You’ve probably heard people challenge the notion of self betterment because free will doesn’t exist.
Everyone from Sam Harris to your favorite science journalist throws this idea around.
Frankly, I do too.
But even though I see no evidence for free will, I also see evidence for what I call “acts of will.”
There are acts of will that make your life better. And there are acts of will that make your life worse.
So even though we do face the sticky problem of “free will,” let’s dive into how we can engage in meaningful self development that lasts.
I’ll share some of my favorite self betterment books along the way too.
Ready?
Let’s dive in!
What Is Self Betterment?
There’s a major problem with this term that’s pretty easy to state:
Hardly anyone can agree on what exactly a “self” is. Consciousness scientists often say it’s an illusion. And Douglas Hofstadter thinks that if your “sense of self” does exist, it’s just a strange loop.
The most empowering thing you can do then is to take up this challenge:
Define two things for yourself:
What is your “self”?
How do you want to better your experience of being you?
I’m starting with the absolute best way to get more out of living, because just about every philosopher from Socrates to Nietzsche and Diogenes to Deleuze agree that you need to participate in the labeling process.
As we know, labeling is also a key part of self improvement paths like Buddhism.
In sum, you already start to make everything better by getting engaged in the naming process.
Self Betterment: 10 Epic Ways To Journey Towards Greatness
As we go through this list of suggestions, remember this simple principle:
Action reveals. Stasis conceals.
If you don’t take action, it’s impossible to see any results. That’s because to create order in your life, you need to start moving. There are lots of ways to do that, but here’s the key:
When you take action, you create “data.” You give yourself information to analyze and draw conclusions from.
But when you sit still, a minimum of information arises. And thinking about that small pool of data is usually pretty depression because the most you can say is that you’re procrastinating (again).
So pick at least one of the following activities and take action today.
Use a journal to track the action you took and reflect on the information your experience produced.
One: Say Yes, Then Invest
No matter what, you need to invest at least two things in bettering yourself. But most likely it will be a combination of these four elements:
- Time
- Energy
- Focus
- Money
In this case, “money” is actually more like “energy.” You’re using it to accelerate your progress.
The problem is that no one can tell you what books or programs will help you the most.
Personally, I like non-duality books, especially Happiness Beyond Thought.
But you know what?
None of them helped me until I made myself open to them. Initially, I completely rejected the possibility, as shared in my TEDx Talk:
I’m sure glad I was willing to listen to my friend Ben and give a few other ideas and avenues of action a try.
Yes, it’s always an investment, but how else are you going to get a return?
Two: “Biohack” Your Brain & Body (With Caution)
I’ve gone through some crazy experiences with my health.
But the only way to experience any improvement was to experiment. The carnivore diet didn’t work out well. But I’m glad I gave it a try, even if I had to work hard to get back on the horse.
Cold showers worked out much better. Especially in combination with moderate elimination dieting.
I suggest that you journal any biohacking you engage in.
It’s important that you can recall various aspects of the journey to note trends and find clues that can help you improve along the way.
Three: Make Music Part Of Everything
Nietzsche said that life without music would be an error.
Yet, how many of us listen to it passively each and every day without actively engaging in it?
Too many people, as far as I can tell.
Set time aside to put some music on and really listen to it.
For more joy, take a course or watch some Rick Beato breakdowns to get a sense of how music operates.
One thing I’ve found very helpful is to memorize the lyrics of songs with positive messages.
That way, when you feel down, you can withdraw into a song you know very well and instantly improve your mental experience. Gunter Kreutz has demonstrated this in many studies, even showing that the brain produces healing chemicals when we sing.
And when it comes to self betterment, being that person who can bring a smile to someone’s face by singing a tune… that skill is priceless.
Four: Read The Masters Of Betterment & Personal Growth
Years ago James Clear mentioned that one of his favorite strategies was to read books that were at least 100 years old.
This strategy is so important, especially in a world clogged with copyists. It seems like the self help section of every book is filled with endless variations on the same thing.
True, this blog shares a lot of similar ideas, so I’m not trying to throw rocks at glass houses. But one of the only people doing anything interesting in self help these days is Ryan Holiday.
Although I take issue with some of the Stoic Virtues, he does great work making clear what they are and why they might help you.
And here’s a point a lot of people don’t realize:
Older isn’t necessarily better, but there’s a simple reason the ancient self help philosophers still have their books in print: Their ideas are valuable.
Harder to read?
Sure, but the fact that people keep reading them only adds to the thesis that there’s something very special about what they were saying.
So as a rule of thumb, sprinkle at least a few ancient texts in with your contemporary reading. I suggest Aristotle’s The Nichomachean Ethics, which is a guide to happiness from someone who believed it was possible to achieve the goal of being content in this lifetime.
Five: Learn A Language
Make no mistake, learning a language will challenge you.
It exercises your ability to commit and requires consistency.
But bilingualism is healthy for the brain. And long story short: The more languages you know, the more books you can read and the more people you can converse with.
Even if you’re an introvert, knowing more about how other people from other cultures think will improve your life.
Six: Stop Nitpicking & Noodling Over Unimportant Questions
A lot of people ask questions around self improvement vs self betterment.
I’m sorry, but this granular focus on the meaning of words isn’t getting anyone anywhere. Unless…
You’re going to become an etymologist. For that outcome, I recommend running these words through Etymonline.
Provided you commit the definitions to memory, then it’s not nitpicking at all.
For example, you might learn that betterment is more closely tied to action and improvement to investment. But as I said at the beginning of this post, action is an investment of time and energy.
So the intellectual noodling winds up rather circular in the end.
To catch yourself in this habit, try keeping a journal of what your thoughts are like for a couple of weeks. The more you observe with deep and physical engagement, the more likely you’ll start to catch these loops and free yourself from them.
Seven: Start Digging Into The Big Questions That Matter
What are the most important questions? The ones that warrant a few deep dives into semantics?
Ultimately, that’s up to you. Here’s a massive list of philosophical questions to draw upon. I visit them often myself.
But it’s even better if you can engage in philosophical discussions with other people. Whether it’s online, in a comment thread, or with people directly in a cafe or while out walking, you’ll improve your life by digging into the big questions of life.
To help ensure that you don’t repeat the problem of asking after things that are small and unimportant, it’s helpful to avoid pseudo questions. But again, it’s really important that you decide on what’s a real question or not through dialogue. Iron sharpens iron, as they say.
Eight: Make It About Others
We’ve all heard about gratitude by now.
But keeping a gratitude journal is different than giving without expectation.
It’s hard to say just what kind of giving will work, but you can work that out in your journal.
You can give time, expertise, money or physical resources you have on hand. How many unread books might find a home in a library, for example? Or how about clothes you’ve got in bags or plastic containers in the garage? Someone could be wearing them and it will make you feel great to have tidied things up and hold the knowledge in your heart that you’ve helped someone else.
In case you’re wondering, I’m not just suggesting this for the sake of it. I once carried over 2000 books to a charity bin for diabetes research in Vancouver. I gave away signed editions of books by Umberto Eco, Susan Swan and even a comic book version of eXistenZ signed by David Cronenberg. It felt good knowing that these “prized” possessions I had hardly looked at in years were going to help others.
Nine: Ditch The “Wake Up Early” Nonsense
Don’t get me wrong:
I get up early. Almost every day.
But if I could sleep longer, I would!
The reality is this advice is great, if it’s for you. But there are plenty of other ways to get yourself focused so you can get more done in a day.
Maybe you need to invest in a coach, for example.
Or you need to pick a better goal. Many times when people lack motivation or otherwise fail to show up, it’s because they’ve chosen something they don’t actually care about.
It could also be that they’ve made it about themselves, instead of focusing on others.
Now, I’m not saying that you have to become an entrepreneur to free yourself from the daily grind. Not everyone is risk averse enough, or interested in the tasks involved in delegating work to others.
But you can look around and figure out ways to support people who are doing work you admire.
Then, even if you still have to get up early, at least you’ll be doing so with fire and excitement burning in your heart and mind.
Ten: Kill The Buddha
It breaks my heart every time someone reads my book, The Victorious Mind, but asks questions that suggest they didn’t finish it.
Here’s why:
I started Self-Improvement Supercharger because the status of the “self” is so poorly understood.
So many people have started cults of personality around their “tips and tricks” instead of helping you rid yourself of the teaching as soon as possible.
Sure, we all have to make money and there’s a lot of learn from just about every “guru.”
But do you know what guru actually means? It means to shine light into the darkness.
And the only one who can do that is you.
This principle is what I arrive at when I conclude The Victorious Mind. I share a story in which I felt repeatedly like reaching out and asking questions of Gary Weber. His books had impacted me profoundly and it helped that he answered some of my questions.
But I’m glad I finally realized his lessons and started to ask the questions of myself. I realized, finally, that the guru is within, just waiting to get out by taking the risk of living life flat out.
That means taking risks. It means proceeding without an answer to every question.
It means realizing that you really can’t Google it, at least not when it counts.
So train your mind to produce the answers you need. No one else can train it for you.
In other words, when you see the Buddha, kill the Buddha. The full quote is instructive and will help you attune yourself to what really matters above all: You.
Self Betterment: The Journey That Never Ends
There’s an interesting puzzle that is its own solution.
We often think that we’re going to get something in the future or achieve transformation “someday.”
But it’s always right now.
And as far as anyone can honestly tell, there’s nothing “outside” of the now.
Sure, some transcendental philosophers tell us that there’s an ideal realm of perfection, and others speak of heaven.
But where are these ideas?
These ideas are in you. They are in the now.
Even if you find them “tomorrow,” then too, they will be in the now.
As soon as you’ve realized this simple fact, you will be free to enjoy the ride that never ends.
How can I say such a thing?
Well, where is the concept of never other than right here and right now?
Keep travelling and enjoy this ride.
And if you’d like a travel companion as you go, please consider going through my Daily Discipline Masterplan guide and video course. It’s free:
