If you remember when book stores were still around, you would have noticed that the self-help section was one of the largest sections in the store (compared to say, Philosophy, which arguably has much deeper ideas on the human condition). YouTube is filled with self-help. You can’t get through a Joe Rogan podcast without self improvement advice.

It can be exhausting for sure. It’s a mutation of self-pity, which is a mutation of self-absorption, if we had to root cause analyze this.

To put it simply, we have a very vain and narcissistic society at this point. We can’t clearly pin point if this is a modern advent or truly an everlasting dynamic of humanity (has it always been here, and will it always be here?). In the contemporaneous, all we can do is contemplate if it’s particularly worse right now, but, that in itself is … also self-absorption.

I think people who have energy for conspiracy ideas should find a healthy outlet like fiction. Similarly, those who are in the higher end of the self-absorption spectrum (most everyone I’ve met), should find a healthy place to put that like Philosophy. Contemplate existence and Cogito, ergo sum. The low level “how do I, me, and past me and future me, continue being me and finding meaning in me, myself and I, and feel good about it”.

Overall, it’s a form of egotism to recommend such people seek therapy. That’s putting one of the most common human traits on a pedestal. As in, your vanity is soooo serious that you need clinical professional help - lol. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen that ridiculous recommendation for run of the mill stuff. Half the reason these things become compulsive pattern thoughts is because we validate it.

Take a Philosophy 101 Couesera course over a glass of wine, and laugh about it. I promise you the “I find no meaning at work” questions will become hilarious soon enough.

And there it is, the grand hypocrisy. I just ultimately gave some self-help advice.