Self-improvement books

[Anonymous No.14984163]

Are there actually any good self improvement books? I see all the popular ones being shit on all the time and people calling things like mindful meditation a meme and bastardized Buddhism. Is there anything that could actually help someone who feels unable to change themselves? It doesn't have to be some 21st century self improvement book either, it could be some Buddhist text or Bible verse or something. Thanks friends

[Anonymous No.14984175]

>>14984163
>I see all the popular ones being shit on all the time and people calling things like mindful meditation a meme and bastardized Buddhism.
Most people on /lit/ are narcisists and care more about being considered "smart" or "intellectuals" instead of improving themselves

[Anonymous No.14984213]

>>14984163
just my 2 cents

all you need is the last sentence from Anatomy of Melancholia: "be not solitary. be not idle." fix your sleep schedule and your diet and build from there.

i live in an upper-class area of Los Angeles and the people who fall for all this watered-down eckhart tolle bullshit gossip and talk shit constantly and are usually the most passive aggressive motherfuckers around.

read Blood Meridian and get the gist of "i do not need to justify myself to anyone. we are all capable of anything."

[Anonymous No.14984227]

>>14984163
Alan Watts. Stop calling it self improvement though that's a brainlet meme.

[Anonymous No.14984256]

>>14984213
>all you need is the last sentence from Anatomy of Melancholia: "be not solitary. be not idle." fix your sleep schedule and your diet and build from there
Half based, but thete are usually things that make people not have a good sleep schedule or being lonely (sun exposure, physical activity, actractiveness, enviroment) which have to be fixed as well

>i live in an upper-class area of Los Angeles
Spoiles mutt cringe, didn't read your goytoy passive aggressive bullshit

read Blood Meridian and get the gist of "i do not need to justify myself to anyone. we are all capable of anything."
Based you're gonna make it

[Anonymous No.14984301]

you may not read it but i find Rousseau's Social Contract and Fichte's Destiny of Man/Desnity of Scholar deeply moving
at the same time, The Last Chapter if Spinoza' Ethics is better than most self help books
don't worry if you don't "get it", no one really thinks the same about it

[Anonymous No.14984557]

They all say the same thing in different words. Be good to others. Think positive. Forgive your past mistakes. Tends to go in one ear and out the other without any real lasting effect. I’ve only have had 2 and a half books that have really improved me for the better that lasted.

The Power of Habit is the 1/2 book and teaches you intentions are nothing without action and a good primer for the others
Think and Grow Rich is the OG and has everything you’ll find in all the other books for the most part. People go on and on about this one but it’s a bit too money focused for my taste. Still a good read.

Psycho-cybernetics is my favorite. Very straightforward and more logically minded than most of the other books in the genre with actionable exercises that will help you immensely to create the habits you need to create real lasting change.

While I’m quite well read in pop self help books I’m quite new to reading religious and ancient as “self-help” so I can’t help with recommendations there but I can say that there are definitely portions where the same self help “language” is being used and it’s worth looking into. In general everything in a self-help book can be found else where through articles, books, studies and even self discovery. I would not put too much stock, time or thought into them but it can be good to extract what you deem as important or essential from them.

>>14984213
>>14984256
I would agree and say that exercise was the number one thing that helped me build a base for improvement. You have more energy, you become more attractive, you care more about your diet, good sun exposure if you do it outside and just an overall mood booster.

[Anonymous No.14985566]

>>14984163
"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck"

[Anonymous No.14985887]

>>14984163
The Bible

[Anonymous No.14985976]

>>14985566
im assuming this is sarcastic
>>14985887
im assuming this is sarcastic too but if not, which books in particular?

[Anonymous No.14987000]

>>14985976
I'm not being sarcastic, the book had flaws and was very simple but effective.

[Anonymous No.14987010]

This

[Anonymous No.14987712]

>>14984163
The reason there aren't any good self-improvement books is because no one really understands how you can self-improve. People undoubtedly change at some point or another, but no one understands the actual mechanics of that. Self-improvement books are always just boiled down versions of current psychology research or a new twist on an old religious practice/idea.

There's two essential memes in self-improvement literature: brute-force and magical thinking.

One is the idea that you just have to push hard enough, dissociate through the pain, internal friction, external problems and just go head first until something changes. As elegant as bashing your head against a door in order to open it. Even if it works, you will probably go back on all your habits and lifestyle because it's unsustainable for long periods of time.

The other is the idea that you have to perform some specific ritual, align yourself with the universe, believe hard enough, organize your living room a specific way, be grateful enough to deserve it or go through any number of mystical experiences. Some of its forms are easily seen as bogus, other forms are quite subtle as they are cultural, considered "folk wisdom", common sense advice and so on. Like the idea that a change in diet can have large psychological impact ("you're depressed because you eat too much meat and you've collected too many toxins").