Read Fewer Books: Why Fiction Is Better Than Self-Help

We live in a time where people buy a lot.
Not simply things to eat or buy, but also things to learn. Everyone is looking for the next course, podcast, or self-help book that promises to "fix" them.

You start to think you're getting better just by turning the pages if you read enough.
But knowing things isn't the same as being wise.

The Issue with Too Much Self-Development

Most self-help books say the same things over and over: set objectives, build habits, stay positive, and work harder. You could read a hundred of them and still get the same information, just with a different cover.

That's not growth. That's entertainment that looks like work.

Reading twelve more bullet points on "morning routines" won't really change you. It happens when a story gets under your skin and makes you feel something.

Why Fiction Is More Important

Fiction has been a teacher for people for thousands of years. There were stories, myths, and epics told around the fire before psychotherapy and self-help gurus. They didn't offer you lists of things to do; they gave you characters.

Odysseus taught people how to be strong in storms.

Sun Wukong taught people to fight against authority.

Achilles taught that even the strongest people have a weakness.

Icarus taught that sometimes it's worth it to fall.

Fiction gets past the logical part of the brain and talks to something deeper. It doesn't just tell you how to live; it shows you through the blood, blunders, and successes of its heroes.

More Living, Less Reading

You don't really need to read additional books, though. You should probably read fewer books and let the appropriate ones really change you.

Choose a tale and stick with it. Wait until the teachings show themselves in your own choices, failures, and successes. That's when reading stops being a distraction and starts being a change.

Live Mythically

Don't get lost in a sea of self-improvement tips. Pick the stories that make you feel alive and remind you how to love, fight, lose, and get back up again.

The goal isn't to consume everything.
Live your life as if you are already in the middle of an amazing tale.