More than once, the thought has occurred to me that Christianity, at least the way I practiced it, was just an elaborate form of self-help. In my mind, Christianity necessarily involves change. The Christian should be changed from the inside out. It was a revelation for me to learn that the word repent didn't mean feeling sorry about the things I had done, but to change my behavior so that I didn't do those things anymore.
I've looked a bit into Buddhism, but today I've been focusing on self-help. I came across this link:
The 50 Best Self-Help Books of All-Time. I note that a significant number of the authors are psychologists. A fair number are doctors too. Of course, there are probably more that don't fall into either of these categories. Here are a few that stood out to me:
- The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. This one is probably on my bookshelf, but I've never been motivated to read it. I find it interesting that this book is present on a list that isn't limited to Christian titles.
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Tolle was described as the most popular spiritual author in the United States. And yet he isn't associated with any religion.
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The title got me here. Most of my thinking seems slow, so a book that addresses this seems like it would be worthwhile.
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. I read How to Win Friends and Influence People in my twenties, and it was a great read. I'd definitely read another book by Carnegie.
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Understanding power would definitely be a good thing.
- Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. Brene Brown, nuff said. Vulnerability has been a theme that has been surfacing a lot lately, so it makes sense to learn about it from the expert.
- Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. I've been meaning to buy Rules of Lifting for Life, but there's no reason I can't read more than one book on building strength.
- To Have or To Be? By Erich Fromm. It really is true that Americans seem to have gotten fixated on having. This book could be very useful.
- I’m OK- You’re OK by Thomas A. Harris. It seems I've heard this phrase my entire life. The transactional analysis described in the synopsis is intriguing.
- Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin Seligman. I definitely believe happiness is a skill that can be developed, so this book already sounds worthwhile.
As I went through the list, I realized that the books focus on the individual. I suppose if they focused on groups, they would be religious books, rather than self-help. There doesn't seem to be an alternative. There's politics, but it more focuses on doing than being. And morality cannot be legislated. Funny that I would mention morality though, because I imagine a lot of these books don't.
