What Is Self Improvement?

Just what is self improvement? You see this term bandied about almost everywhere; on the net, in book shops and on television. There are countless articles praising this method or that method of self improvement, can they really all work?

Just to make things worse, there are other terms which seem to mean the same or similar. Terms such as 'personal development', 'self help' etc.. In the end, anyone can just end up feeling dizzy and confused. So what really is 'self-improvement'?

Take a step back for a moment and look at the two words; self and improvement. Doesn't it seem so simple and obvious? We are talking about making yourself better. Yet, if we are making ourselves better, doesn't that mean that we are somehow unwell or unfit?

I know when I am unwell medically, I often can tell when I am feeling less fit than at other times. These, though, are physical indicators; how can we tell when our 'self' is unwell? Is there some sort of pain in the psyche, some ache in the aura or a contusion in the consciousness that we should be aware of?

In fact, few people who embark upon self improvement are, in any way, unwell. They are often very lucid, intelligent and thoughtful people who are seeking, in some way, to improve themselves.

A question we should try to answer is whether we are trying to better ourselves or to be better than other people. It is my belief that self improvement is not about trying to be better than someone else, it is about being better yourself. I do, sometimes, worry though that people embark upon self improvement as if it were a competition and that the goal is to be better than your work colleagues, your neighbors or your friends.

It is better that you embark upon a course or program of self improvement by using your current 'self' as a baseline. You can then select an area of your 'self' or your life that you would like to improve. Forget other people, except perhaps for role-models or inspirational people, you are not competing with other people, you are simply working on your 'self'. That, it seems, would be the true essence of self improvement.

Doug Woods is a qualified teacher, life coach, counsellor and trainer. You can find out more about his work at his website www.dougwoods.com