There’s always an element of difficulty that accompanies the pursuit of mastery.
People who go on hiking or mountain climbing could use vehicles and helicopters to get to their destinations. But, in addition to the feeling of accomplishment that comes from completing the climb or hike, there is also something about the journey that changes those who embark on it.
The same can be said about a good book. When you pick up a book, you should experience a “stretching of the limits of your mind to new dimensions.” This stretching should be uncomfortable, as old patterns of thought are uprooted and newer ones installed.
Most people walk through life with unchallenged and untested assumptions about how the world works. A good book should give you the opportunity to test those assumptions. Whether those assumptions are right, wrong, or incomplete, a good book will cause tension which will give you the chance to examine the foundations upon which your life’s philosophy rests.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case today with the kinds of books in circulation. Nowadays, we have a glut of information and a poverty of attention. As a result, there are few books in pop culture that are capable of doing any stretching to your mind. Rather, what you’ll see is the same crap recycled over and over again.
That’s why I’d say about 80% of the material in the self-help space is filled with simple, post-modern, watered-down, feel-good, motivational fluff camouflaged as books; each riding on the latest fad while claiming to be the best thing since sliced bread. And the more of these books you read, the more likely you are to suffer mental decadence, as well as action paralysis – a situation of inaction induced by the frequently conflicting ideas that self-help books offer. This is WHY you’re not getting anything out of popular books !!!
To start getting the best out of books, I recommend replacing self-help books with any from these three categories:
Biographies
There’s really nothing new under the sun.
Every challenge you will ever face has been faced in some shape or form by someone in the past.
When you read a biography that is presented in a balanced manner, you are free to objectively consider the events in the individual’s life without anybody force-feeding you with their opinions. As you are thinking about this person’s life, you are also indirectly examining how you would think if you’re in situations similar to the ones you’re reading about.
In addition to reading about the characters in the Bible, I like researching the stories of interesting people scattered throughout history. I’ve used the stories of people like Hakeem Olajuwon, Barack Obama, Dmitri Mendeleev, Harry Truman among many others to expound upon ideas in my posts.
Historical books
It’s often said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again with the expectation of a different result.
People who ignore history do so to their detriment.
When you read the story of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, it’s hard to understand how the same events could still pan out years later in the Iraq War.
Many unnecessary pains that we face in contemporary times could be avoided if politicians and policymakers paid a little more attention to history.
As of this time, in addition to the Bible, my favorite source of history books include anything written by Robert Greene and Ryan Holiday. I enjoy listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast – Revisionist History.
Recently, I’ve also been trying to read more about the history of the Yoruba people. In what I’ve read so far, I’ve been amazed by the level of societal organization and technological development that my people had as early as the 1400s. I highly recommend you not just reading contemporary global or foreign history, but more about your culture and people.
Books from other fields
If you want to genuinely change your life, you cannot afford to be confined to the self-help space.
Understand this: The idea that will change your life is common knowledge in another field
From reading books on Quantum physics, I came across ideas that ended up inspiring my book Mastering the Art of Observation
Ideas from chemistry inspired this quote which I used in my post, ‘Wisdom Shouts in the Streets: “Everything resorts to chaos, order is enforced by power”
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was fully formed after he read books from Geology and Economics.
Read books from biology, economics, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, chemistry, physics… And even maths!
They will enrich your mind with metaphors that will expand your mind to see the world in ways you never thought possible.
Even more, you don’t need to buy textbooks stuffed with formulas and all that jazz.
Nowadays, there are tons of books that will give you the gist of big ideas from other fields without boring you with mathematical proofs and other unnecessary details. Examples of good ones I’ve read in recent times include The Ghost Map (public health), The Fabric of the Cosmos (physics), The Impossible Will Take a Little While (sociology/political science).
Conclusion
The bulk of self-help books in print today will spoon-feed you with low-level information, thus depriving you of the experience of having your mind stretched.
The way a chick helped to hatch is condemned to life-long weakness, your choice to be spoon-fed mediocrity is severely limiting you.
By changing the kinds of books you read, you can start getting more out of every reading session
