Why some self-improvement stuff is awful.

I read a self-improvement blog yesterday. It was filled with the “don’t give up, keep trying, stay positive!” sort of stuff that’s popular among many.

That sort of self-improvement stuff made me a bit sick, and then I wondered why. 

I think everyone is at a different level for self improvement stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with any of the levels, but you’ve got to see where you are. A bodybuilder looking to get an extra vascular look for a show is going to be put off from diet advice that says, “Limit yourself to 1 soda per day!”

That’s garbage advice to him, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

We all start somewhere.

Multi-millionaire Lewis Howes is about to stumble into the next level of self-improvement. He wrote the major hit The School of Greatness and was personally already massively successful (the classic definition: lots of fame, fortune, women) at that point. Then he realizes he gets into crazy fist fights and realizes his ego is a beast that puts on different personas around people to be liked (maybe he should stop fist fighting people and read TruthCake.com?!). His newest book talks of how to get rid of these “masks” and be more authentic to your true self.

I find Lewis’ perspective on masks illuminating. Jim Carrey, however, would probably feel sick reading it, since he’s at the next level where he realizes your core persona is just a construct you made up as well. If you watch Carry’s documentary “Andy and Me” on Netflix, you’ll see that he believes we’re all just creations of our own mind. He would believe Lewis’ maskless persona is indeed his genuine self, but a completely hollow construct. Whoops!

We can’t all lift 300 lbs in the gym our first day. Why would we expect that all self-improvement literature be fit for everyone? It’s not. The 300 lbs that makes a muscle grow for a bodybuilder lifting it – it makes them stronger. The same 300 lbs does nothing but tear a ligament for you trying to lift it – it makes you weaker.

Find the “right weight,” that “right idea,” where you grow the most.