‘Self Help’ is one of a few terms that are used interchangeably to describe the field that this blog concerns. Others are ‘self-improvement’, ‘personal development’ and ‘personal growth’. You might think that these all mean pretty much the same thing. I respectfully disagree.
All of the two-word terms I mentioned just now may look similar, the first half of each of them are certainly interchangeable, but does ‘help’ have a different connotation to ‘improvement’, ‘development’ and ‘growth’?
I think so. ‘Help’ implies that you’re in trouble, that you need ‘saving’. Whilst this may be true for some seeking to change for the better, it doesn’t have to be.
In fact I’d argue that if more of the principles of personal development, growth or improvement were taught to children at a young age, there would be less adults in the world who feel they need ‘self-help’.
What do you think? Am I on to something? Or am I talking out my arse again?