Is Reading Fiction Beneficial For Personal Development?

We all know the significance of reading personal development books.

Stuff like Think and Grow Rich and 48 Laws of Power.

But can reading fiction books be helpful too?

The answer to that question requires a closer look because it is not a simple “yes” or “no” answer.

In my opinion, it really depends on the fiction--that is, genre-- and how much you’re willing to read.

Also, most lessons found in fiction are interwoven into the story rather than being simply presented to you like they are in personal development books.

For example, one of my favorite fictional quotes is from the book Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas:

“Admire yourself and others will admire you too” is one of Monsieur Villifort’s axioms in life.

It’s a powerful message, but one that isn’t presented in the book till many pages in.

Robert Greene, however, mentions this same idea in the 34th Law of Power in only a few pages.

You see my point?

Fiction can have really good lessons and personal development advice--especially ancient stories like Aesop's Fables-- but it requires you to get invested into the story and “work for it,” so to speak.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not really a fan of trudging through hundreds of pages of a story to get some practical advice.

(This isn’t to discredit the power of storytelling or of reading fiction though).

Then, of course, there’s the kind of fiction that is for pure entertainment in which you shouldn’t expect any kind of practical advice.

Twilight, anyone?

So to answer the above question more concisely:

Yes, fiction books can be helpful and even beneficial, however the practical knowledge requires more time and mental fortitude to extract from the text.

As far as personal development goes, non-fiction is the best way to go.

Fiction certainly has benefits, which perhaps I’ll talk about in a later post, but they aren’t incredibly helpful in terms of personal development.

-Ryan, Persona Coach

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