How Much Does “Self Help” Help?
Happy 2011 everyone!
Yesterday I happened to catch the tail end of a fascinating discussion on BBC Radio 4 about the self-help industry.
In one corner was Oliver Burkeman, Guardian columnist on mental well-being, sceptic, and author of a new book entitled Help! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done. Looks like a must read.
And in the other corner, Geoff Thompson, author, martial artist, and former bouncer. Geoff has written a few self-help type books over the last few years. I’ve blogged about them before.
Anyway, go here to listen to these two gentlemen exchange their ideas.
I felt, while listening to these two guys, both with legitimate points to make, that I was not just hearing two different people talk but the voices of two different tribes.
Sample a choice article from each to see what I mean.
Oliver Burkeman -The 10 best self-help gurus: Start the new year with some expert guidance
Geoff Thompson – Warrior
Let’s work for a meeting of minds in 2011.
Image credit: gandalfcunningham.
Short and sweet guys I love it. Agree with Geoff Thompson that any kind of self help should offer some sort of pragmatic advice. What tools are you giving people to help them move away from where they to where they want to be.
I think the fact that anyone takes the step to start reading ‘self-help’ books it making a positive move to bettering themselves or getting out of a dark place. Blogs like this are a good place to recommend books that do actually offer useful tools and ideas to help.
I like the sound of Geoff’s other book too “Warrior”. What a title eh.
Thanks Dean. IMHO self-help books have gotten a bit of a bad name undeservedly. They cover such a wide variety of authors, styles and topics that the phrase ‘self-help’ is a bit of a catch-all for books that might otherwise have little in common. Could I recommend the books of Tom Butler-Bowdon here? He has a series on self-help, psychology and success classics that do an excellent job of summarizing and correlating this broad genre.
Anyway, Geoff Thompson is the man! Look him up on YouTube. He writes from hard experience; that’s partly why I value his stuff so much.
Great post thanks, over the last couple of year self help books have acquired a bad name undeservedly. However I would say that when purchasing a self help book be very careful as many as poor quality. I have just finished one which I found extremely helpful called strength to strength. I would definitely recommend this to others.
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Thanks Simon. I agree that self-help in general as an industry has acquired an undeservedly negative image. Thank you for your recommendation.
Very interesting site and articles. Really thankful for sharing.Will surely recommend this site to some friends! Regards,
Thank you Peter.
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