Study smarter. Run faster. Work harder. Be better. Self-improvement is a never-ending battle within the realm of your own mind. It is the evolved pre-frontal cortex that is in a constant state of battle for control with your primitive reptilian brain. It is the two voices inside your head that are relentlessly negating each other. As your conscious attempts to keep you on the right path of motivation, the signal is then lost and replaced with your instinctual desire to never want to change, gravitating you toward procrastination. The part of us that is human and self-aware keeps constantly nagging us to improve, while the part of us that reverts us back to animals is keeping us from reaching those goals. The reality is, we are walking contradictions, but this does not mean you are not meant to succeed in life.
Overcoming the biggest challenge in self-improvement is coming to the realization that your failures can become a strength when viewed from a different angle. Your failures are decisions that have been made by you. You may have made an error due to your lack of motivation to not wake up this morning and go for that run you have been attempting to talk yourself into going on for over a week, yet that is a part of you that made that decision. First off, do not beat yourself up about it. The mistake has been made. There is no point in sulking over your primitive brain winning over your better judgment, but you can make the conscious effort to learn from your mistakes.
Secondly, you are never meant to shut out your primitive brain. It is there for a reason. It controls the physiological functions that are basic to the survival of all organisms, yet our minds are more complex than the average animals. We are meta-cognitive. Aware that we are self-aware, and in that beauty comes the responsibility of mind training.
This is where I cannot stress the practice of medication enough. It is the act of exercising your brain into honing self-control. Meditation is at times referred to as the act of quieting the mind, yet the average human is estimated to having between 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day. As hard as we may try, we cannot dim the lights on our natural ability to process the world around us, yet becoming aware of our thoughts is the true purpose of mind training.
My personal journey toward self-improvement is an on-going battle, as I am a flawed human being who is only attempting to improve my daily habits, to remind myself of my strengths, and to not allow my weaknesses to overcome me. I am an over-analyzer who struggles to love her imperfections and failures because I do not want them to be a part of me, yet meditation has allowed me to recognize when I am being negative toward myself. It has allowed me to distinguish the difference between constructive criticism and hatred toward myself. It has helped me realize that the primitive, flawed part of me is still a part of me, and I choose to love it. My uphill battle is meant to be a challenge, yet I will continue to enjoy the view with every step toward the top and at every altitude.
If you are interested in learning more about the art of meditation, please take a look at Headspace.com. I personally use it every day. It is a 10 minute, guided meditation. The first level is a free, 10 day guided meditation course that will help you learn more about the power of mind training. There are also free mindfulness apps that are worth looking over if Headspace is out of your price range.
