How Our Self-Help Society Has Been Forged By Our Self Improvement Desires

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Society has come full circle from full-service to self-help, notably since the end of the 20th century. This propensity towards self-help is a symptom of a society that desires to...

Society has come full circle from full-service to self-help, notably since the end of the 20th century. This propensity towards self-help is a symptom of a society that desires to improve efficiency and self-satisfaction. I remember as a child, my dad pulling into a gas station and watching through the windshield, as a man would clean the windshield and then attend to the gasoline pump. He took the cash from my father’s outstretched hand and then returned a few moments later with his change. Today we pull up to the pump and without leaving the side of our vehicles; we ourselves pump the gas, and pay for it without the need of the attendant.

We have improved the efficiency of the process and in so doing we save time. Time saved can then be used for doing other more important things. Today we enjoy self-help machines for dispensing snacks, postage and even checking and paying for our groceries. Doing things automatically by ourselves using these self-help machines saves us time. There is a purpose to the self-help wave society seems to be enthralled in; and that is that it saves time, energy and allows us to have control over the outcome. Self-improvement in all forms has the same purpose; to save time and improve the outcome. Many of us choose to improve ourselves in various areas of our lives in order to save time. My girlfriend used to get so aggravated when she had to wait for hours on end, just to have her car serviced. Her agitation over the wasted time in the waiting area of her local auto shop spurred her on to learn how to do simple maintenance on her car herself. She now services her own car, saving time and she has obtained some very useful skills. She has also gained knowledge so that the next time she has to have work done on her car that she is unable to do herself she is more knowledgeable about car parts and the workings of her vehicle and is less apt to be scammed by less than honorable mechanics

Until very recently I would stand in long lines at the grocery check out because I was resistant to change over to the self-help machines. I assumed that I would not know how to work them and was hesitant to try them. Over the recent holidays I grew impatient with the long lines and the time I knew I was wasting waiting in them and decided to give the self-help machines a try. I bravely walked up to the lineless machine, took a deep breath and looked at the monitor. The screen had all kinds of colorful boxes and within seconds of walking up to it a voice greeted me and asked me to scan my shopping card. I was amazed how easy I learned how to use this self-help machine. Soon I was scanning produce, products and coupons like a pro. Now I choose to walk up to the self-help checkout machines instead of using the cashiers. I feel confident in the skills I so easily obtained and feel good about saving time during the checkout process.

Our desires to improve how we complete tasks and our need to save time can led us to discover ways to increase our skill level or knowledge pertaining to these tasks. We learn how to rely more on ourselves and less on others and in the process we take more control over certain areas of our lives.