Self-improvement manages to elude the grasp of several individuals. It seems like a simple concept, but becoming a better person requires a conscious effort. Many authors make thousands of dollars writing books on this same subject; I will attempt to provide insight into this universal issue in one small article.

There are three major aspects of our lives that we can hope to improve. Our physical which concerns our health and relationships with others. Our mental self which involves our understanding of the world we live in and understanding of ourselves. We can also improve our spiritual selves which involves our belief system whether it is religious or philosophical; it concerns what purpose we derive from life. By improving each of these aspects of life we can hope to achieve happiness.

Before we can examine the question in detail, we should explore the actual meaning of self-improvement. What exactly are we talking about? Well, I think that we can work to improve our physical, mental, and spiritual selves in order to achieve happiness, thus becoming a better person. Self-improvement is not anything that you will achieve overnight, it will take focus, will power and a good balance between these three aspects of life. Our society could improve a great deal by putting forth the effort to become better people, rather than remaining content with status quo.

How can one improve physically?

It is important for people to feel comfortable with themselves, and have a certain amount of security and self-confidence. After all if you can’t love yourself, who can you love? Therefore, spending some time taking care of your body through diet and exercises will affect your own perception of yourself. I am not implying that you must attempt to fit in with societies concept of beauty, but I am saying that keeping yourself healthy and feeling good will do wonders for your self-esteem.

Also to improve your physical self it is a good idea to develop and maintain valued relationships. Again, you don’t need to be a social butterfly, but life is much easier and more pleasurable when you can share special moments, or tragic events, with loved ones. With a strong sense of self, and strong relationships with people that will hold you accountable, you will soon start your long journey towards happiness.

How can one improve mentally?

It is important that you know yourself inside and out. Spend time reading about subjects that interest you, and spend time writing about these subjects as well. This will force you to think critically more often therefore opening your mind to new things. Life becomes more interesting when you spend time considering things from various viewpoints. You will not only learn more about other subjects, and other people, but you will ultimately learn more about yourself.

For some reason it reminds me of Atticus Finches advice to Scout. He told her to crawl around in someone’s skin before you judge them. Think about things from all sorts of perspectives before you make up your mind. Imagine what types of things could be avoided if everyone did this, arguments, fighting, theft, rape, and even war. Developing your internal self through reading, writing, and basically just, thinking will help open your mind and lead to wise decision making, thus continuing your pursuit to happiness.

How can one improve spiritually?

We can approach this question two different ways that may even overlap a little bit, religiously or philosophically. In order to improve yourself there should be a set of values that you believe in. These values are often determined for people through their religion. Because individuals have moral values dictated by their religion, they attempt to live their lives with purpose. In other words, because of their beliefs they try to abide by a certain moral code.

There are people that choose not to become involved with religion, but instead, live their lives based on their own philosophies. Depending on what their philosophies are, these people are at least self-motivated to abide by a certain ethical code.

Essentially, whatever religion we choose, or don’t choose, is of no consequence to self-improvement. The important thing is that we believe in something! Our lives must have some direction, some meaning, or we will not value our own lives, or others. I choose to believe in God, therefore, giving myself values to strive to obey. Although, I fall short of these at times, at least I can try to improve, while those without beliefs do not have the same motivation for improvement.

Examining your spiritual self and working to live by a certain set of morals will give you a basis that you can improve on. This will allow you to complete your journey towards happiness.