Why Self-Help Books are Overrated

Summary by Krater

Mark Manson critiques the self-help genre, arguing that self-help books offer no new wisdom and often deceive readers into feeling productive without actually changing their behavior.

From the video

Answers: Why do self-help books not work?

• self-help books
• the illusion of progress
• packaging of timeless wisdom
• emotional versus intellectual problems
• action versus learning

What it concludes

• Self-help books offer no new ideas or wisdom that hasn't already been discussed for thousands of years by philosophers and religious figures.
• Learning can feel like progress even when it is not actual progress, leading people to substitute reading about self-improvement for taking action.
• A person who buys one self-help book will end up buying seven more on average.
• Self-help addresses emotional problems which feel simple on the outside but are extremely difficult to execute on the inside.