GreenDragon’s post about the technique-driven mindset of many LD’ers got me thinking about this type of thinking as applied to general life. Specifically, it seems as though quite a few people, at least in the U.S., read or rely on self-help books. These are books that essentially tell you how to be less stressed, more productive, get over a divorce, etc. They tell you how to live your life. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was just advice, but many people take it very seriously.
My question for you folks is: what is your opinion of self-help material?
Honestly, I hadn’t thought about that much before, but now, with GreenDragon’s post, that actually probably does apply well to our lives in general. As you said, self-help books are good for advice, to help you overcome a few problems and such. But I think maybe some people may take it too seriously, and even come to “live by the book”.
That’s where things go bad. If people follow the advice of that kind of material too seriously, I don’t think it will help them very much. The same tactics that work for one person does not work the same for everybody else. Not everyone’s situations and problems will be solvable in the same way. Its not to say it doesn’t work or help, it probably does, but, in a sense, you have to mold the information it gives you into your life.