Preaching to the Wire (Being Force-Fed “How To” Advice & Inspirational Quotes)

Is it just me, or are there more and more articles and posts shared online about how to live our lives?

Beyond the “how-to” articles about business, it seems we’re increasingly fed carefully curated “Top 10" lists on how to become successful (by imitating billionaires’ habits), how to stay youthful (by imitating celebrity exercise and diet routines), or how to be happy (meditation, duh). Let’s not forget inspirational life quotes from dead authors and presidents who had their own problems. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not immune. I’m guilty of sharing content like this on occasion.

When we share stories in the company of friends, we expect to get an empathetic response. We share the good, the bad, and the ugly, and our friends are usually on our side. We bond over the fact that we’ve all been there, done that and are deeply flawed (but good) human beings. What we don’t do is get on a high horse and dish out life lessons.

But online? Empathy is not as shareable as inspiration. Our newsfeeds are cluttered with success stories and advice columns on how to achieve happiness and the American dream. According to a study by Buzzsuno that analyzed the 10,000 most shared articles last year, articles that trigger Awe in readers get shared 4x more than those that trigger Empathy. Yes, it’s inspiring and awesome to read about someone’s exceptional story or about how someone beat the odds and enjoyed great success. But does consuming more of this inspirational content end up benefiting us?

Based on Google Trends, the number of searches for ‘how to be happy’ has increased 2–3x in the past 9 years in America. Despite the overabundance of content available with advice, anecdotes and inspirational quotes, we as a country seem to be less happy. According to the World Happiness Report, the U.S. fell from being the 11th happiest country in the world (World Happiness Report, 2012) to the 17th (World Happiness Report, 2013).

Life isn’t one-size-fits-all, and trying to follow a prescribed path isn’t getting us to a ‘fitter, happier, more productive’ place.

We didn’t like it when our parents lectured us growing up, so why do we let strangers do it to us now? Instead of seeking inspiration and advice from others, maybe we can inspire and advise ourselves by turning inward. Maybe it’s time to ditch the advice columns and do what we think is right and reasonable, screw up, allow others in when we’re at our lows, and get back on our feet and try again.

Maybe I’m starting to sound preachy and should stop while I’m ahead.