The past century has been marked by a surge in competitive cultures and an increasing focus on personal success and mental health in the civilized world. This focus on self-improvement has manifested itself in many advice books, seminars, and articles that help people live a more fulfilling life.
Beyond personal development articles, this post will explore some of these suggestions for self-improvement tips and examine whether they can promote fulfillment. We’ll also be looking at counterarguments that suggest we may simply be chasing an unobtainable goal.
Smarter Self-Improvement with self-improvement goals
The Greek philosopher and logician Aristotle once wrote, “The purpose of life is to live well.” However, a more modern view is that our purpose in life is not simply to live well. Instead, our purpose in life is to be happy.
When we define ourselves as happiness rather than ambition or prestige, it becomes much easier to accept failures and succeed at the endgame.
We don’t pursue happiness simply because we are supposed to, but we seek it because it is the best way to become and stay happy in terms of goal setting.
As a general rule, we should not be seeking self-improvement Self-improvement ideas to be happier. Falling into this trap will almost certainly make us miserable. Happiness is more like a side effect of pursuing self-improvement rather than an ultimate goal.
If you are not improving, you are regressing.
Self-improvement approaches are a process and an ongoing journey rather than a destination in a different aspect of life. The research for this article was done mainly from the library of books that line my office walls. I have always found valuable self-help literature in my own life — but not as a way to achieve happiness permanently. Instead, it seems much more helpful as a source of insights that can help me deal with specific problems in my life.
Is There a “Secret” for self-improvement?
This is crazy: I have read many self-improvement books that emphasize being happy. Yet, I feel like the most popular self-improvement books are not good at helping people achieve happiness.
It seems to me that most of these books seek to convey wisdom and insight through simple anecdotes and metaphors. When you read these stories, you have a revelation. You learn something that you had never understood before.
It seems to me that the problem with self-improvement literature is that it tells many stories, but it doesn’t tell you much about what to do to achieve happiness.
Perhaps self-improvement books can help us understand how different people have become happy. Still, there is no evidence that a single book or even a list of “secrets” can help us achieve happiness ourselves.
What does It mean to be “Self-Improving”?
The idea of self-improvement has been challenging for me to pin down. I have known “successful people” who have spent their lives trying to improve themselves, yet they have never succeeded in feeling happy, fulfilled, or confident. They always want more money, a better spouse, and a more prestigious job title. This desire for self-improvement can grow into selfishness or even egotism.
Almost everyone I know who is good at something is not very good at being happy in daily life.
Instead of improving myself as a human being, I would try to be the best version of myself. This sounded complicated, but it means that I will focus on developing my strengths and minimizing my weaknesses.
My job as a person is to become the most well-rounded and integrated version of myself that I can — not the most talented or impressive version.
Ultimately, I want to become happy and fulfilled. But for now, I see this self-improvement as mostly a form of self-care. It would help if you were pleased and it isn’t a secret; it is something you can think about all day long. It is not something that will “happen” because you read self-help books or take suitable online courses. It is something that you must work on every day.
What is Self-Improvement Motivation?
If you are a self-improver, you may feel like there is no point reading this article. I get it. You’ve read books, taken courses, and tried to change your life based on inspirational wisdom. But this personal development seems to have worked in a very uninspiring way: It hasn’t made you happy or fulfilled, and now you’re unsure what else to do.
If this sounds like you, stop reading self-improvement books — but don’t stop working on yourself. Keep doing what you’re doing. Approached in the right way, self-improvement is a valuable and necessary part of personal growth while improving your health conditions and quality of life.
People who feel like they have made no progress in their self-improvement are generally the most in need of some form of transformation in their lives.
