Self-help books, hmmm, such a general term which by definition is also an oxymoron. You are not helping yourself you are getting help from someone you assume is wiser than yourself. In the words of a wise prophet of old in response to his companion telling him that people go to a psychiatrist to talk about their problems, "Hasn't she got any mates?" Many of us read self-help books because we are too prideful to admit to our 'mates' that we could sure use their advice. Or maybe, you don't have enough 'mates' to consult. In which case, you should read 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie. Or, maybe you have chased away all your mates by acting a little crazy due to severe insomnia, in which case you should read 'Restful Sleep: The Complete Mind/Body Program for Overcoming Insomnia' by Deepak Chopra. Once rested, its time to reconcile with your mates, so read "Love Languages" by Gary Chapman to help you understand the differences in how people feel loved. Now that you are reunited with your mates, you may want to feed them at a joyful reunion but concerned about healthful eating, and wanting to surprise them all, you can find all you've ever wanted to know about nutrition, food, and cooking in the companion books "Let's Eat it Right" and "Let's Cook it Right" by Adelle Davis. Finally, after consulting your mates you've discovered that they know just as little as you do about the meaning of life in which case you should read 'The Bible' by many authors, under inspiration of God. All of the above have changed my life for the better. I'm extremely grateful to all of their authors for taking the time to share their wisdom with me. I skimmed them all, many times each. "He who walks with the wise, will grow wise." Proverbs 13:20
Thanks for your thoughts and welcome to Hubski. Let's Eat it Right was the Bible of food back in the 1970s. Dare I suspect that some older "mates" have joined hubski? I recall measuring out tablespoons of brewer's yeast and wheat germ and bone marrow (?) for the nutritional booster of raw egg and fruit juice in my first blender back in the day. I posed this question last week because 1) I've had some transformational insights due to "self-help" books. Particularly Co-Dependent No More which helped me see that the particular life situation I was in was typical of many people and not unique to me. Difficult Conversations helped me see my own responsibility in all the difficult conversations I found myself in. This had the powerful impact of reducing anger. Getting to Yes was also valuable in helping me understand good and bad ways of approaching conflict. 2) I ask my students to read a communication or leadership book and teach one concept to the class in an interactive workshop format. I was interested in seeing what books hubski might recommend. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has been a very useful book for anyone working in groups. The key message of that book is that trust is essential for teams to be effective. The other four dysfunctions follow from absence of trust. mk says life is too interesting and too complex for self-help to be worthwhile
I would say the opposite - life is too interesting and complex for self-help and any other kind of help not to be worthwhile. As you and other writers here have said, there is no one answer -- there are many answers and the right book at the right time can sometimes be just what we need. At least it was for me.
Lil, thanks for the welcome! I'm so encouraged and excited to find this group of deep thinkers who are unwilling to 'hate' people with ideas different from their own, but rather to learn from them. That is why the question you asked seems perfectly suited to Hubski. Even if mk doesn't like self-help books - he obviously agrees that walking with the wise makes us wise. I'm thankful that you've shared your titles and reasons for appreciating them. I have a daughter that I think will benefit from Difficult Conversations. Your post reminds me that instructional books save time and help us to avoid 'reinventing the wheel'. If someone else has learned better ways of doing things, I'd rather learn from their mistakes than make my own.
Thanks! I'm hoping to forget about the mute button, and hoping that it is never necessary to remember it, though, thankful you have included it (is that like the fighter pilot's eject button?). Thank you for putting so much effort into creating Hubski!