Self Help

Are there any works that could be described as "self help books" that actually helped you or someone close to you in a meaningful way? Most self help is the worst mix of pop-psych and empty philosophy. this is a judgement free zone :^)

The Bible

The genre of self-help books is contradictory. It's an oxymoron.The only way a book can be self-helping is if it's one's diary, desu.

Models by Mark Manson. Not even memeing, helped me get laid a bunch, only to find out I hate being promiscuous. Also practical for getting someone you're actually compatible with, but I don't want that right now.

>not even memeing

nice meme

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

The Secret by Earl Nightingale is good. It's classic self-help, meaning: work hard and dedicate your life to learning.

Dale Carnegie shit could help you if you are normie enough.

If not, enjoy Veeky Forums forever

All philosophy is empty OP. You don't end up changing your life because you read a book. I've found I needed to get to the point where just maintaining the status quo seemed intolerable and it wasn't so much that I was willing to put in the effort, but not willing to not put in the effort, to actually change. Still...

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

No trolloroni

Or just watch the lectures. I just was looking for some sort of spirituality after years of being a fedora with zero exposure to philsophy. I needed to be told some common sense advice by somebody who was reasonably redpilled who didn't push nonsense like "self-affirmation" and "Just bee yourself :^)" and "Failing is OK if you have the right attitude :^)"

I'm an agnostic now, I quit the devils lettuce, I'm reading again, and I'm as organised and clean as I've been in my life. If you've been lurking Veeky Forums for a long time I don't think you will get as much from it as I did though.

I'll second that recommendation, most of the advice within is very much common sense simple stuff, but he describes it in a way where you actually want to try out his suggestions. How to win friends and influence people got me to start putting more emphasis on remembering things about people.

The Mindful Way Through Depression

Loneliness as a Way of Life by Dumm. If the prologue on King Lear doesn't hook you, then try something else. It added to a growing comfort I had with being with people and made clearer what I wanted to share with others. That dialogue or better yet, intercourse is an exercise in inevitable failure made me want to explore particular spaces that other people don't readily reach in everyday conversation with their friends, family, dates, and coworkers. Got me a sweet girl without the intention to.

Wasn't looking for self-help. I was just recommended this by my thesis advisor after a study on loneliness.

Models by Mark Manson and No More Mister Nice Guy by Robert Glover are the two "PUA/Redpill" books you would ever need, especially if you don't want to go down a path of sociopathy and just want to be a well-adjusted but attractive person. i.e., a strong independent man.

The Rational Male might be good for those who want to head further down "The Red Pill", but I don't recommend going down that path beyond that book.

The problem with self-help books is that they're rarely, if ever, systems-oriented. If a person needs a self-help book, then they're likely not well-adjusted and they need the appropriate shift in perspective and in lifestyle. What should I care about everyday? How do I manage my emotions? What are goals? How do I develop a routine? What are the best mental habits to adopt? How do I become skilled in my craft? How do I have better experiences with other people?What should I know before I begin searching for my purpose in life?

Unfortunately, few books are organized in such a way where somebody starts with the basics, then moves onto tackling different elements of life, before finally letting the reader free to explore the world with the foundations of the "good life" established. Nope. Just listen to the author ramble about shit, hopefully gleaning a word or two, but rarely if ever have your life change from it.

Maybe that's because people who read self-help books are too much of a mess to implement self-help tips into their own life, but you'd think that a self-help book worth its salt would aid with this task given its audience, right?

prosperity 'gospel' is an insult to the Gospel and to everyone it targets, as is much of what comes from the 'Evangelical' 'right'

>PUA
>not sociopathological

/thread

that's quite true, one of the dirty little secrets of the self-help publishing industry: few if any (remember reading 5% or so) readers actually manage to implement the advice.

in other words, reading alone is not sufficient to change for the positive.

probably something like NLP or CBT would help much more. my 2 c.

Antifragile by Nassim Taleb helped me out.

Also Marie Kondo - Art of Tidying Up is legit. A clean environment is important, anons.

The thing is that those books aren't PUA shit. You could call it "entry level", though most of the balanced people who read those books don't need to nor want to progress any further. It's just about being a strong, independent person who doesn't take any more bullshit than he needs to and still be a desirable person. i.e., it's as if PUA was about getting realistic (without getting vitriolic) and then improving yourself instead of relying on a bag of tricks

Agreed. A good CBT self-teaching book would be enormously helpful. There's one by Windy Dryden that I liked a lot. Simple, organized, and helpful if implemented properly. Like as a daily handbook.

I don't blame readers for not implementing the advice because they're just a few pro tips here and there sprinkled throughout a mess of text. It's easy to miss if you're reading the book in one/a few sittings... and even if you catch them, it's hard to implement them in a disorganized life that requires a systematic overhaul and not just a few pro tips.

This kind of garbage is why philosophy should be taught in American schools. So retarded Americans won't need "self-help."

look at the French and see how that's working out for them:

>philosophy classes
>one of the highest rates of therapy
>massive consumption of tranquillisers

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fucking

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wew

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lads

aye?

>

Antifragile looks really interesting

Don't listen to this user, anytime I read my own diary, I end up wanting to kill myself for God has put me through too much suffering.

Seconding the Kondo recommendation. Shit is on point. Folding clothes her way takes a little extra time, sure, but it makes carrying and storing them so much fucking easier.

I have "Antifragile" in my anti-library (books I have on my system but have yet to read), so I cannot give an opinion on it, though I have heard lots of good things about it.

The way of the superior man by David Deida

Just read the basics of Buddhism, which is mostly grounded in philosophy and not religion.

That sounds so fucking boring, but its exactly what I need right now. I'll check it out.

More Americans ought to go to therapy if, like the French, they could afford it and weren't afraid of it.

unironically this. every depressed normie has this book but for some reason autists think he is obscure

nothing to do with price, mate, the French have healthcare socialised like you wouldn't believe.

that's fair enough but the whole culture and mentality is screwed up, hence the need for therapy.

Read the Consolation of Philosophy.

How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Doubled my sales

How is French culture worse for mental health than American culture? I know next to nothing about France, but almost every young person (16-28) I know in the US is either somewhat fucked in the head or majorly fucked in the head.