Critics of Self Help Books

Books Critical of Self-Help

There are two books that I know of that are critical of the philosophy of self-help. One book is based on the theme that it is the same tactic that is used by Satan—promises of eternal life, wealth, fame, etc.

Basically, they claim that they don’t help, and that it gets you away from God of the Bible. Admittedly, I haven’t read these books, and it would take a lot of stomach to do so. I would read them if given the chance and time. However, I know enough to makes some comments on them.

The fact that there is any book that is critical of self-help is not even worth of attention. It is so stupid to say that self-help books are bad, I don’t even know where to begin, but begin I will.

To criticize a particular book, I can understand, but to use a wide paint brush, is absurd.

How can anyone criticize someone from helping themselves by reading a book of, say, How To Repair Your Own Car; or How to Triple Your Reading Comprehension in One Week; or Over Come Negativity in 5-Easy Steps.

Just about everything we read, of a learning nature, is about helping yourself. That goes from school and university text books (the good ones), to repairs, to articles in some magazines.

Let’s start with How to Repair Your Own Car (a title I made up but might exist out there somewhere). What is wrong with that? I bet the authors have read books on repairing or doing something themselves. If they hadn’t, they are sure idiots. Need I say more? But I will so show the childish attack on people who wants to improve themselves.

What about How to Triple Your Reading Comprehension in One Week. What is wrong with that? Nothing, unless you have a special agenda of putting civilization back to the Stone Age or even the Dark Ages.

Now, if these authors (and those who support them) use a cop-out and say, “Well, we didn’t mean that, but in the area of psychology, health and goal setting (which is what a large percentage of self-help books are about).”

OK, let’s examine each of these, starting with psychology.

What can be so Christian (and if you are not a Christian, any other religion or just that of being a better person), can be wrong with that? Should people go around being negative every day of their lives, or even all day? Does being negative help in family relationships, in being a good son, in being a good mother, or help in your job? Of course not.

Yet, what many self-help books do is to provide you with the tools to get out of negative self-talk, and to think and act positively. Where does it say in the Bible that we should be negative. Bible or no Bible, what kind of society would there be if everyone is negative? You think that society is bad now—it would be a freak show if everyone was negative. And, who would want to follow a religion that is based on this? What kind of God would that be? (I should use the small “g”, as it would some god made up in some negative person’s mind.)

 

 

Health

There are many people who have a program where a person can improve their health—in other words, self-help. There are 10s of thousands who have done exactly that. So what is wrong with getting of a disease naturally, safely and quickly? What is sinful or coming from Satan about staying well and not getting sick again (as many are living testimonials of that)?

Whether the health books tell you that you should go on an ovo lacto diet, a vegetable diet, an all raw food diet, or go on fresh fruit and vegetable diet for one month—they are all showing you how to help yourself, or self-help.

As a side note, I’m not just including books here, but also tapes, DVDs, seminars or at a friend’s house. They are self-help, too, but in a different format.

Goal

The lack of goals is one major reason why people fail, because they don’t have a target, and without a defined target, how can you hit it. Are these people who are critical of self-help, don’t want others to have an aim in life? Do they want society to be like a ship at sea without a rudder—drifting aimlessly about?

Finances

A major theme of many self-help books, seminars, tapes, etc. is on how to improve you finances, how to get out of debt, how to build a large estate, how to make money in good times or bad. Americans are more in debt as individuals and as a nation than any other people on Earth. So, if we were to follow the advice of these authors and those who agree with them, we all be cramped in apartments 6 to a room (as we would not be able to afford the mortgage or rent. Would that make them happy?

The Facts Jack

Let’s take a look at the facts Jack. There are millions of people who have given testimony (most verbally to their friends and family) of how they improved, or help themselves, through the advice of others. People have genuinely improved their emotional, financial, and physical well being. You can read a small fraction of their testimonials in various public domains, and you can even see video or hear audio on web pages of those who are in the self-help business.

There are probably even more people who are friends, family and fellow workers of those who improved their lives in one way or another, and can give testimony to that effect.

So, the facts are there, people have gotten help from self-help sources. So, how can anyone be against this, unless they are against improvement in quality and quantity of life? Well, believe it or not, there are people who are against improvement in people’s health, out-look in life, having good families, and being financial successful.

What proof?

Take a look at the medical profession—billions of dollars are made each year (more like trillions). So, money is made from those that are sick and dieing. Psychiatrists make billions of dollars, too. And, we can’t have too many successful people, as that would mean competition for those at the top. Don’t forget, they need working slaves to sweat it out in their factories at below poverty wages. They can’t have goals—as self-help teachers talk about—as that would mean that their workers might actually go out and start their own business.

It’s more like a hidden agenda for those who don’t want to see others succeed.

I guess there are those, including a small sect of “Christians” would like to see everyone be poor, aimless in life, negative, think everyone is out to get them, and sick. That it would be good that we all lived in hovels, wore rages, and work long hard hours, come home exhausted, and get up the next day to repeat the same thing over again, until we die at an early age.

The so-called “Christians” and I do mean to put that in quotes, as they don’t represent anything about Christianity. Throughout the Bible we read self-help information. God tells us to do such-and-such and we should do it—in other words Helping ourselves or Self-Help.

Some who have a gripe against self-help books say, “They don’t work.” Well, I admit that there are some books more effective than others, and there are a few that are worthless. But these people miss the whole point, and that is you have to help yourself! No one is going to do it for you, no things will do it for you, but you alone. You have to get off your butt, away from the voodoo tube and put it into action. 

There are answers out there for most every problem there is. First, you identify the problem, state what you want in detail, then search in some good bookstore, library or on the Internet, and find a good self-help book and make your life better. By doing so, you will make your family life, your community, and your nation a better place to live.