Table of contents
Open Table of contents
Introduction
Even a random scroll in YouTube or Instagram or whatever your social poison is, I am pretty sure that you may have encountered some random guy in front of a mic preaching you motivation, telling you to do this and that to be like this and that. But why? And does it even matter?
Asking the most important question
Do we really need the self-improvement?
Short answer: Yes, but not in the ways we are preached about.
Example of Bilbo in The Hobbit
To answer this question, I will take the help of one of my favourite fiction books that I have ever read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. In this book, we follow a small fantasy creature hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins who lead a peaceful life until adventure came knocking in front of his door courtesy of Gandalf the Grey. He must take the role as a thief to steal the arkenstone from the den of Smaug the Dragon along with the company of dwarfs led by Thorin Oakenshield.
The whole ordeal was new for the hobbit who has once never set foot outside the village. Through out the journey, we accompany the small creatures,(yes, hobbits are smaller than dwarfs) on their adventures and take part in their escapades in very fantasical difficult situations.
But why am I monologuing a story in the midst of this blog. Because I want to draw your attention to the character of Bilbo Baggins, who took up a unfamiliar job along with unfamiliar teammates in his bid to seek adventure. Nor once he thought to have the strength of the wizard nor the bravery and boldness of the dwarf prince. He fought and conquered all the challenges that were presented in front of him by himself and working along with others.
Example of Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of The Rings, a book by the same author J.R.R. Tolkien is the main trilogy of which The Hobbit was a prequel to. In this story, we encounter Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, two hobbits who have taken the mountainous task of destroying the One Ring along with resisting its dark temptations.
In the novel, we come across many notable characters who are brave, bold and have all the marks of a good protagonist. But we see how all of them succumb to the temptations of the Ring. In the story, we have Aragon who goes on to rule the kingdom of Gondor, a man of brave nature, has immaculate strength, charismatic help the hobbits in their initial stage. The hobbit duo knew what they had to do and they did so in their own way. They never compared themselves to others and tried to be anyone but themselves.
Conclusion
So I ask why do we need something external factor to improve ourselves. The examples I took may be from fiction, but it asks us to introspect our selves the main cause for which we need our improvement.
Instead of going to Gym to make body, one may find it doing so to take part in other physical competions like rock climbing, karate etc., thus giving one a purpose to improve rather than a shallow reason.
Instead of studying for the sake of studying, find a goal, create a process with respect to the goal and follow it. You may not see the improvement but trust me you will feel the compounded effect in due time.
And this type of goal lasts longer and one needs no external motivation to hit the target.