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corycrater t1_j1wm1sx wrote

Reply to comment by lydiardbell in Guys, in your experience, do personal development books really work? by julian_devid

I’m always so shocked by the insanely high Goodreads ratings on personal development / self help books. I picked up Atomic Habits and immediately found it had nothing to say that I didn’t already know.

Although, I do believe certain people benefit from just being told to do something (even if they already knew they were supposed to said thing). And to those people I say all the power to ya.

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DevilsOfLoudun t1_j1wvnj3 wrote

I think reading books like Atomic Habits gives people instant serotonin boost, especially because they already know the information. They're like "yes, tomorrow I will do this and my life will change!". Sometimes reading about things feels as good as actually doing them and our brains can't tell the difference.

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FeloniousSausage t1_j1ytbsc wrote

This is akin to the (not-book related) idea that telling people your goal decreases your chances of reaching it because it causes a big dopamine hit.

"I'm gonna lose weight in 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023." Tell everybody, feel good about it, don't follow through on it.

Reading a book that gives an easy boost of serotonin or dopamine could have a similar effect through affirmation.

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MsAnthropic t1_j1x7291 wrote

Sometimes it’s just a matter of something clicking with you, whether it’s because of repetition, right timing, or subtle wording change. Everyone knows they should eat vegetables, get plenty of sleep, and exercise — but oftentimes we can’t get ourselves to do it regularly without a bit of a mental push.

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