Why do you guys dislike self-help?

>>8303459
>muh bourgeois ideology

>>8303459
Some books are alright. Most of them say the same shit, and they were written only to help the author earn some shikels.

>>8303461

first post best post

>>8303459
Yes! I love Kierkegaard!

Not surprised /lit/ hates on these books.

Just read Prometheus Rising.

>>8303459
isnt "How to win friends" a business guide?

>>8303497
if you're into occult stuff etc. has prometheus rising actually been helpful?

>>8303698
Yes, but it is a starting point, not the end of the journey

Self Help Guide
by: Me
Taken from: my diary tbqh

1) Start working out
2) Be more confident, and if you can't overcome your insecurities, remember: fake it till you make it
3) Set yourself goals, and accomplish them no matter what. Start at as small a scale as needed.

>>8303524
this is what non-AsPD people actually believe

>>8303459
Because I dislike charlatans.

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It's not self-help if you're getting it from a book, is it?

>>8303459
Authority is where ever you believe it to be, it's never rational, if someone you trust has instilled the values in you already then self-help has the best chance of bringing those back to the surface and pushing you back in the ring with more gusto.

>>8303459
I could answer this in many ways, but one thing that comes to mind is that history suggests that self-help cannot be performed non-allegorically. It's kind of like telling an alcoholic to quit drinking. All of the historically most "helpful" books, generally religious, tend to be couched in terms that are highly allegorical (e.g., Old Testament), or else are more generally practical and philosophical (e.g., Bhagavad Gita).

>>8303459
Either they expect the book to magically solve all their problems without actually learning anything, or they can't accept they can improve in the first place, i.e. fear of change due to success.

Some self help books are worthless, As are some works of fiction, but that doesn't mean all works of fiction or self help books are bad.

>>8303524

Essentially yes. If you're legitimately autistic it can be helpful to understand the workings of social interactions, but for 90% of people what he says is just common sense.

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>>8303459
Because people here are losers and bought into the whole genetic determinism idea. Every failure in their life, whether it is a failed education, not being able to get a girlfriend or not being able to do anything but mindlessly shit post on 4chan can conveniently be explained away with 'wrong genes' or a combination of genes and 'unlucky environment'. These people hate the idea of a person changing their life with pure will power and knowledge in form of self-help books because it makes them aware of their own shitty sad lives and their inability to change it.

I'm not anti-capitalism.

It's interesting to read SJW rhetoric against the self-help industry.

>>8304901

Nigga is u 19 years old

>>8304901
stupid lazy 4chanarians... i will defeet u, with pure WILL POWER!!!!
mum said i have great potential ok> and i'll win the game of life just u see

>>8303459
>win friends
makes it sound like friends are not people to be respected but prizes to be won.

>>8305218
Now he's getting it.

>>8305218
The book stresses the exact opposite though. You should always listen and consider what someone has to say, and show people how to think your way instead of just bossing them around.

>>8304901
What else is there but genes and environment? I've read a lot of self-help stuff, but even me stumbling onto that is as a result of having had it recommended to me/having gotten interested in growing myself as a person (akin to leveling in WoW, but for myself), which has been a "gift" bestowed upon me by my environment, my peers, the activities I happened to do etc etc.

Additionally, my thoughts that let me to do X, Y or Z. I can't control my thoughts, the right ones just happened to pop into my head and take me down the right path.

What else is there? Honestly? Hell, if I wasn't born in Sweden, but rather some shitty country (or even the US as a poor person), I'd probably be shit right now.

>>8303459
Because you posted the only self-help book worth anything

All others are shit but How to Win Friends and Influence People is good

t. petite bourgeoisie pro

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Pic related is the only acceptable self-help book. It's all one needs for that matter.

>>8303715
>fake it
>"dont fake it just b urself"
>self is autisticly not good enough
>"just fake it bro"
how should i kill myself?

If you work out you're a stupid faggot. Fucking city and suburban cunts thinking they need to go to gyms when you can just go do some fucking work.

Every three days in the morning I go out to my property and chop down a tree, and then I saw and then chop it for firewood or just stockpiling. That is an entire workout.

Stop drinking protein shakes or what the fuck ever is being marketed to you too. Drink water. Chop wood. Eventually you'll be strong and not a bitch.

>>8305767
You may not be aware of this, my rustic friend, but there are not many trees to cut down in the city. Infact, for many of these trees it would be illegal to do so.

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>>8303459
Because pic related exists.

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>>8303459
I don't; I actually read it somewhat often, usually a few books a year.

Read through Marie Kondo's this year and loved them. Adorable, useful information that helped me improve in minor ways (especially the clothes folding, my towels are always perfect now). Of course, I'm not doing the whole throwing away of masses of stuff, but it did inspire some change in what I keep around, especially re: boxes and manuals. Good excuse to do a closet overhaul too.

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>>8303707
What's the next book someone who's read Prometheus Rising should read?

>>8303482
Oh look, it's learning memes.

>>8305881
>Robert Anton Wilson on /lit/
Wow, faith restored in you fuckers.

>>8305145
Curiosity piqued. Non-critical request: Examples/sources please.

>>8305767
Heidegger detected.

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>>8303459
To answer your question OP, self-help is at antipodes with the prevailing literary attitudes here. It's a far cry from the existential angst, fatalism, and nihilism that allegedly—and in notable cases do—make great works. In fact, self-help, taken as a whole, proposes solutions to these (and other) problems.

>>8305810
Give me a convincing argument as to why I should start folding my towels instead of just leaving them hung up on the shower curtain bar.

>>8303459
I own tons of them, and now I'm... still miserable, still haven't touched a woman in over 8 years, and am out the cost of the books.

>>8303715
What about being insecure about having a small penis? Fake it until you make it into bed with a woman, then she points, laughs, tells everyone, and doesn't you?

>>8305976
Read think and grow rich.

The problem isn't reading them, it's actually putting what you've read into practice.

>>8305962
You can do that if you like. It depends on how many people are in your family and how many towels you go through, though. A single man could probably subsist on using the same towel and hanging it on the bar to dry off. It's harder when you have more people, as those bars can only hold so much without getting in the way.

>>8303497
>Just read Prometheus Rising
I'm sorry you wasted your time on pseudo intellectual bullshit written by a schizophrenic.

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As long as you are searching for happiness, you will remain unhappy.

>>8303459
It shows weakness.

>>8306142
Lmaoooooo

>>8305787
This kills the lumberjack

>>8305900
We're so blessed.

>>8305886
I think it likes you.

>>8305886
:) o im laffin... no joke

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tbqh pic-related was pretty enlightening desu

>>8303473
>they were written only to help the author earn some shikels
making money is evil

>>8306129
is this from the Ninth Gate?

>>8305981
>having sex before marriage

>>8307884
yeah

>>8307883
Not at all. You're most likely just wasting your time if you're reading a book which the author wrote just because he wanted to get a bigger house.

Three shitty advices

>>8305797
Ironic self-help book is still self-help book.
>>8303459
Because it doesn't work.