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Self-help and “personal development” has long been one of the best-selling genres of books, generating nearly $1 billion in revenues in 2020.
The health and wellness industry hauls in additional billions of dollars each year hawking one after another diet, exercise routine, supplement, or mindset shift, all of which, it is promised, will produce a better version of you.
Traditional 12-step programs are going strong, eight decades in and counting, imploring millions to acknowledge their dependence on alcohol, drugs, gambling, or whatever, and take responsibility for the mess they’ve made of their lives and the lives of others by way of their disease.
Blaming individuals for the holes in which they find themselves and then demanding they dig themselves out is a very American thing
And far be it from me to deny the importance of exercise, proper diet, a positive mental attitude, and getting hold of one’s addictions.
But however beneficial these may be, the approaches of self-help, health and wellness, mindset, and 12-step typically begin and end with an…
