you haven’t indicated what the current PD strategies are and why they aren’t working.
Nothing works if you don’t apply yourself. Or do you think the problem is with the advice being given? Also, when it comes to cognitive strategies it often takes time to determine whether they work or not.
First, I want apologize for the late answer to your comment. I have been offline for a while.
What personal strategies don’t work? Well, almost all of them; it would have been a rather lengthy article if I would have chosen to list them all. And yes, I do think that the problem is with the advice being given.
The cold hard truth is that not everyone can get to wherever they want to get; sure, they can try and they can feel good with the hope they’re being infused with, but they won’t be able to reach that spot that they’re aiming for - there are countless reasons for that. The world is a wild place, similar in some regards to a savanna; not every zebra will die of old age, regardless of its strategy or instinct - though they all have the chance.
What I think is essentially wrong is the fact that the current system doesn’t offer truth, but hope. What is wrong with hope? The fact that in giving hope one has to kill the truth. And the warm feeling of hope only lasts until the truth makes its presence felt, because when mixed with truth, hope often becomes a poison; if it is winter and a beggar sleeps outside, in the cold weather, he will thank you if you spray him with warm water… however, he won’t be happy when that water cools down and freezes on his skin.
I wrote in an older article that people often get angry and frustrated because they’re too optimistic - this day will be perfect, he won’t do anything crazy, my boss will be nice, the car won’t break down, etc. Truth is, ‘bad’ things do happen (probably more often than supposedly ‘good’ ones), and when all you are prepared to cope with is positive in nature, the tiniest of negatives can become painful.
There is a TV show starring chef Gordon Ramsay, “It’s a hell in that kitchen” (British name). In that show, chef Ramsay has one week to save failing restaurants (one restaurant per week). Of course, being one of the most successful chefs in the world and having managed the biggest restaurants, he often succeeds in his task.
Now, I haven’t watched too many episodes of the show, but the pattern that I have constantly noticed in those that I did watch, is this: “out with the old, in with the new.” Nothing can truly be fixed if one becomes nostalgic and decides to keep something that didn’t work, only for the sake of it.
Imagine a burned down house that still has a standing wall and some damaged furniture; would you keep those or clean the area and start fresh?
At the present moment, the issues of self-improvement greatly outweigh its benefits, thus something needs to be done about it - along the lines of “out with the old, in with the new.”
“The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Sure, everything takes time to determine if it’s working or not, some things taking more time than others. But here’s a question: how much time are you willing to trade to discover if the current personal-development ideas work? Remember that time is the only commodity that none of us can have more of; trading time for false words is one of the greatest follies.
You raise some relevant points. While I don’t think that hope alone is enough, mixed with truth it is equally necessary.
Like any medication or solution I believe that different strategies work for different people. Some don’t work at all. But one has to intuitively decide which ones to apply and no, they may not be the answer.
As far as time goes, every medication, vitamin or healing agent has to be tested or experimented with in order to determine its effectiveness. Like it or not, that takes time. What would the alternative be, to do nothing?
So it is with Personal Development strategies. We must employ critical thinking, testing and common sense to determine if they are worthy. Much of what is put out on the internet by anybody and everybody, is anecdotal at best, useless at worst. Some critical thinking is definitely in order.
Hope and truth are like water and oil; they don’t mix. One can either hope, or hear the truth. It is rather difficult to be hopeful while knowing the truth, even for the optimists.
About people deciding which strategies to apply, I don’t think they’re up for the task. The results speak for themselves: each year, people spend more and more on “self-help” materials, while they head in the opposite direction of improvement; publishing houses admit that most people don’t read beyond the first few pages of a self-help book.
By all means, I think the choice should belong to the people, but in the current context, there’s simply too much pressure in certain directions (rendering one’s critical thinking and power of choice useless).
The alternative to what is currently out there? …well, the series has not yet ended!
PS: Almost every “cure” takes time to make its effects felt, but the self-help “cure” has been around for quite a while now and it’s effects are felt mostly by the ones preaching it; the rest of the population gets nothing really. The ones who say that self-help changed their lives are probably wrong about it. If I’ll get out of bed with my right foot first for 5 years, I could say that doing that got me to wherever I got - and it would be completely false.
[...] (continued from part 3) [...]