Self improvement now! What is self improvement? When we talk of self improvement, the "self" that we wish to improve is our image or concept of who or what we are. All personal growth always results from transforming or refining our idea of our "self". This is because a change in our sense of self invariably leads to a change in our attitudes, our words, our actions - and thus in our life experience. Having a nobler self image has been demonstrated to bring about definite changes in our abilities, relationships and circumstances (Dr. Maxwell Maltz's famous book Psycho-Cybernetics reveals how such a simple change as seeing one's self as attractive rather than ugly profoundly changes one's life). The resultant expansion of our personal horizons and possibilities empowers us to attain or attract our desires more quickly, more assuredly and more easily. There is never any static state in the universe. Every entity is either growing and evolving or it is retrograding and declining. Whenever an entity appears to be static, it is simply because its rate of growth is equal to its rate of decline. This underscores the need for us to consciously aspire to better ourselves - to attempt to stay put is to fall behind in the scheme of things! However, we must work within the framework of a system persistently practised, for there to be any hope of success in this quest for a nobler sense of self. Otherwise, pitfalls, temptations and distractions would soon undermine us. The Two Strategies for Personal Growth  All forms of individual advancement fall under one of two types, which we may categorize as Nurturing and Neglect.A person may attain cultural evolution by nurturing certain behavioural patterns, attitudes and ideas which s/he considers to be better than those s/he presently exhibits. This applies to the cultivation of virtues. For instance, you may decide to improve the quality of your life by deliberately developing a positive mental attitude. You may save yourself from depression through the practice of “possibility thinking” or through learning to increase your faith in Life. On the other hand, a person also evolves by choosing to neglect behavioural patterns, attitudes and ideas which s/he considers to be of a lower standard than those s/he cares to exhibit. Thus, you may deliberately starve your bad habits of attention and let them wither and die. However, it is by combining these two approaches that optimum personal development occurs. That is, while you may deliberately neglect your vices, you at the same time, nourish your virtues with the power of your consciousness. Subscribe to our NewsletterEffective-spirituality Newsletter focuses on issues related to self improvement and making the most of our perfect gift of life. |