2 Deadly Self Improvement Mistakes To Avoid

I started my self-improvement journey when I was 16 years old. It started when I watched 3 YouTube videos: 5 minutes for the next 50 years of your life, What the Top 1% don’t want you to know, and The Secrets of millionaires, to be honest, I was overoptimistic after watching these videos.

I thought about myself as the wisest person in my family who knows the TOP 1% secrets and at that young age, I reflected on those who failed in their life as those who didn’t know this advice, I thought I was one of the chosen.

I didn’t reflect on myself to see if I was doing something. I was diving deep into the fantasy world of self-improvement: reading books, watching videos, attending seminars, and my feed was filled with self-help quotes.

It’s nearly impossible to spot a mistake when you are every day watching one of these self-help guru’s videos, reading a book, or listening to a self-improvement podcast because if you watched or read a book you will temporary feel better, have short-term optimism, and be willing to watch another video. But wait, that’s where the mistake starts.

Here are the 2 deadly self-improvement mistakes to avoid:

1. Being so obsessed with self-improvement culture.

Self-improvement culture is widely spread everywhere. Some websites will promise to teach you how to live a perfect life, Instagram and Facebook pages that will motivate you to hustle 16/7, YouTube gurus who have secrets that will make you a millionaire by 30.

Watching self-improvement videos or reading self-help books is only good when you are doing something that will get you there.

I can guarantee you that billionaires like Elon Musk or Bill Gates didn’t spend much of their time reading books or watching videos about how to become a billionaire instead they were doing what will make them, Ronaldo didn’t become one of the best footballers by constantly watching great footballers secrets videos, he was on the field doing what will make him great.

Being too obsessed is like a soldier who spends his life sharpening the sword for a battle, but never fights. He has all the knowledge, the wisdom, and the strategy to win the battle, but lacks how to execute all this knowledge.

Your obsession with consuming self-improvement material will reach a level where you have all the knowledge to do something professionally, but when it comes to putting in the work.

You just can’t do it. But you have all the expert’s knowledge, strategy, and ways to get you to where you want. Why you can’t do it as easily as they say?

addicted2success explained well that knowing the Top 1% Material doesn’t put you in the Top 1%.

It’s easier to tell a person how to climb a mountain, tell him/her to avoid certain things, and closeup the advice by saying things will never be easy that’s why only a few people succeed in it than to take yourself with all your knowledge and secrets and climb the mountain faster than anyone else.

Also, read: 13 Cool Psychological Hacks That Will Make Your Life Easier

How to get out of this Zone

If you find yourself in this zone, it isn’t that bad. You can get out by:

1. Let your action come first

If you decided to socialize you shouldn’t spend the first week reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, but first, go out and at least try asking a stranger.

It won’t go well as you imagined, but you will have a little experience. Then after it comes a step where you read How to Win Friends and Influence People, watch a video, or ask for advice or help from one of your friends who’s better at socializing.

2. Not being aware of who you follow

The truth is that most of the internet self-help gurus and millionaires are nothing but fake people who are faking their lifestyles. Years ago, I was a fan of Dan Lok, I always watch his video.

But the truth is he’s one of these fake gurus and millionaires who are benefiting by selling online courses that promise to teach you secrets that will make you rich.

If you are new to the online self-help culture, you are more likely to follow one of these fake gurus. The irony is that they aren’t millionaires, just like there are channels on YouTube that promise to teach you how to make 1k subscribers in one day, but aren’t getting 500 subscribers in a day.

Most of these online fake millionaires’ biggest source of income is not from what made them millionaires, but from selling courses that promise to have secrets and tricks.

The best advice I gave myself is before buying any online course or following a guru, watch this Course Review on YouTube because these people bought it and if it’s fake or doesn’t fulfill the promise you’re more likely to find a lot of videos with complete honesty.

Related blog post: I was a self-help guru. Here’s why you shouldn’t listen to people like me.

Conclusion

There’s nothing wrong with self-improvement, who doesn’t want to improve his/her life or doesn’t want his life improved.

But is it worth chasing the internet self-improvement culture? In my own view, yes, chase it, but be aware of the mistakes and the fake online gurus. It gives temporary positive energy. If you are aware of how it works, you can wisely use it (you don’t depend on it) to keep you going toward your goals.

Constantly chasing internet self-improvement culture will ruin your life. Improve your life but don’t forget to live and enjoy the life you are improving.