The toxic obsession with self help. Where does it lead?

 In most of my posts, I rely on the knowledge I've gathered over the years, from books written by the greatest minds of humanity, conversations with people, and seminars. I often try to put myself in the shoes of thinkers like Socrates, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Kant, and Jung, imagining what these giants might have said about the problems we face today. After all, many of the issues we struggle with were solved by others long ago, sometimes even millennia ago. 
But this post is different. I haven’t turned to psychological theories or Aristotle’s philosophy for answers. Instead, I’m sharing the humble opinion of a flawed man, full of mistakes, with both light and dark sides, shaped by his childhood, the things he’s learned over the years, and the things he practices in his daily life, who’s just trying to understand the world a little bit better.  I’m influenced by all of these experiences, and I’m certainly not self-created in some isolated way. This is purely my perspective, and it’s open to challenge, debate, or even being proven wrong by anyone who cares to engage.

So, lately, I’ve been reflecting on a troubling trend I see everywhere, this exaggerated Western obsession with self-help. It’s as if we’ve all been fed a constant stream of advice that tells us to strive for endless improvement, as if we’re never good enough as we are. While self-improvement has its place, I can’t help but feel that this culture has become a kind of poison, pushing people to chase a perfect version of themselves that simply doesn’t exist. 
I think, the problem lies in the failure to acknowledge that we are and always will be imperfect. We all have a "dark side" within us, and to deny this part of ourselves is not only unrealistic but also harmful. Striving to improve is healthy, but we need to remember that sometimes we must accept reality as it is. The constant focus on getting better creates an imaginary version of ourselves one that has little to do with who we are right now. This obsession robs us of the present moment, the most precious thing we have. Instead of living consciously in the here and now, we’re often waiting for some "better" version of ourselves to arrive. And honestly, I think that’s a real problem.
Another issue with this culture is that it feels like a tool for control. Now be careful, I’m not saying there’s a grand conspiracy at play, but it seems that societal expectations are subtly pushing us to monitor and regulate our own behavior according to arbitrary standards. Governments, corporations, and even so-called "gurus" encourage us to act, think, and feel in certain ways that might benefit them, not us. "You must behave like this," or "You must be like that." The pressure is immense, and it’s certainly not good for our mental health. 
Then there’s the question of the endgame. Where does this endless self-improvement actually lead? What’s the goal? We buy products, follow self-proclaimed "experts," and consume content from people calling themselves coaches or gurus—often without ever reaching a point where we feel satisfied. Self-improvement has become a product itself, something we buy into without ever really questioning if it’s helping us.
If I' am to give an opinion to all this i would say that the goal should not be perfection, but balance. If we can accept ourselves, flaws, dark sides, and all, we might find that we don’t need to keep chasing an ideal that will never come. We can live more fully in the present and, ironically, become better people because of it. 

I’m not against self-help, but I think we’ve taken it too far. This question of self-help culture has been weighing on me for a while, especially as I hear more and more people talk about self-improvement as if it’s a daily obligation. It almost feels like we're expected to reject who we are and constantly aim for something more. I think if I had to make a synopsis of all this, it would probably be that we just need BALANCE in everything.