Reasons Not To Improve Yourself

Why does the world keep telling me to improve myself?

Don’t they know what it takes to do that?  Life is hard enough as it is, without me having some sort of project on the side.

But people keep telling me I have to get better, stronger, keep learning, and keep on improving.

Why shouldn’t I improve myself?

 

Because I’m afraid of change.

I’ve grown comfortable where I am, and why would I want to change?

I don’t know what will happen, when I do, and if I’ll still be able to have this level of comfort that I have now.

Change, and what I have to do to get it, seems so hard, and it scares me to leave where I am now, to go to a place that I don’t know.

And I’ll never know, until I get there.

So then, I’ll stay where I am right now, even though I see a better place to be, because it’s just too scary to do all the work, and maybe, fail in the end.

I don’t want to change.

I’m afraid.

That never got anyone, anywhere.

 

Because I might disappoint others, and myself.

I want to be perfect.  I don’t want to fail.

And to improve myself, and do new things, means that I have a chance of failing.

I will be rejected by people, and I’ll feel the pain of failure, and not measuring up to other people’s expectations.

I don’t want to be a disappointment, and be branded a failure.

But if I take steps to improve myself, and stumble along the way, that’s what will happen to me.

I won’t be perfect.

So I just won’t try, and keep me, my feelings, and my ego, safe.

Nothing might happen to me, but at least, I’ll feel safe.

I’ll stay the same, and still end up disappointing others, and myself.

 

Because it’s too tedious to learn something new.

Change, and the progress and action required to achieve results, needs you to do new things you might have never done before, and learn new things which you have never thought about before.

Because if you did, and you followed through, you wouldn’t be having this problem.

I’d rather not improve myself, because it’s so hard to study and learn something new.  I didn’t do it before, and that’s that.

I’m old, and I have to start at bottom again, and why do I have to do that?

I’ll just stick to what I know, even if there’s not a lot of demand or need for it.  Or even if I have an opportunity that requires me to learn, train, and study, something new.

But then again, there are many people out there who are studying, and continuing to pick up, learn, and even master, new skills.

It’s never too late to learn.

 

Because I’m happy with where I am now.

That’s what I tell myself everyday.

Even as I wish for a life different than what I have now.

Even as I feel the jealousy inside of me, as I see other people who have the lives that I want.

Even as I curse my dumb luck that got me to where I am now.

Even as I face the difficulty of getting out of my situation, and crumbling in fear.

Even as I cling tightly to the comfort that I have, and let go of my deepest dreams.

It’s not getting things that make us happy.  It’s progress that makes us happy.  In anything.

And just because you’re happy with where you are now, doesn’t mean you’re going to be happy in the future.

That’s not how the world works.

Is there progress?  Are you growing?  Are you getting better?

Are you changing?

Are you becoming more of who you want to be?

Are you becoming more of who you really are?

 

Because I can’t _____________________.

Fill in the blank with whatever you’re saying to yourself, right now.

By saying that statement, over and over, you’re reinforcing that belief.

That definition of yourself.  That you made.

Or maybe that was an opinion of somebody else, but it’s you that’s carrying it.  Believing in it.

When did you start to define yourself negatively?

And we can keep on coming up with “can’t” statements, because it’s much easier to say that you can’t do something, rather than say you can, and then prove to yourself you can do it.

It takes no guts to say you can’t.

Yet, it’s these statement that stand in the way of us improving ourselves.

 

That’s just the way I am.

All of these reasons, stem from a belief that I can’t change myself.

That it’s too late, too tedious, and impossible to change, and see results.

That’s not true.  An outright lie.

Created by fear, doubt, insecurity, attachment.

And those aren’t good reasons to not improve yourself.

Because all of those are limitations, cast upon us, and accepted by us.

No reason stands in the way of a good mission, purpose, dream in life.

You just do what it takes to make it happen.

You do what it takes to improve yourself.

 

What reasons have you had to not improve yourself?   Please share in the comments below!