How I wasted years on self-improvement…

I started to forget my real dreams

There are a lot of talks these days about the toxicity of self-improvement. The internet is filled with fake gurus, people trying to scam other people for money, and useless books that teach you close to nothing.

Their products only make you addicted to a high that easily fades away, luckily there is a way to make real progress in life.

Looking for motivation

In my teens, I was obsessed with watching motivational videos. I watched so many of them that I could recognize the speakers and know where the video would lead to.

This started because I was in a search for motivation to become more consistent and to work more. The problem was that the only thing that the motivational videos managed to do was to make me very excited for a few hours or days, and that would fade away very quickly.

I would end up just back where I was, searching once again for motivation.

The cycle of the self-improvement industry

My experience with motivational videos applies similarly in the case of the self-improvement industry.

You consume a book, seminar, or a course from an “esteemed” individual and you get a motivational high that doesn’t last very long.

It won’t take too much time until you are on another search for another course that will help you feel the same, and will “help” you become a better person.

You can easily become an addict to the idea of self-improvement, forgetting your goals and ambitions in the process. You might do a cold shower, wake up in the morning, journal every day, and still not do a damn thing about things that really matter in your life.

This was my own experience, instead of doing something with my life I was constantly trying to optimize different aspects of my life. Whether it was my diet, my sleep, or my workout schedule.

Break the cycle by imposing discipline upon yourself

People get the wrong idea about imposing discipline. They think that because you are disciplined means you will have no freedom and you will be tied to a schedule of your own making.

In reality, discipline simply means doing the things you want to do. You are the master of your own schedule and you can arrange it any way you want it.

Don’t overwork yourself, and schedule your day in the same way you would do it for a person you care about. You are not a machine, you are a human who needs moments of relaxation where you simply enjoy life.

Sticking to your plan, and practicing discipline will help you advance to your goals. It won’t matter that you are not motivated enough, the weather is shitty, or that you are not feeling inspired that day. You will show up and do what matters to you.

When I stopped chasing the high of the self-improvement industry and embraced the hardships of discipline, I experience true freedom and made real progress toward my goals.

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