Break This: Self Help Seminars

If there is one thing that irks me to an extreme, it is all those "find meaning in your life", "get rich like me", "you can do anything", and "be happy like me" types of self-help seminar. I have had family members and friends spend lots of money going from one seminar or conference to another. They keep telling me after wards that it was so inspiring or that they were moved to change or that they were made to do all sorts of crazy activities in order to achieve a new level of .

However, they clearly didn't learn their lesson because they keep going back. But I don't think the people who runs those seminars are wanting them to only attend once. In fact, you might consider this *cough*scam*cough* to be based on the idea that in order to really maintain that goal in your life you have to consistently attend all of the "help" sessions.

The reality is that people's talents are based on their naturally reoccurring patterns on how they behave to stimuli. That means ever since we were teenagers, certain pathways in our brain solidified how we make doing certain actions, how we look from different perspectives, or how we react to different stimuli permanent. That means that no amount of training, exercises, or practice will make the pathways in our brain that are weak as strong as the dominant ones we made growing up. It can make it better, no doubt, but it will not make it one of your talents.

So what do we do if we feel stuck with ourselves and feel like we need to go to one of these seminars to "expand our talents and possibilities"? Look at the talents and strengths you do have and use them! Don't know what they are? Get help from others to find your strengths and leverage them so that you can advance in your career or socially. By all means use your talents to really make a difference in your life, not look for others talents and trying to use them as your own.