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One of the most famous niches in books is the self-help niche.
The world of self-help books is so vast that people can read one book a day, and it would take thousands of years to finish all of them.
So, why are there so many self-help books out there?
The reason for this is the demand from people who want improvements in their thinking, attitude, mentality, and lives.
Whenever someone gets upset or bothered by life challenges, or whenever they are feeling low when nothing is going their way, or when they are looking for a solution to a problem they are facing in their life, or when they want to get motivated and defeat the mountain of self-doubt and some personal issue, they feel they need a hug from a self-help book.
The comfort of motivating words is something we seek when we are deep in our own self-sabotaging thoughts.
Self-help books give us a sense of positivity, hopes, and ideas to deal with the issues we have been facing for a long time or things we wanna fix. Self-help books also change our thinking to perceive things with a new mindset.
In simple words, self-help books are collections of incidents that the author has observed or lived through and how he overcame life’s challenges. It guides its readers through solving personal issues. Sometimes, the self-help books are in the form of storytelling that helps the readers absorb the lesson embedded in the story.
It is the journey of the author to become the person he is now. The mindset he developed and the inspiration that guided him to navigate through the lowest of his life.
The stories might not be his or he just observed, but the main idea of the book is to tell readers that things can be changed and adversities can be overcome.
The most important aspect of self-help books is that they inspire people by giving them hope that they can achieve the same success as the author by following the guidelines mentioned in the book. Self-help books provide a positive atmosphere that leads the readers to believe that they can overcome the challenges.
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A well-lit path of hope and confidence — laid by the self-help book, obviously — will take them to manifest the best version of themselves and solve the ongoing issues in their lives.
With this newfound confidence, enhanced self-esteem, perseverance, and motivation, the readers get hyped up to battle all the problems. The readers then jump on to fantasize about their problem-free life, becoming the best version of themselves, conquering inner demons, and earning loads of money.
But these kinds of fantasies hide reality and miss the critical elements of individual tendencies, present circumstances, and one’s mental state.
The variances in the abovementioned elements get neglected as the self-help books focus on the best outcomes regardless of the individual’s capacity.
We form our opinion from the author’s perspective, thinking we have all figured it out, but that may not be the case and won’t work.
The reason behind that is we do not know whether the author’s opinion in the book will work in our circumstances, even though we are facing the same problem as the author once did.
We have to be critical when it comes to implementing the advice or suggestions of the author. Because it is not necessary that what worked for the author or some people to tackle a situation will work for you.
You might need to adjust here and there to make it work for you.
Books can provide you with all the machinery or a layout to solve the problem, but weaponizing the ideas and perceptions to combat the dullness and problems of your life is still your job.
One of the most crucial elements of a self-help book that many of us neglect is taking action. No matter how many self-help books you have read, or how many times you have decided to change your life after reading books, nothing will change until you take consistent actions.
Actions will help you gain momentum.
But you have to remember that the response you get might not be as big as you had expected. The self-help books give you the perception that when you act in the manner described in the book, you will be successful.
But that may not be the case in your personal life, as your traits and range could be totally different from those of the authors or the people who got the exact result after they performed the actions explained in the book.
So, it is imperative for you to assess the method to suit your capabilities and circumstances.
Your knowledge of your individuality plays a significant role in achieving success.
Self-help books work best when the individual has a will to change and high motivation. The inspiration comes from the book, but it is the will and positive attitude of the reader that create the magic.
The speed at which one’s situation changes through self-help books depends on the efforts put in by him and the uniqueness of circumstances, so it is better to not lose hope if your fantasy of getting success does not come instantly.
Self-help books do not change your life drastically, but they can give you perspective on how to tackle the situation. But it’s ultimately you and your actions that lead you to overcome challenges.
Your mind possesses the capabilities to craft the solution for your problems, and self-help books could be of great help to figure out the solution or even the problem — that you might be struggling with but unable to articulate — by giving ideas, information, and inspiration.
But we have to keep in mind that we should not expect self-help books to change our lives drastically.
Use the self-help books to modify your mindset and perception and indulge in actively taking action. Because, in the end, your actions and habits possess the power to change your current reality.
It might seem difficult initially to take action, but things get easier as you go on. So start slow and track your progress.