Self-Improvement is Like a Drug

Summary

The article discusses the addictive nature of self-improvement, comparing the ecstasy of overcoming negative emotional mechanisms to a drug, and suggests that while beneficial, it should be pursued in moderation to avoid burnout and negative impacts on daily life and relationships.

Abstract

The author of the article reflects on their personal journey with self-improvement, noting the profound benefits and the addictive sensation of peace and ecstasy that follows the successful resolution of negative emotional mechanisms. The piece outlines three approaches to handling emotions: suppression, uncontrolled expression, and controlled expression followed by root cause analysis. The author advocates for the

It is addictive.

I am on the path of self-improvement for quite some time now and it is recently that I have started getting immense benefit from it. The feeling of ecstasy after overcoming a blockage in the subconscious mind is so addictive that I try to create artificial conditions so that I come in contact with stimuli that trigger my negative emotional mechanisms. I then work on these negative emotions and then change the belief responsible for the creation of negative emotions in the first place. After this process, there is immense peace and I would go ahead and tell that the feeling is that of ecstasy to which I have become attached.

Analyzing Emotions

Whenever a person has any emotion then he has three options:

Suppress it: Suppressing emotion may save the person from getting into untoward social situations but people who are closer to him would receive it anyhow. In fact, you cannot hide your emotions from your near and dear ones.

Example: John is the father of Peter. Peter is not good at studies and this agitates John but he would suppress his emotions because most of the psychology texts tell him not to show frustration in front of children. Is this approach good? I do not think so. The suppressed emotions of John will be received by Peter anyhow and since it is received indirectly so working on the root cause is even more difficult.

Let it flow: Allowing emotions to flow without restriction can cause the person to break relationships. It will also not enable the person to work upon the root cause of the emotion.

Example: In the example for suppressing emotions we took the example of John. Let’s say that instead of suppressing emotions he went ahead and expressed his anger and frustration to Peter. It may have provided temporary relief to John but has its own cost. Peter may become defensive and his relationship with John would suffer negatively.

Control emotion and then work on it: In this approach, the person does show a few of his emotions but ensures that later he would work upon it and remove the root cause that caused the emotion to occur in the first place.

Example: John got aggravated upon receiving the report card of his son Peter. He then showed his dissatisfaction in a calm manner. This ensured that Peter realize that John has high expectations of him. There is a possibility that Peter may work harder for his next test. John on the other hand performed catharsis and refinement of the inner child to remove the fears he has in mind related to Peter getting low marks. Maybe John believes that excelling in studies is the only way to succeed in life. This belief needs to be replaced with a better belief that the happiness of the person is foremost and that a child can succeed in life if he does whatever makes him happy. The fields may not just be limited to studies.

Overcoming Negative Emotional Mechanisms

Every emotion almost always has some stimulus that instigates it. The stimulus is actually not the cause of the emotion. The cause of the emotion is whatever is stored in the subconscious mind of the person and also the belief that caused those earlier stored emotions.

When a person overcomes the root cause behind the existence of a negative emotional mechanism then it will automatically create a feeling of victory. This feeling of victory is more like the feeling of ecstasy to which a person can get addicted to.

Addiction

I have seen many people including myself get addicted to his feeling of ecstasy and get their dose as often as they can. This may mean creating a situation where he can come in contact with a stimulus that triggers a negative emotional mechanism only to work upon it and overcome it and again feel the same ecstasy.

This addiction is better than getting addicted to drugs but sometimes it may lead a person to burnout. Working on negative emotional mechanisms is stressful and may cause the person not to do normal tasks. Sometimes it may cause him to suffer in work or maintaining personal relationships. Hence my advice to people is to do self-improvement tasks in moderation so that daily tasks also do not suffer and the person is able to maintain relationships with his near and dear ones.

Conclusion

I never realized I would write an article asking people to work on self-improvement in moderation. Yes, when you have time for yourself and your job does not suffer then you can put yourself in situations so that you get the stimuli that trigger negative emotions, overcome them and feel the ecstasy. Otherwise, it is better to enjoy life as is and work on self-improvement only when there is a life situation that puts you into an uncomfortable situation. Getting addicted to the feeling of ecstasy arising out of successfully doing catharsis and refinement of the inner child may cause damage to your regular life. But again this addiction is far better than any other addiction. So what can I say?