Real Growth Through Fiction
Let Your Reading Be Your Guide
A recent article by Ayodeji Awosika made some very relevant points that can come about from many of the books one finds in any self-help library, including his own. I don’t have any arguments about the specific points within the selection of books; the article just made me consider the overemphasis of the self-help market as a singularly useful category of advice. I think the narrow collection of published works overall considered in this marketing category sells many of us short because it narrows the definition of self-help to that of being told what to do or think, rather than focusing on the doing as a result of our most powerful learning tools: discovering new experiences and reflecting on what those mean to us.
Reflection is essential for deep, context-inclusive learning. Much of the recent writing on reflection focuses on younger learners — possibly because of the sudden shift to learning from home. However, reflection is essential for adults as well. Beyond simple academic learning, reflection for adults is critical to developing coping skills and developing interconnected meanings among seemingly disparate concepts.
To me, self-help means helping oneself, and that entails much more reflection and consideration of our direction and values — looking at what we are and what we ought —…
