Reading Self-Help Books Simply Doesn't Help You

 

Do you read self-help books? Then this post is for you.

Have you ever found yourself opening a self-help book and saying, "Yes, as soon as I'm done reading this, my productivity will be ten times better"?

I am here to tell you, my friend, that you are not completely correct.

If you have the belief that by simply reading and understanding a self-help book you can conquer the world, this is the time to challenge and remove that belief, because it is limiting you.

There is a cognitive bias among people that as soon as they watch three reels on Instagram about financial independence and growth, they become experts in finance. Their limited competence in that particular field lead them to overestimate their abilities. And this bias has a name. It is called the Dunning-Kruger effect. 

Intelligent people are more prone to underestimating themselves, while ignorant people are more likely to believe they are brilliant.

Now how is this related to self-help books?

Many people think that reading a self-help book will make the game-changing difference in their life. For example, the cover page of 80% Mindset 20% Skills by Dev Gadhvi: Life Transformation in 9 Days!

Oh wow! Just nine days! I'm ordering this book!

And they tear the pages in their excitement that after nine days they will become Elon Musk.

But the thing is, self-help books don't help you until you do something with the information you have learnt.

It is not the book's fault if you do not get any progress. You need to act along the lines of the knowledge you just received. 

The book Atomic Habits teaches us how to develop good habits and break the bad ones. If a person reads the book with the intention that after it is completed, they will have a perfect habit system, they are not exactly right. The thing is you need to work on the knowledge you got from the book. For example, in the case of Atomic Habits, you need to consciously put effort to develop habits by understanding and following the guidance in the book. You can create your own opinions, interpretations and methods, but in the end, YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING. That is the only time when results can be achieved.

So, pick up a self-help book, read it, understand it, and act along with it.

You can do this!

All the best! 😀💪