Self-Help Books

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Self-Help Books

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Walk into any bookstore and you will find plenty of Self-help books (also called Self-improvement books) on display, many of which are best sellers. Samuel Smiles wrote the first such book in 1859 titled “Self-Help” and thus this category of books came to be called Self-help books. What is a Self-help book? It is a book written to guide readers about how to solve their problems or to give tips on how to become rich, how to gain confidence, how to be happy or healthy or successful, and so on. Surprisingly some psychiatrists too recommend reading these books for the reason that the narrative of self-help books is in first person, in contrast to the impersonal traditional psychological writings,

Self-Help Books Over The Years
I still have with me the book “How to live 365 days a year” (1956) written by John A. Schindler which I purchased in the 1970’s for Rs. 14 and paise 10 (the new edition now costs above Rs.3,000). The book gives step-by-step guidance about how to conquer fear, frustration, boredom, and depression to live a full, happy life every day. Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich” (1937) is considered the most sold self-help book. In this book, the author interviews highly successful business moghuls of his time and identifies key laws and habits that can give success.

A self-help book that is an all-time favourite of readers is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989) written by Stephen R. Covey. The seven habits are: Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, Put first things first, Think win/win, Seek first to understand……. Then to be understood, Synergize and Sharpen the saw.

Motivational Books
Self-help books claim that they are meant to tell the readers how to live a happy life, be more focussed on the present moment, lose weight, practice positive thinking, introduce good habits in your life, or break the bad ones. All these can be attained only if you put in a lot of effort. You are told to adopt various strategies every single day until they become habits. Popular with the readers are the books ‘You Can Win” and “Living with Honour” by Shiv Khera. His famous quote is: “Winners don’t do different things. They do things differently”.

Another famous author of this genre is Robin Sharma whose book “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” (1999) has been a huge success. This book is written like an enchanting tale but incorporates a simple philosophy of living and delves into transformation tools for individual happiness. Yet another famous book is “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. The book claims to provide the key that will be life-transforming and can help in every aspect of life like money, health, relationships, happiness, and interaction with others. The message of “The Secret” is that ‘thought alone can influence objective circumstances within one’s life’.

Self-Help Books By Swami Sukhabodhananda
“Oh, Mind Relax please!” by Swami Sukhabodhananda is very interesting to read since the book is full of real-life instances in the form of parables that keep you captivated. The author gives deeper insights about life and living in between the small, interesting stories. His other books are “From Frustration to Fulfillment”, “Roar your way to
Excellence”, “Looking at life differently”, “Stress Management” etc.

Criticism Of Self-Help Books
Critics of Self-help books opine that these books are vague, generalized, and read like fiction. Some feel it is a complete waste of time to read many of them and that they promote a ‘false hope syndrome’. Readers who do not improve after reading a book get frustrated and their problem worsens. Self-help books can also be time-consuming dead-ends. Many feel that the perception of potential improvement is grossly exaggerated. The fast-paced narration gives the impression that changing ourselves is easy. On the contrary, it requires considerable effort which is not always practical. With so many books that tell you how to become rich, the question arises: can you become rich after reading them? It is famously said that the only way you can become rich is by writing a book on how to become rich!!

Islamic Self-Help Books
Some of the books written by early Islamic scholars can be categorized as Self-help books. For example, the book ‘Ay Farzand’ (O son!) written by Al-Ghazali is an advice to one of his students. Another of his books, ‘Disciplining the Soul’ deals with inner warfare against the ego.

In the present times, I have come across two books written by Islamic scholars which can be genuinely called Self-help books. ‘Don’t be sad’ (2005) written by Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni was published by International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh, KSA. This book which runs to 475 pages is rooted in the commandments of Allah (swt), the Sunnah, and the excellent guidance and examples of the Muslims who came before us. It exposes to the modern reader how Islam teaches us to deal with the trials and tribulations of this world.

The second such book is ‘Enjoy Your Life’ (2008) written by Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Rahaman Al-‘Arifi which Darussalam Publishers, Riyadh, KSA published. This book which runs to 592 pages aims to train the reader to enjoy living his/her life by practicing various self-development and interpersonal skills. It has an exquisite collection of incidents from the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and tells true stories from our Islamic Heritage.

Both of these books have been written painstakingly and they cover almost every aspect of human life. The real incidents that embellish these books are a treasure house of knowledge and these are must-read books. However, these books are perceived as Islamic books, and their readership is not spread out to the entire spectrum of readers. The books are too voluminous for the category of quick-reading Self-help books. It would have been preferable if the focus was on a few selected aspects of living instead of attempting to be exhaustive. The books would have been more popular with a breezy and somewhat lesser sermonizing style of writing. There is scope for writing more books in this genre with a universal appeal and which can have references to interesting incidents from the lives of famous personalities.

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