Self Improvement Is Actually Addictive — If You Have the Right Frame of Mind
You don’t have to wake up at 5 AM or take cold showers
Self-improvement is deeply misunderstood.
It isn’t about peeling your eyes open pre-sunrise, shivering under an icy blast of water, or lying in a pool of sweat on the squat rack.
While such habits “can” be helpful, they’re neither necessary nor remotely close to what true self-improvement is.
If done right, improving yourself will cease to be “difficult,” “frustrating,” or “overwhelming” — and willpower will exit the equation.
It’ll become an addiction — the most rewarding kind you’ll ever develop in your life.
Nope, I’m not exaggerating.
The First Question You Need to Ask Yourself
Self-improvement = improvement of the physical, mental, and spiritual self.
Going through a set of robotic motions will trigger physical growth at the cost of your mental and spiritual.
With a generous wallop of thinking and introspection, you fulfill the mental aspect. But you risk impoverishing your spirit — feeling empty no matter how “productive” you are.
The salve is a deep-seated reason — that hyper-charges your effort with meaning.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
— Nietzsche
As Austrian psychologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl discovered, the will for meaning is our primary driving force.
When you center your self-improvement around your spirit, the body and mind get automatically taken care of.
So, critically question your efforts, goals, and habits — if you can’t discover a powerful reason, they might not be worth pursuing.
The Pulsating Core of Enjoyable Self-Improvement
While a strong “Why” will get you on your right path, it won’t sail you over the winds like Aladdin's magic carpet.
Day in, day out, you’ll have to pour in the effort — and drawing on your limited willpower reserves is a doomed strategy.
When it runs out, you’ll be a burned-out heap of frustration.
The secret lies in dopamine, the neurotransmitter that controls our motivation levels — by saying, “Amazing work, son! Here’s your reward”, with a feel-good sensation.
This is the “high” you get after a heavy workout, a deep writing session, or a lovely date.
But modern-day society has hijacked our dopamine receptors. Endless TikTok feeds, ultra-HD porn, mind-hazing alcohol, calorie-dense junk, and hyper-realistic video games.
All of which trigger floods and floods of dopamine.
With all your dopamine leached away, HOW will you find the drive to do the “mundane” essential things?
The deeper you fall into this chasm, the more you f*ck up your dopamine receptors — the higher the release needed for the same high.
The solution is tapering down on your dopamine feast:
- Strip clean the social accounts you follow and custom-tailor your “Recommendations” pages.
- Set limits on your social media usage with a screen-time tracker.
- Turn on gray mode — this alone will cut your screen time by half.
- Gradually taper down your gaming habit until it’s “acceptable”.
- Reduce the frequency and extremity of porn you watch — and downgrade from videos to images.
- Avoid Shorts, Reels, and other quick-bites of cheap dopamine like the plague.
- The best option? A 14-day Dopamine Detox — to pressure-wash your dopamine receptors.
Working out. Meditating. Playing a musical instrument. Journaling. Visiting a museum. Going for a hike. Reading. Visiting a national park. Signing up for volunteering activity.
Such “boring” yet quality activities will become fun again.
Focus on Self-DEFINED-Improvement
Self-improvement isn’t a “One-size-fits-all” T-shirt—but a custom-tailored suit that fits you and you alone snugly.
The core idea is to improve your SELF. How you do it depends on your disposition, innate interests, and worldview.
Even among the internet gurus and self-improvement content creators, there are different schools of thought:
- Hustle. Hustle. Hustle. Money >> everything else like Gary Vee.
- All-around “Jack of all trades” philosophy of Hamza, 1STMAN, and me.
- Pure productivity-focused like Ali Abdaal.
- Holistic 50–50 self-improvement + “Netflix and chill” like my friends Varun Khadri and Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi.
- The unrealistic yet inspirational “Master of all trades” version of Iman Gadzhi.
None of the above is right — or wrong.
The question should be, “Which is right for me? What style resonates the best with me as a person?”
As you grow older and your life perspective changes, so will your style of self-improvement.
In the end, it’s your life, and the onus is on you to decide what to make of it.
Whatever you do, keep improving — because change is life and stagnation is death.
“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one”
— Confucius
