The Matter of Self-Improvement

The Matter of Self-Improvement

Things will likely become stagnant at some point in life, and you desire to change. According to Psychologist Albert Bandura, people endeavor to improve their situations by controlling what they can influence to accomplish their preferred future. The striving people make for the betterment of their condition rely on their agency to take appropriate actions. Self-improvement is crucial to realizing one's full potential.

What is self-improvement?

Merriam-Webster defines self-improvement as "the act or process of improving oneself by one's actions." A close examination of self-improvement's definition illustrates the improvement the individual desires is not left to chance. Two words that stand out in self-improvement's description are process and action. Therefore, a single act is not enough to achieve your end goal. Still, precisely defined and measurable steps can get you on your way.

Thought Experiment: Do you acknowledge your negative attributes?

Like any other pursuit in life, self-improvement requires a shift in mentality and a willingness to recognize that you have to change for things to change. This includes examining the relationship between the way you think and your achievements. Your efforts will likely stagnate if you act as a bystander. Therefore, your active participation must be intentional and built around positive support and personal accountability.

Thought Experiment: What changes have you made recently, and are those changes sustainable?

The self-improvement journey may begin with taking a personal inventory of your strengths and weaknesses based on a fact-finding analysis. This is an excellent opportunity to reflect and use your forethought capability to plan and execute actions based on previous experiences and successes. Use your forethought capability to assist with anticipating the outcomes of your behaviors. For example, you will know from prior experience procrastination has consequences for reaching your goals. In addition to using your forethought capability, your self-reflective capability is crucial to thinking and analyzing personal experiences to determine the best course of action.

Suppose you are looking to change in specific ways. In that case, Dr. William Glasser proposes we have choices, are responsible for our behaviors, and existentially create our destiny. Dr. Glasser uses Choice Theory to underpin Reality Therapy. Reality therapy assumes that we are first motivated to change once we realize that our behaviors hinder our progress. Secondly, we can choose our behaviors to get closer to who we want to become when we recognize change is necessary. Subsequently, we assess our present behaviors to ascertain the changes we want to make.

The matter of self-improvement arises from an enthusiastic approach to interfacing with your reality.

Empowering Minds. Inspiring Lives.