Self-Help That Works

Our career choices are important. After all, what we do for a living can play an important role in how satisfied we are with our lives and how healthy our relationships are. So it’s no wonder that there’s an endless supply of self-help books on the topic of career development.

In fact, out of all the categories, and of all the books recommended, one of the most positively rated is a book that has helped millions of people for generations now: What Color Is Your Parachute? This book, written by Richard Bolles, first came out in 1975. But since then, it’s been updated multiple times. Recent additions include topics such as helping those with physical disabilities find meaningful employment.

There are many reasons why it remains a strongly recommended pick on the topic of career development after all these years. For starters, Bolles doesn’t assume readers are looking for their first jobs – or even their second or third, for that matter. It’s meant to be useful for people of any age and situation, be it a recent college grad or someone seeking a mid-life career change. It’s also written with warmth and humor, making it an engaging book to read.

Changing careers can go hand-in-hand with an overall effort toward self-improvement. This brings us to the category of self-management and self-enhancement, another popular issue for self-help books. Of the many books discussed, a few are strongly recommended.

At the top of the list is Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, by Steven C. Hayes and Spencer Smith. Hayes and Smith introduce readers to the principles of ACT, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. ACT is designed to help steer people away from spending a lot of time and energy on trying to change circumstances or conditions that are unlikely to change. Instead, it encourages people to practice acceptance – and focus that energy on healthier values.

In both categories in this blink, the surveyed mental health professionals recommended many internet resources.

For career development, the top websites include Peterson’s (petersons.com), a useful resource for anyone considering a new college degree, graduate school, or embarking on other forms of adult education in the US. And for those who are seeking a new job, the website Monster.com remains one of the most popular and biggest career development resources online.

For self-management and self-enhancement, few online resources are more recommended than Psych Central (psychcentral.com), a website that covers a wide range of mental health, psychology and self-help issues. For many of the issues covered here, the surveyed mental health professionals recommend Psych Central as a valuable online resource.