Self Help Addiction and the Illusion of Progress

Self-help material is important as it encourages us to believe in ourselves and set big goals. Primarily, it results in a positive mindset – which is good for our mental and physical health – and increases our chances of spiritual and material success.

Although it is advantageous, self-help material can be detrimental to our progress when it becomes addictive. Self-help addiction encourages us to prefer consuming self-help material and avoid working on our goals. It makes us feel knowledgeable and creates the illusion of progress.

Today, several people have become lazy due to reading too many motivational/spiritual books. The self-help stuff has made them feel enlightened and over-optimistic. They have big dreams but never commit to them.

I was in a similar situation in the last four years. I preferred consuming self-help material to action. Instead of meditating, I loved reading about meditation. Instead of practicing magic, I read about magic, and instead of living in the moment, I read books on how to live in the present moment.

I then noticed that all self-help authors and teachers were teaching the same thing. It only appeared different because they teach it differently. Self-help stuff then became repetitive and boring to me.

I also realized that, despite reading many self-help books, I still worried about the future; I could not heal myself instantly; I never felt a sense of oneness with the universe, etc. I was only progressing intellectually.

Thus, I decided to focus more on action than theory because I want the information I read to be useful. Now, I practice what I read, and I am glad that I noticed my self-help addiction and how it created an illusion of progress.

 I also want you to notice your self-help addiction and focus on action rather than consumption.

Many ancient spiritual teachers attained enlightenment without reading a spiritual book, and several people have attained financial success without reading self-help material. These people focused on action. Spiritual masters such as Jesus and Buddha concentrated on prayer, meditation, or fasting while the financially successful, such as Bill Gates focused more on actualizing ambitions than reading motivational books.

There are also many people who attained success in particular areas after consuming self-help material. However, these individuals also focused on action more than consumption.

Self-help material is not all that bad. I have gained a lot from self-help. I have stopped comparing myself to others, I don’t take life too seriously, I practice lucid dreaming, I have committed to working on something great, etc.

Self-help can help. We should all read self-help. But for real progress to occur, we must choose action over consumption.