In personal development there is one particularly interesting concept to explore, and if you focus more on the essence of it there is a lot to be learned. It is really nothing new in terms of what we already know so far about improvement, but even the simplest implication can bring massive results. Results that are tangible, evident, persistent.
Naïve and rudimentary of a concept as it might sound, it is all about turning towards yourself. Towards what feels like intuition guiding you, what you at that particular moment consider right. It means not reevaluating first hand impressions and decisions, not allowing opinions from others to penetrate.
Radical sure, but at an entirely different level it allows you to progress without creating that anchor holding you back – dogmas, society understandings, a picture that other people have of you, what you are supposed to be doing…
The core of the idea
If we scrutinize below the surface level, it usually goes like this – we are all, in one way or another, prone towards conformity. This alone creates insecurity which causes us to revalue our thoughts, decisions, actions. And while we all need processing and going over things more than once, sometimes it feels like common sense suspended.
Intuition and following what you consider right at a certain moment indeed can change this.
You turn towards yourself and see, very clearly, that what you do, your life, your rituals, your habits – that’s who you are. And changing that for anything, yet alone society dogmas or someone else’s opinion is the worst thing that can happen to your life.
Keep your game intact
Consider this – your effort to better your life may be considered borderline insane for some. And no matter how much we try to deny it we all try to fit in. But on the long run it is all about how you feel about things.
If you feel that something opposes your identity in the sense of what you do and what you decide to follow, turn towards yourself. Ignore second opinion and try to be comfortable with your choices.
Intuition is a very powerful tool to turn towards. Western understanding may bow before pragmatism in the sense of intellectual reasoning, but there are cultures in the world that cultivated the gift of intuition for long before this discussion ever reached written word.
The best athlete quotes will tell you to listen to your body, so why not use the equivalent advice when approaching the mind? Just listen to your mind. Become more aware through meditation and look for the answers within.
And intuition is something we are born with, thus there is nothing more pragmatic in reasoning with things – it’s innate, it’s organic.
The key of improving yourself, is understanding yourself. Every answer can be found within – as Chinese philosophical school of Taoism preaches.
We will delve into this topic more into another post, but since this is a radical shift in self-improvement and reasoning in general, for now I leave you with this – how you feel about your rituals, your habit, your life? If there is no one watching, no one to copy, no one to wait approval or opinion from what will you do?
Is your life about trying to fit in and improve via copying others down the road, or is it about self improvement? Discovering your potential, your ambitions, your way of life regardless of what others think?