Self-Dev is the process of improving yourself and your life in a multitude of ways, but in doing so you are taking your time away from pleasure and sometimes contentment. However in return you gain a longer life for more pleasure, you are able to do MORE when you are older, and you are able to be literally happier due to way the chemical process works in the body.
Each manner of life has a need to be improved, whether it be your mind or body, or even your emotional state. Self-reflection is the sole starting point, and I encourage you to be more selfish for the time being, and take the time for yourself.
Highs and Lows
I have a friend lets call her Jill, for privacy purposes. Jill has had many major traumas to her health, and is in a deep state of disrepair.
Her body is aging, not that it was strong before, and with the health issues alone she would have had to start from square one again.
She is a smoker, and hasn’t exercised regularly for most of her life, besides a few spouts of walking here and there.
Finally her nutrition and emotional state are in a deep inadequate state. Meaning she doesn’t eat right, and between that and the lack of exercise her emotions are akin to a roller coaster.
Now Jill is close to me, and I hate to bring her into this post, but I feel that in order to truly get the point across I need to provide an actual example for people to relate to.
You can say that with mild exercise, getting enough calories and simple nutrients, and with light meditation you could be at a ‘normal’ state. With regular routines in place, proper nutritional allocation and more importantly TIMING for food, you could be at a “healthy” state.
Then we have the more extremes, such as poor diet and no exercise, and the as perfect as you can get it at that time state. Now as I will say in the next paragraph you can never really be in that perfect state for long, and you can never know when life will knock you down. Forcing you into a state of racing back to the highest state you can make. Jill has been knocked down over and over in her life, which makes me sad for her development.
Jill was in a poor state for most of her life, never really eating the healthiest, and without exercise she didn’t burn off the excess calories. Meaning her BMI index was all whack. She wasn’t overweight by any means, but she lacked strength in her muscles, and the energy to get out of bed at times. This was because of how her body was maintained. When she got knocked down by life, which I can pretty much guarantee that will happen for literally everyone at some point in their life, she was NOT able to recover well.
We Are Not Perfect
Our species is inherently flawed, and even at our most perfect state we are never able to be at our best for long. At some point you will drop back down. I felt this hard at the end of last year, from the summer up until the beginning of winter I was going at it full force. #hustle High energy, stamina, discipline, work ethic, and emotional resilience. This is not a brag, this is a sign of regret for I didn’t slow down enough. I am proud at the work I accomplished, and the people I helped. However I greatly drained myself, and all Four Pillars (Mind, Body, Spirit, Emotions) were slowly draining to empty.
I was at my “best”, but it wasn’t enough for when I hit the crash. I blame external forces such as the cold, but it was really me hustling just too hard. I completely stopped everything, even working out for a short time. Got back into the gym within a couple weeks, but as someone who does it regularly stopping completely did not help the situation.
I lacked energy, drive, and the strength to persevere. I wasn’t depressed by any means, but I was not myself!
This same “force” if you will, had hit my friend Jill with actual dire circumstances. She was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer, and put her already fragile state into the brink state of devastation. She managed to pull through the cancer, and to be quite honest is one of the strongest willed persons I have known in my life. Sadly as the years went by she slipped into a rut, and that fiery drive that literally saved her life has dwindled into a bare candle. Not only that but her attitude on life effects her children in ways she doesn’t even see.
Even At Our Best
We cannot truly accomplished everything, and as the saying goes “We are only human”.
On my way home today I was thinking of this post, and how I would write it. I was filled with the creative juices that I was lacking for so long. It wasn’t just my Self-Dev habits that went on vacation, it was my passion for my goals as well. Meaning I didn’t write any blog posts on any platform for over a month. Now I am starting to get myself back on track habits and all.
I want people to realize that Self-Development is not about making your life better now, and yes it still does that, for it is truly about making your life better in the long run. A little bit of discipline today, for a better tomorrow. It’s cliche, but damn sure is true.
Jill if you are reading this, which you know it’s you I am talking about, then I hope that you #makeachange in your life. Truly with all my heart I wish the best for you in the long run. Despite your health challenges it does not mean you cannot change your life. Even at our worst we have the capacity to rise up and gain new heights.
Hell when you are at your lowest point, then ALL YOU CAN DO is Go up!
