Self Help Isn’t A Dirty Word
A lot of people have mixed reactions about the term self help or self improvement. I embrace them.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all rely on each other and speak honestly about the things that we work on?
Instead, when we work on our “stuff” we often do it in silence, without allowing ourselves to seek out a support system, without being open about our process, and without openly acknowledging how much bravery we have to embark on that path.
I had someone tell me that if I really loved myself then I wouldn’t bother with self improvement. Wishing to improve or change myself meant that I wasn’t accepting myself as is.
That’s just silly. You can still love something and wish to improve it.
Yourself included. I love my toes. Wishing to paint the nails bright pink to improve how they look doesn’t mean I don’t love my toes. I LOVE MY TOES!
I think it would just be really great if we could open up, show people that we don’t all have our shit together, be vulnerable and real and honest and say “This is how I am helping myself. Support me in this process.”
Instead of judgement we provide an ear, a shoulder, or a hug.
Self help is a really hard process, especially without a support system! It doesn’t have to be that way, it doesn’t have to be such a hard process. We can ask for support, we can have accountability partners, we can ask for what we need. It is my goal to continue to share my journey with you while encouraging you to start your own. I’d love to hear about your relationship with self help/self improvement.
Well, I think people seem to have an ick feeling with self help because a lot of self help isn’t helpful to people. Though I like it personally. I know when reading self help or personal development books in general, it’s very hit or miss. Some work. Some don’t work. It’s not even necessarily so that it doesn’t work at all, but while it works for other people, it doesn’t work for you. Self help seems tricky, because people often say the advice is meant for everyone, yet it doesn’t work for everyone. But that’s something I’ve just accepted when it comes to research and reading. Finding the right information or methods take time. Like in science, life is experimentation. You just try things. If it works, good. If it doesn’t work, keep trying things until something works. I have no idea how great a self help book is for me until I read it, Still, even in works that I feel most of it isn’t helpful for me, I can find at least bits and pieces that may be helpful. If not, then I gain interesting information on not so great methods for people in general, so I know what to be cautious around, or advice that might work better for other people that might help others that have different means from me.