Can you be the better version of yourself?

 

   A big YES!

   All of us are outlandish in our own unique ways. We all have the basic primal matter to be the best or the worst among others. From there on, the unique combination of circumstances and our own inner strength and pliability shape our characters.

    One thing is cocksure. Even the best amongst us cannot deny that we can be better versions of ourselves and that is all what's needed - to clinch our authentic selves and evolve without changing our basic core. Life is one long process of evolution, and while some of us gradually proceed from one stage to the next, learning and adapting along the way, others refuse to dislodge from who or what we imagine we are.

   The worst fallacy is to imagine that we have arrived and have nothing left to learn. When I got offer letter from more than a company, in that moment of vacuum that always follows the achievement of passionately-followed ambition, I asked my dad, "Now I have achieved my ambition; what else?". His answer became the touchstone of my life. "Find yourself the next ambition," he said simply. "Build your reputation now. Always keep shifting your goalpost and raising the bar". I understood that life is one series of ambitions and learning. Achieve one, and set yourself the next goal. The pursuit of learning and a better version of you never ends.

  It is a moment of a epiphany when at some point of life we realize that we are able to change our states of affairs with a little bit of tweak. Life can take on a deeper meaning ushering in more happiness and love by just a little effort.

   Before you attempt a change, a deep apprehension is essential. Where is the change required?. All of us expect a genuine person in every situation but most of us are afraid to be veracious. Keep an open mind and accept the pointers that life keeps throwing at us repeatedly. The smart learn the lessons, others keep repeating the same mistakes. The biggest hurdle in the path of happiness and success is your own self. Ego and doggedness keep us from learning life lessons.

   Are you too selfish? Or, are you frittering yourself away doing too much for others?. Do you only act to gain respect for acceptance?. Are you aggressive, controlling or too mild?. Look for the repeated message you get, particularly from those who care for you. Deep inside, each of us knows exactly what we need to change in order to become better persons and improve the quality of our lives.

   As we grow older and look back, we realize that a lot of learning happens automatically - as a result of experiences and lessons that life teaches us. Most of us can gauge how life changed us bit by bit, even without realizing it. Our attitudes change as a result of insights we gain as we plough through life.

   Some of us learn to love ourselves a bit more, some learn to take ourselves a bit less serious. Some may learn to be careful without speaking our minds, others may learn to speak up clearly. We can definitely all learn to control our raw emotions and basic instincts when it comes to relationships and look at issues from all perspectives, letting the smaller things go unchallenged, while focusing on the bigger picture. That certainly improves relationships, both personal and professional.

   Encircle yourself with fellows having the same frequency as yours. Evacuate if you feel you're not worth the space you take up. We need to accept ourselves and embrace our own uniqueness. Living up to expectations or becoming clones of each other is not what life is about. We must learn to accept and celebrate our uniqueness. Age and experience do bring about understanding and change. The point is, can we lead that change by consciously adapting to circumstances and becoming a better version of ourselves?. One way of doing this is to look back at our own lives objectively and figure out the characteristics that have most harmed us. From here we can try and change those things that are still impacting our lives. That would be true evolution indeed.

This is my personal view. Hope this helps😊.

- Amitha Reddy