Entertaining read.
New Popular Self-Help Books Share One Message: You’re an Idiot
I think the headline of this article is a bit cold and inappropriately titled, given the connotation of idiot. I’d probably retitle it to the title of this blog post, a subtle but appropriate difference while being no less intense.
The article reminded me of being single a few years ago, and before my wonderful wife came into my life. I got interested in anything that I thought would improve my conquistadorian dating arsenal. Besides doing things like watching Sex and the City, reading dating books, and watching how to pick up women in a way that they don’t think you just want to get in their pants DVDs, I saw a friend reading a copy of He’s Just Not That Into You. I thought I should definitely read this book. Like counter-intelligence, it was important to learn what the enemy was thinking (heh… no wonder it took so long to get married).
The book, written buy a guy (Greg Behrendt), turned out to be a very fascinating read. If you are woman, married or not, I highly recommend the taking of a day out of an upcoming weekend to read this book. Why? Because Greg tells it like it is. I think there were only a handful of assertions he made throughout the book that I disagreed with, but really, we’re talking like five out of loads. As a guy, I have to say that women are silly if they don’t listen to the message of his book, which equates to, “Stand up for yourself! Mr. Shining White Knight might be coming for you, but 99% probably not, so come up with a new game plan. If men are metaphorically walking all over you, kick them to the curb. Believe me, there will be more.”
It took the article above to remind me about this book, but my point: helping the self requires being responsible for the self, and being responsible requires telling the truth, not being coddled.
I hope self-help books all go the way of Greg’s.
Comments (2)
Jeremy — I totally agree with you about the value of “He’s Just Not That Into You.” I normally detest dating & relationship books (mainly because I’m polyamorous, but most of those books presume that everyone either is, wants to be, or should be monogamous) but that particular book I found refreshingly frank, with a core message of being true to yourself and not worrying about pleasing other people or changing yourself to be more convenient for them. Ultimately, no one will thank you for it, and it only works against you.
Loved your closing line in this post. I’m linkblogging that!
- Amy Gahran
Amy,
You describe his message perfectly, which is probably why I (a guy) learned something from the book, too. I wonder what the equivalent book for men be? “Just Because She Screams Your Name Doesn’t Mean She Loves You?”
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[...] A New Message In Self Help Books: WTFU! (discover fire) So, so, so true. “helping the self requires being responsible for the self, and being responsible requires telling the truth, not being coddled.” (tags: psychology emotions relationship+building responsibility communication honesty) [...]