I read an interesting bit of wisdom: Be careful what you wish for...may seem like it only applies to what you really want but actually it can be applied to what you were writing about concerning searching for answers to the self-improvement line of thinking. If we search hard enough we'll find the answer and it isn't often what it's cracked up to be. It seems like every day we read and hear new findings about the food we eat, air we breathe, make up we wear, water we drink, new trends and fads clog our TVs our online journeys, our email boxes and plastered as ads all over the place. Just when one flaw is dealt with using the latest techniques we "discover" a new flaw someone found. We're flawed because we're not perfect. So what? Too much focus on the outward and not enough focused on the inward makes for a thin wallet and nothing to show for it. Time people embraced themselves with a great big hug and stop worrying about what the world thinks you ought to look like and be yourself flaws and all. Not to say if you have areas like anger and other health stripping behaviors you shouldn't work on them to enable you to continue living a life full of health and happiness but the outward wrapper should never be the deciding factor of whether or not the inside contents should be explored or enjoyed. Life's too short to waste it on the what could be and what isn't.

Originally Posted by Innersky23

There is no such thing as “self improvement”.

The fallacy of self-improvement comes from the fact that you must first believe there is something outside that needs to be improved upon.

When people believe they are flawed, the tendency is to start searching, searching, and searching some more to find a solution, an answer…

Looking for meaning, solutions, and happiness “out there”.

Here’s the point, nothing outside can solve your problems.

If this were true, if there was a magical outside “fix” to life- there’d be no sad, high-strung, depressed people in the world.

There would be no depressed and unhappy rich folks…check out the tabloids!


Great news is that you already have the resources inside to be happy, wealthy, and successful.

This idea is so foreign to many (and to conventional knowledge) that most people would have trouble believing it!

It can be a “hard pill to swallow”…especially when you feel in lack, lonely, depressed, or frustrated. When you can’t pay your bills, hate your job, and things aren’t going right.

But, this breakthrough can happen instantly.

All you need is a shift. This will enable you to get CLEAR on what you want, be inspired to take MASSIVE action, and things will start to move into place effortlessly.

When your life changes overnight, it’s not because you “improved” yourself, it’s because you had an internal shift.

This internal shift can also be called “alignment”. When you are in alignment with what you want, you will always manifest it.

And manifesting is not a magical voo-doo power from la la land…its the ability to “align” your conscious desires with the power of your unconscious mind…and thus create what you want faster than “improving” yourself from a point of limitation.



Redirecting to Your Success!!

I am glad my original post got lost in cyberspace because I really wanted to re-write my reply. Not that it was bad or anything, just not as clear.

I believe there IS such a thing as "self-improvement" but I don't believe in over analyzing or researching to the point what started out minor flaw becomes a major neurosis. There is balance in all things.

An example: If you continually lose your job because your attitude toward staff or clients are the cause, then this "shift" IS self-improvement, it's just another word for it but it's synonymous or the same as shifting internally. It's realizing you have a nasty attitude and if you hope to keep your job, you'll change your attitude to reflect more positivity or fix whatever the cause of your losing your job. In essence you see what you need to improve and, without going to extremes, you fix it. This is self-improvement.

I think it's dangerous to lump everything under the umbrella of self improvement. There's a difference between environmental factors contributing to depression and a true biological chemical imbalance causing it as an example. No amount of wanting to change will reverse the chemical imbalance, only a trained medical professional can prescribe proper treatment to help with this ailment. On the other hand, getting off one's best intentions and getting work or revising the budget to live within one's means is, in itself self-improvement we can all use.

There is something to be said for the increasing number of what I call Cyber Hypochondria; a condition born by visiting medical websites and so forth to find an answer to something minor. An example is having the Bubonic Plague diagnosis for the common cold found when researching the symptoms. There's a clear difference between the two, but given enough "research" the common sniffle turns into something far more fatal.