Self-Improvement Is Not Easy, But Can Set You Free

40 Tips To Re-Invent and Re-Launch at Age 40, 50, or Beyond. (Tip #14)

Reinventing is not for the faint of heart.  Once you are focused on the areas to improve, and you become aware of owning your mistakes, more flaws seem to appear.  Sometimes I think it would be easier to just live in denial and not work on creating a better self.

People are subtle. They do not bluntly show their disapproval of others. However, if you are paying attention, you will hear from others who you fail.  When you are open to self-awareness you are going to discover that you say and do things that do not always bring pleasure to co-workers, clients, family members, friends, etc...  It can be surprising how often we are selfish, say the wrong thing, are not tuned into the feelings of others, and react negatively to all sorts of issues.

It can be painful to become conscious of how you are not living up to your full potential and your personal views of your own being.  But it can also be great to find your short-comings.  It is important to realize that these negative areas (or failures) are not unique to you.  Everyone has faults and it is common for people to have areas that need to be fixed in their life.  If we think others are perfect (or at least close to perfect), then our own issues become a painful burden.  

This is why I spent much of my life ignoring my mistakes.  It was too hard to admit I missed the mark at in my professional and personal life.  Yet these days I find it fun to find a new way to improve.  If I am honest with myself, it is just part of the journey to fail, but the key for my re-launching of myself is that I have to learn from the past errors and not repeat them (or at least not repeat them too often).

This takes time.  Declaring a new direction does not make it happen.  Recreating patterns takes a massive commitment and repeated actions. Self Improvement is never easy, but it is both fun and freeing.  Understanding that you are a work in progress makes the weight of mistakes much lighter, and knowing you are not repeating the bad things can create a sense of anticipation for the future.

Have A Great Day

thom singer