We need Self-Help Books

You and I cringe on self-helps books. A LOT. AND WE SHOULD.

But listen, as much as we cringe, let's be honest - we have all read them at some point in our lives.

I have been a reader for 3+ years, and my opinions stand on the notion that we need self-help books to get started on three things:

1. You begin to unlearn

We live in a society where we've been taught to comply with systems and hardly question anything around us. Thinking different, unconventional career paths, and exploring activities outside our community are heavily judged upon. A person with a dream knows what I mean.

When you're early in self-help, it makes you realise you don't need to think or act in a way you've been told you're supposed to.

It makes you unlearn constraints and start exploring.

2. You will find a new tribe

Extending on the unlearning, this is probably the phase you will meet likeminded people. You will get into discords, subReddits, Twitter, book clubs, and whatnot.

You will feel good to know there are more people who resonate with your thoughts and ideas - who you can talk to for hours.

3. You become a reader

If fiction doesn't get you into reading, self-help will.

Self-help is easy to read, it makes you want to read more, you feel like you're doing something good for yourself, and you want to do it more. It's a much better way to get yourself to read than dense non-fiction (which you will get to one day.)

Let’s address how not to get cringy with self-help books

Self-help books are not really about learning.

• The first stage includes unlearning, finding your tribe and getting into reading.

• The second stage demands action.

• The third stage is where you find interesting, niche reads - the ones that suit you.

Once the first-stage needs are met, if you're still looking for self-help to fix problems, that's just a cycle you're stuck in - and not getting out of it only leads to mental masturbation, aka The Delusion of Improvement.

PS: I am experimenting with one topic per issue. You might have noticed it in 14 weeks of running, making friends in your 20s, and now this one.

Let me know if this is a format you like/prefer. Always iterating the essays for your best experience <3

PPS: If you like reading Vikra’s Café, please share it with your friends and ask them to subscribe. The link.

Enjoy your weekend.

Love,
Vikra.