Why All Self Development Programs Fail

zohfour0e2y

ng human, then as now, they would have started to wonder how they got here, who they were and why they died. (And what happens after that?) Those questions haven’t changed,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], but the search for the answers has shaped the entire course of history as it continues to shape our future.
Societies have inevitably produced teachers. These may have taken the form of priests, gurus, shamans, wise wizards or just your good mates, but there’s always been the odd bods who seem to have a bit more knowledge about the inner workings of the universe, (some even claim to have a pretty good idea what God’s thinking too). Of course, those teachers would have had nothing to do were it not for a never ending supply of willing students.
I’ve been on both sides of that particular fence. I’ve read literally hundreds of self help books,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], attended countless seminars and workshops, had thousands of group hugs, ended up with dozens of mailing lists of people you never hear from or contact again and along the way have gleaned an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of how to run my life to perfection, be a millionaire, live in harmony with nature and generally be a super human being.
I’ve led workshops too. I’ve had audiences of less than half a dozen to many hundreds. I’ve written more than a handful of self help books and programs too, and many articles on topics related to self help and self improvement.
The results are always the same. The vast majority of people don’t change. In fact, not only do they not change, they don’t even try. It is well known amongst self help authors that most people (around 90 percent) don’t read beyond chapter one!! (A survey done by a prominent manufacturer of recorded language courses found a similar statistic: ninety percent of their customers never listened to more than the first disc! Many even never got further than disc 1, track 1).
Why is this? Are ninety percent of people stupid?
No. I really don’t believe that, and it’s not my experience.
Maybe they’re just addicted to personal growth material