7 keys to a healthier life, according to self-help authors

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For a good chunk of my life, I thought self-help books were a scam. They hawked simple five-step solutions for how to “get the guy,” “10x your productivity” or “discover a new you.” I’d finish reading, test out the author’s newfangled method for a week and then find myself back at square one: unsatisfied with some of my life habits, but at a loss for how to tackle them.
I repeated the same cycle for an endless conveyor belt of trendy workouts, diets and beauty regimens that are especially inescapable here in California.
Eventually I realized I needed to find better books — ones that guided my own curiosity, rather than laid out my problems and vowed to solve them.
So I and Times staffers and contributors joined forces to find an exciting, eclectic mix of actually helpful self-help authors. Their conversations with The Times about their latest books seek to answer timely questions of our modern existence.
Here are 7 ways you can kick-start your own path to self-discovery.
California is a place where you can choose your own spiritual adventure. I hope these conversations will pique a curiosity to look within.
The urge for temporary self-improvement may be tempting, but it’s self-discovery that will pay dividends to the very end.
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Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from Barbara DeLaRonde-Leach of Palm Desert: the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego, where she sought a “reprieve from the desert heat” by attending a smooth jazz concert.
Barbara writes: “It was an afternoon/evening event at stunning venue located on the water at the marina. Acoustics and atmosphere were amazing, as were the spacious seating areas and grassy knoll where refreshments could be had.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporterDefne Karabatur, fellowAndrew Campa, Sunday reporterHunter Clauss, multiplatform editorChristian Orozco, assistant editorStephanie Chavez, deputy metro editorKarim Doumar, head of newsletters
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