Self improvement

                        SELF IMPROVEMENT

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

             -Ernest Hemingway

The definition of self-improvement is pretty self-explanatory: self-improvement is the improvement of one’s knowledge, status, or character by one’s own effort. It’s the quest to make ourselves better in any and every facet of life.

Self-improvement almost always starts with self-awareness and the ability to transform your habits. Self-awareness helps us to realize who we are and what we have. At the same time, it also makes us aware of our strengths and our weaknesses. By knowing our weakness, we can improve on them, thereby making ourselves a better version of our previous self. 

We should also identify our objectives. If you are still unsure about your specific goals, then think about what you want to achieve ultimately in your life. Once you have realized that, you can improve yourself in that particular direction. Think about five years from now- think what you want to achieve in your life at that point. Once you have your answer, start working on that. It helps you to clear your mind and keeps you focused on your goals. But this is just the beginner step.

Then comes the hard part- why? It is easy to say, “five years later, I want to have my boss’s job.”, but why? Self-improvement is meaningless if you have no reasoning behind it, as you will lose focus on your objective if you do not have motivation. And this motivation comes from ‘why?’ as it will always be there to remind you why you must do it when you are tired and about to give up.

Let me explain this to you with a story.

Wilma Rudolph may be a stranger to those from our generation, but those from 60’s and 70’s might be quite familiar with the name. born into a poor town of Tennessee, she was diagnosed with double pneumonia with scarlet fever, a deadly combination which left her paralyzed with polio at the age of four. She had to wear a brace and the doctor said that she would never put her foot on the earth. But her mother encouraged her; she told Wilma that with God-given ability, persistence and faith she could do anything she wanted. Wilma said, “I want to be the fastest woman on the track on this earth.” At the age of nine, against the advice of the doctors, she removed the brace and took the first step the doctors had said she never would. At the age of 13, she entered her first race and came way, way last. And then she entered her second, and third and fourth and came way, way last until a day came when she came in first.

At the age of 15, she went to Tennessee state university where met a coach by the name of Ed Temple. She told him, “I want to be the fastest woman on the track on this earth.” Temple said, “With your spirit, no body can stop you and besides, I will help you.”

The day came when she was at the Olympics and at the Olympics you are matched with the best of the best. Wilma was matched against a woman named Jutta Heine who had never been beaten. The first event was the 100-meter race. Wilma beat Jutta Heine and won her first gold medal. The second event was the 200-meter race and Wilma beat Jutta a second time and won her second gold medal. The third event was the 400-meter relay and she was racing against Jutta one more time. In the relay, the fastest person always runs the last lap and they both anchored their teams. The first three people ran and changed the baton easily. When it came to Wilma’s turn, she dropped the baton. But Wilma saw Jutta shoot up at the other end; she picked up the baton, ran like a machine, beat Jutta a third time and won her third gold medal. It became history; that a paralytic woman became the fastest woman on this earth at the 1960 Olympics.

If you look at Wilma Rudolph’s story after knowing her history, you will find both self-awareness and motivation. A paralytic woman got her objective: she wanted to be the fastest woman on the planet. A nigh-impossible goal which was achieved in the end due to her stubbornness and dedication. Then came ‘why’. Why did she want to become the fastest woman? The depression that she felt when she was on her brace and the motivation her mother provided paved a path for her: to believe in herself. The step that she took at the age of nine might had been a shabby one, but it was taken with sheer dedication, willpower and a hunger to prove herself, to prove all other wrong. What you will call a miracle, it is a story of self-improvement to me that tells me that if you want to do anything in your life, all that matters in the end is you yourself. As Albert Einstein once said, “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”

“No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you’ve come from, you can always change; become a better version of yourself.”

Madonna