I decided to start a new category on this blog, which I will call "self-improvement". During the last weeks I found a lot of websites and blogs related to this subject, which I never was especially interested in. Nowadays it is very hard not to get aware of the issue of developing the own personality into something better and more valuable. Lifestyle journals embarrass you with next weeks horoscope, TV reports investigate the advantages of Buddhist meditation temples in the Swiss Alps and every now and then you stumble over some Wicca or Dianetik page in the internet. The proliferation of salvation is at the speed of light.

What bothers me most is, that there are only very few voices that criticize this movement. Many people just shake their head or declare the whole thing as nonsense. But that does not help much, as modern redeemers and pseudo-psychologists seem to be more and more accepted by the public. At least parts of their teachings have become common in many peoples life. I don't say that for example aromatherapy would not work - I don't know if it works, but there is a certain mindset that comes with this form of wellbeing, that frightens me.

All these esoteric or psychological efforts express idea that we are special and could be more effective or enlightened if we just work on ourselves. I don't believe in this, it sounds good, but it shows that we take ourselves too serious. It is just another "we are the center of the universe" idea of mankind, which needs to be dismantled else we get lost in our narcism.

So I thought it is about time to be annoying towards those who annoy me. Under this new category I will collect counter-posts to articles written on the web to which I disagree. I will also step by step try to explain, why I for myself think that working on my personal development is a useless thing.

My first-aid advice for those being already confused to a certain degree by the influences of self-improvement-preachers is the following: Stop making sense every now and then. Don't kill your neighbour, don't rape your colleague, just have a beer too many and teach your children how to pick on their teachers. Read books by Charles Bukowski, watch Monty Python movies, listen to the Dead Kennedys. Relax, don't be hectic, don't try to be effective - take a nap. Waste your time, your money and your life.