Self improvement is tough to do when you’re depressed. It’s also one of those things that stresses people out even if they aren’t depressed. Because self improvement is the acknowledgment that some part of you needs improving upon. That’s a tough idea to swallow no matter what your emotional state.

Why does self improvement matter?

At first blush, self improvement seems to be something that millennials or New Age people would be doing most. But everyone practices self improvement. Remember when you first learned to write? You learned a skill, then practised until you improved.

Self improvement is about improving a part of your self or life that you believe needs improvement. This could be your goals or motivation, your emotional state, your physical appearance, your lifestyle, your happiness index, family, or any thing else that is important to you. 

Self improvement matters because it allows you to develop skills that don’t come to you naturally. For instance, I’m depressed. Exercise isn’t one of those things in my life that has a high priority. But my body has been getting sicker over the past months, in part to family genetics and in part to lifestyle. My health matters to me. I want to help my body get stronger. So I’m going to develop my skill of exercising my body.

My self improvement is not only learning how to exercise properly, but developing a new way of thinking about exercise. My mind needs to present positive thoughts about exercise, and to set realistic expectations. I have to stop negative self talk. So I won’t worry about losing ten pounds in one week. Instead, my focus is to simply accept whatever improvement happens to my body as a result of me sticking with my exercise program. That simple act of gratitude for whatever self improvement occurs takes the stress out of setting unrealistic goals, and constant negative self talk about being a failure when it comes to exercise.

Be grateful. Recognize your self worth.

That idea is important when it comes to self improvement. Too often we judge ourselves against what others think of us, or how they treat us. Self esteem and confidence are usually the victims of other people’s opinions.

In any self improvement plan, you need to put gratitude and recognition of your self worth at the top of the list. Whatever you set out to do – lose weight – you need to be grateful for whatever positive result you get. No matter how small the win seems, it’s still a win. Recognize that you are not someone else. You will never be that person you aspire to be. You can come close, but your own strengths and weaknesses will always make you different. So acknowledge and embrace those differences that set you apart. They are to be celebrated and used in any self improvement plan.

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