Transcript
"No More Excuses" Why I believe self—improvement is important. By Steven P. Arthur The importance of self—improvement can be summed up in a word. That word is change. Change is inevitable, whether it is something that happens to you or something you affect yourself. The scenario that you currently find yourself in is the direct result of changes in your life and the choices you have made. Self—improvement is a choice that comes in many forms. The most important are, the improvement of your attitude, followed closely by improved knowledge base and finally your health. A person's attitude can hinder or aide in the pursuit to improve their self. If you're pessimistic, fearful or lazy, you tend to offer excuses instead of effort for self- improvement. Excuses are a poor and useless substitution for progress and attached with negative connotation with good reason. They don't offer truth or allow change. Truth is something that can be worked with unlike the smoke and mirrors that are excuses. For example, someone may say. "I'm too tired to do that." When what they really mean is I'm too lazy or would rather be doing something else because its easier and more fun, like watch T.V. Or they may offer. "I don't even care about that." When what they are truly thinking is, that they are afraid they will fail or look foolish and will be laughed at. When we identify the truth of any matter, only then do we have the basis for actual change. With the right attitude there is very little a person cannot accomplish. When 1 you have stopped with the excuses and cultivated the proper attitude the next step is to obtain the knowledge needed to continue with improvement. Any increase of knowledge is beneficial and can lead to new and exciting jobs, careers even a better understanding of the world you inhabit. Obtaining knowledge is not an easy subject to reduce to just a few categories, but some of the most prominent include education, work experience and word of mouth. Education is the formal method of conveying information in an agreed upon format. Provided by some of the greatest minds in history through lecture and text. An education exposes you to different facets of humanity, arts, society, economy, business and industry. Expanding your options and possible areas of interest. Education is very accessible, even in prison. There are G.E.D. tutors, preparation classes and continuing education, both self study and classroom instructed. There are correspondence courses available through local and out of state colleges or universities. They offer many different degrees, even some PhD. programs. Work experience is closely related to education, but lends itself more to the hands on approach to the transfer of knowledge. Methods such as trade school and apprenticeships. Knowledge is also conveyed simply from person to person. While only as reliable as the person providing the knowledge it is important to remember that information was passed this was long before the written word. While the improvement of attitude typically comes first and knowledge base opens up many avenues of self- improvement, health is arguably the most important. Without good health, not only are you negatively effected 7; physically, but your mental and emotional motivation will be as well. Simply getting the recommended amount of sleep, eating healthier foods and regular exercise will make physical and mental tasks much easier. You will have more energy and ' sharper thinking, which will allow increased productivity and activities that would have been impossible before. There are countless methods of self—improvement and just as many excuses for not pursuing them. It is time to stop with the excuses. Without self—improvement it is highly unlikely your current situation will improve. Don't procrastinate or fail to improve yourself, do not allow the lack of preparation dictate the changes in your life. Those who are tired of their situation, done with excuses and strive for self—improvement will find life much more rewarding and fulfilling. Whatever your goals in life, self—improvement will bring you closer to them.
