Member-only story
Two failings of the self-help industry and what to think instead
Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal… requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
There are two things that drive me crazy about the self-help industry.
First, the idea that change can happen overnight.
Second, that inspiration is the tool that is going to get us where we want to be.
I’m so tired of hearing some “guru” excitedly talk about how their method of approaching life will have a profound and instantaneous impact on mine.
Yet, it seems that it’s in our very nature to be swept away by the idea that our lives can have a quick and dramatic turnaround.
We’ve been sold these lies for thousands of years. Today, the self-help industry is like the snake oil industry of old.
And look, I get it. We all want a quick, easy fix. But what if there is none? What if life doesn’t work like that?
What if we’re just hoping for a savior? Some superhero to come fix our problems so that we don’t have to?
And, what if, while we’re waiting, our lives simply pass us by?
