What is Self Improvement?
There are so many blogs out there that write about self improvement, personal growth and personal development (all three are one and the same thing), but I didn’t see a clear and complete definition for the term on any of them. So here I am, defining Self Improvement.
The short definition would be: “knowledge that enhances personal value“. But let’s find out what’s behind that.
Self improvement represents the actions you can take to enhance how you are, and to develop your physical, mental and emotional capabilities. Another short definition for self improvement would be “improvement of one’s condition through one’s own efforts.”
The first steps you need to take in order to start your personal growth process correctly involve getting to know yourself better. For the purpose of getting to know yourself better, you could divide your person into four selves.
Physical
To begin with there is building body strength and stamina, through regular exercises. These exercises are best done outdoors, because with the outdoors comes breathing fresh air.
Equally important, if appropriate, is weight loss or gain. This can be done through changes in diet or by eating healthier. Plenty of rest and sleep are also important.
Determine your current physical status and then take the necessary actions to improve your physical weaknesses.
Mental
Mental growth comes through reasoning, conversations, problem solving, decision making and acquiring useful and healthy knowledge.
Learning to control attention, thoughtfulness and focus are also important steps in developing better mental attitudes.
Take time to determine your current mental strengths and weaknesses, and then take action to improve your mental fitness.
Emotional
Emotional development comes from the ability to recognize and develop feelings inside yourself. Learning to control these feelings is the next step in the process of emotional improvement.
Sensitivity is an essential part of your emotional self and you should work hard on it’s development, by becoming sensitive to the personal needs of others and by being open and receptive to the beauty of nature.
Like the first two attributes, analyze yourself closely and work on your weak spots, whilst improving your strong ones.
Spiritual
This doesn’t necessarily have to do anything with religion (although religion provides the most ample form of spiritual growth). Spiritual development can come from being open to the possibilities of the hidden aspects of life, and exploring the meaning of life.
If you feel like you need a spiritual guidance in your life, you should take time to explore the spiritual teachings of a religion of your choice.
These are the four aspects of the human person that the knowledge of self improvement is targeting. As you notice, self improvement helps you grow your life in a vertical direction, focusing on your inner elevation rather than the material gains (however, they comes as results of the inner elevation).
Self improvement is a science that draws its knowledge from three other sciences.
Philosophy
Philosophy is a form of social conscience and constitutes a coherent system of ideas and notions that reflect the most general aspects of reality. To put it short, philosophy is a general conception regarding the life and the world.
Knowledge of philosophy can help you develop your mental, emotional and spiritual attributes.
Psychology
Psychology is a discipline that involves scientific studies of the human mental processes and behaviours. It studies phenomenons such as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior and interpersonal relationships. It also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity (very useful for self improvement), including issues related to daily life (e.g. family, education, work, et cetera).
Psychological knowledge is used in personal development in order to grow your mental and emotional attributes.
Health Sciences
Health sciences are a group of applied science disciplines that deal with the human health. The health sciences are composed of two parts:
- The study and research of health and the application of the resulting knowledge to improve health, prevent and cure diseases;
- Understanding how the human body functions.
As you may already know, the health sciences are helping you in your physical improvement quest.
You now know exactly what self improvement is and where it has it’s roots.
As an ending, here’s my own personal definition of self improvement:
Self improvement is a mix of philosophical, psychological and health related knowledge that offers an individual the power to improve his life.
What is your definition of self improvement?
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A well thought-out post. My definition is simpler, and perhaps a little more vague: Self improvement is whatever makes you “more” than you were before. Obviously this can be misinterpreted, but the basic idea matches yours rather closely.
As you said, your definition -is- simpler, but at the same time very vague. I believe a definition shouldn’t create space for misinterpretations, it should be as clear as possible.
Your definition is very good, but only among those who are “in the field” and already know what it defines. I doubt it would manage to explain what self improvement is to my grandmother.
A good and new definition for self-improvement! This helps to organize our life, establish and achieve goals.
A noteworthy article to be appreciated……
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