Some people need to stop washing their brains

My dearest cousin, who lives in Melbourne, has the rather unfortunate affliction of caring too much about motivational crap. I'm not quite sure how to tell her to wisen up to the pseudo-cults (I'm talking the Anthony Robbins, the Landmark Forums etc). Next she will be signing up to the Church of Scientology...

My trouble is this: Mabs is a lovely person - intelligent and kind and fun to be around. Pretty much the only thing about her that I don't like is her penchant for subscribing to self-help jargon. But I'm not skilled enough to tell her this without falling into the trap of denying the benefits of these forums and having her believe that I need to go to one myself. What to do?

For someone as fantastically mediocre as myself (that's a self-deprecating JOKE, you craparazzi), I have pretty high self-esteem. So... I don't need self-help. It isn't that I don't think or believe that I need self-help, I really don't need it. At all. And I really don't need people around me saying that I need it because all it tells me is that they don't think I'm doing the best I can (an insult) and/or I'm not reaching my "full potential" (a questionable concept).

I doubt very much that someone who has never met me will be able to tell whether or not I have reached my full potential. Do they even know what my full potential is? After you reach your full potential, all you have to look forward to is death. That's why we should have potentials that are so far out of reach that we spend all our lives stretching ourselves. Stretching the good stretch. And being content with that.

Now, although I am beyond this type of help, I can see how for some people this type of thing might be positive. I do get worried, however, when someone proclaims that it helps them, and yet keeps going back for more stimulation. Obviously the high doesn't last too long and the so-called empowerment needs to be taken again and again like an addiction. Which is not at all healthy.

So despite the occasional social brownout, despite the fleeting glimpse of status anxiety and the assortment of guilt I feel when I believe I'm not doing enough, most of the time I look at my life and I'm content with it. And I don't need to spend a cent on hot air.

P.S: To be honest (as this is The Magic Sitar), if these forums and seminars truly believe in the betterment of mankind, I think they should stop charging to attend. Maybe they should charge a small entrance fee to cover costs, but I think additional profit should be based on donations by happy 'graduates'. This way, even poor people can better themselves and people can stop accusing pseudo-cults of being money-grabbing. Two birds, one stone. That's a challenge.