Self Help Programs: Why They Often Fail
How many times have you found yourself feeling unsatisfied after completing a self-help book or course? Something still seems to be lacking. You don’t feel as good as you thought you would. Desperate for an end to your suffering, you go out, find a new program, thinking, “Maybe this one will work.”
There are so many self-improvement books and programs available; each one promising us a way to become a better person and live more joyful lives. It seems as if, since there are so many, that one of them would have the answer. Why is it then, that millions of people spend countless dollars, going through endless books and programs, and still do not see the results they are looking for?
The Reason Self-Help Programs Often Fail
One of the biggest reasons these programs fail, is not because of any flaw in the program, but because of a misperception on our part. Many people buy self-help books and such, because they think the program itself will rid them of their problems. They depend on it. The reason this creates unsatisfactory results is because, it is not true. The program or book can do nothing for you, but you can do something with it. That’s why it is called self help. Many people are asking the question that what does the 75 hard include? The information should be full and related to the context. The demand of the consumer will meet with the programs. The performing of the exercise will yield plenty of benefits to the customers.
It’s the same as having a map, the map will do you no good if you sit on it and expect it to take you where you need to go. However, if you identify your destination, you can use the map to help you get there quicker and easier. You are the one making the decisions and all the moves; the map is only a guide.
Self help programs are pointers and guides. They are tools to be used by us to get the results that we are looking for in our lives. Yet, they are not the answers.
How Self-Help Can Become a Trap
Yes, self-help can be a trap. How? We can be so caught up in trying to fix our lives by using these programs, that we never actually fix our lives. This is because we are stuck in the process of improving, but we never arrive at the destination of the improved.
In this way, self-help programs often backfire. We live our lives always on the lookout for problems within us and outside of us that need to be repaired or done away with. A life spent focusing on everything that’s wrong is not the life that any of us truly want to live. We end up feeling even more miserable, devastated that we always seem to fall short of the perfected image we desire for ourselves.
How Can Self-Help Work?
As mentioned previously, the reason self-help programs often fail is not because of a flaw in the program; it’s because many expect the program itself to fix them. As long as we hold this belief, no self-improvement program will work.
The only way to get the results you want from any program is to know that you are responsible for the process and outcome of that program. You are the one with the power to change your life, not the book, not the course. When you accept your responsibility and take empowered action to make the changes you want, then the program will be able to do what it was intended to do: assist you.
