In the field of self help, self development psychology and philosophy some ideas are timeless whilst others go out of fashion . The works of Plato, Euclid ,Leibniz and Emerson still resonate to this day. The writings of Orwell and Golding are timeless and will be relevant in one hundred years. The Bible is probably the best self help philosophy book ever written and is as relevant today as it always was.
Many fashionable books are just rehashing old ideas with a new twist. Self hypnosis , the Zone , Mindfulness , Meditation , Affirmation , Suggestion , NLP , and all sorts of other techniques are essentially all the same. They all consist on focusing the mind on positive outcomes long enough for the subconscious can get a grip of an idea.
In the 1960s the young thought they had discovered sex. The 2000s offered a formulae for financial independence and every age has the secret to weight loss. Ancient wisdom on the other hand hasn’t changed. It has lasted because it works. The ancient world religions have proved this over and over again.
I am not against people jumping on the latest designer label of modern psychology as long as we all remember that it has all been around before and will turn full circle throughout our tenure of this planet.
Peter Bull ( Author of the get in touch series )