If you were to put all the advice and wisdom from self-help books into a blender, this is what would come out: work hard, hustle, eat right, meditate, hit the gym, breathe in-breathe out, stop living in the past, don’t let negative thoughts crowd your mind. It sounds like a straightforward recipe for self-improvement, promising a better and not-so-mediocre life. But these suggestions offer only shallow fixes for problems that need more than surface-level solutions.
Like Bollywood blockbusters— entertaining but lacking substance—many of these books promote toxic positivity, hustle culture, and phoney motivation. They often create a temporary mental high, offering promises of life-changing revelations that, in reality, tell you little more than what you already know, such as your shortcomings. They point out areas in your life that need improvement but rarely offer practical, sustainable solutions.
Take Ankur Warikoo’s Get Epic Shit Done, for example. It’s full of generic and superficial advice for complex life problems. He suggests that personal fulfillment should follow a neat, linear path: “Spend your 20s exploring your passion, spend your 30s honing it, and spend the rest of your life reaping the benefits”. But life isn’t that formulaic.
The book also features a conversation between a teacher and a student about the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which roughly means finding a purpose. But it’s presented in a way that may mislead readers into believing that deep self-reflection and personal growth are achievable through simple steps. The problem is that, like many other self-help books, it is overly generalised and overlooks the nuanced personalities and mindsets of individuals. How can you just ‘move on’ quickly from a failed relationship when it’s bound up in tears, effort, time, love, and care? How can one-size-fits-all advice work for all Gen-Z readers without accounting for their unique struggles, mental health challenges, and societal influences?
What’s more this book also has a predecessor by Warikoo, with almost the same title—Do Epic Shit.
Pretty much every city bookstore in India has a solid self-help shelf with titles by gurus such as Robin Sharma, Jay Shetty, Gaur Gopal Das, and Preeti Shenoy.
Self-help for self-help?
The self-help industry, including books, is worth about $20 billion worldwide every year and it’s only growing. The primary audience for these books is often those seeking to break bad habits or improve their overall well-being. However, instead of fostering lasting change, they frequently push readers into a toxic cycle of self-blame and procrastination.
People move from one self-help book to the next, hoping it will finally solve their problems—only to be disappointed once again.
A 2015 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Neural Plasticity revealed intriguing findings about self-help book consumption and mental health. Those who read growth-oriented self-help books showed higher cortisol levels, indicating increased stress reactivity. Meanwhile, readers of problem-focused self-help books experienced more pronounced depressive symptoms. So, the common one-size-fits-all approach in many self-help books might not only fail to improve mental health but could potentially worsen it.
In India, there’s an ever-growing middle-class market for ‘personal development’. Milee Ashwarya, a publisher at Penguin Random House India, noted 2022 interview with Business Today that this surge in interest has prompted publishers to prioritise non-fiction over fiction to cater to this eager readership.
In India, there’s an ever-growing middle-class market for ‘personal development’. Milee Ashwarya, a publisher at Penguin Random House India, noted 2022 interview with Business Today that this surge in interest has prompted publishers to prioritise non-fiction over fiction to cater to this eager readership. Even back in 2015, Forbes India reported that the self-help industry in India was worth around Rs 180 crore, with retailers like Landmark, Crossword, and Amazon claiming they sold about 95 lakh self-help books annually across the country.
I recall reading The Secret by Rhonda Byrne in my childhood and religiously following all the “manifestation” steps it recommended. I would obsess over keeping negative thoughts out of my mind, fearing they would come true. It was just exhausting. This book was everywhere; everyone was talking about it, and no one in my friend circle, including me, questioned it, because who doesn’t want quick success and money without putting in too much effort?
It was all extremely counterproductive. According to American psychologist Dr Carol Dweck’s research, having a growth mindset—believing in our ability to succeed—increases our likelihood of putting in the effort required to achieve our goals. This stands in stark contrast to the law-of-attraction style of manifestation, which says that belief alone is enough.
Hustle vs health
Many have heard TV personality Steve Harvey’s famous speech, where he says, “Rich people don’t sleep 8 hours a day. That’s one-third of your life.”
While “motivational” lines like these can inspire people to work harder, they also contribute to the romanticisation of hustle culture and can be just plain bad for health.
For instance, contrary to Harvey’s advice, research consistently shows that sleep is vital for cognitive function, emotional well-being, and overall productivity. The US’ National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours of sleep for adults, and chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to increased stress, impaired decision-making, and long-term health risks like heart disease. While some may thrive on less sleep, most people need those 8 hours to perform at their best.
Instagram is flooded with motivational posts. One promises: “Work hard for 6 months, disappear from everyone, and let your success speak for itself.” Another lists out five rules for happiness—don’t hate, don’t worry, give more, expect less, live simply. These messages offer a brief dopamine boost, but like most things on social media, it fades quickly.
Self-help books function in much the same way. This creates a cycle where you’re constantly chasing inspiration, spending more money, but never finding long-lasting solutions.
The industry profits by selling you some kind of answer key to life, but rarely addressing the really difficult questions. They often address emotional problems that are simple to understand but incredibly difficult to overcome. It’s much like working in a job you despise—you know it’s unhealthy, yet the stress, dissatisfaction, and burnout it causes can feel insurmountable.
As Mark Manson, author of the so-called ‘counterintuitive’ self-help book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, pointed out, “Learning can feel like progress, even when it’s not progress.”
Consuming self-help advice gives the illusion of action, but real change requires sustained, often uncomfortable effort. Reading about solutions doesn’t equate to actually solving the root causes of emotional distress, which is why many people find themselves trapped in a cycle of endless self-improvement without tangible results.
Views are personal
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Not all self-help books are scam.
I have personally benefitted from books like “Atomic Habit” by James Clear, “Mindset” by Dr. Carol Dweck, “Why has nobody told me this before” by Dr. Julie Smith etc. Currently reading “Hidden Potential” by Adam Grant and also find it useful so far. I try to use tips/method/wisdom mentioned in my daily life and find them useful.
Reading high quality books from subject matter expert is important. Reading book reviews before buying book may help.