my take on self-help books

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: my take on self-help books 📖 

i don’t read them.

in a way, some of the posts on my blog could be considered under the genre of self-help, but i implore you to take the lessons i’ve learned and shared with you as advice and not a formula for success.

i’ve tried reading self-help books, but i’ve never found the lessons or practices to actually resonate until i internalized those concepts through my own lived experiences. 🧗‍♀️ i’ve only recently truly adopted different mindsets like bias towards action or stoicism despite having read about them years ago because realizing the value for myself is exponentially more impactful than just nodding my head to a few passages in a book.

that’s not to say the self-help genre is useless. i think they’re great starting points for experimenting with what works and what doesn’t for yourself. it’s a good idea to read about the habits or routines successful people employ in their daily lives. it’s a better idea to actually try them out for yourself.

again, it’s not a formula for success nor is it a rulebook. your set of habits, mindsets, and values will only ever be effective and truly aligned with your own identity if they’re unique to you. 🫵 

i can’t even count how many different productivity hacks, strategies and routines i’ve tested on myself. 5am club, pomodoro method, themed days … the list goes on. the biggest takeaway from all that is that i have a better idea of what works for me and what serves to fuel my motivation rather than whittling away at it

my take summed up: seek experiences that will catalyze your growth rather than strictly reading about someone else’s. or, you could choose to ignore that entirely and find that reading self-help books does indeed leave its mark on your mindset. 🤷‍♀️ 

it doesn’t for me. :)

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