Rediscovering the power of being human.

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All great discussions begin with the defining of terms which are to be used in that discussion. In this "Defining" series of articles I wish to examine and clearly define the crucial terms which are the subject of DoublePlusHuman.com, beginning with "self improvement".

"Self improvement" is also popularly known as "self help" and it is the subject of a somewhat controversial multi billion dollar industry, most of which is based on selling courses, books and other material supposedly designed to help you help yourself. Undoubtedly there are many people whose lives have been significantly improved as a result of their exploration of these products or services, but there have probably been many failures as well.

Like in many fields of endeavor there are successes and there are failures. There are people who genuinely want to create and share something of value and there are those solely looking to make a fast buck. I would venture to guess that you reading this might mean you have not completely dismissed self improvement as a concept worth of exploration and that you are willing to give this site the benefit of the doubt as I attempt to make this a place where self improvement is explored from a largely unique perspective.

It is indeed wise not to dismiss self improvement for those who wish to live better, happier and freer lives, simply because nobody can think, feel and act as your self.

Self improvement may seem like a fairly obvious and self explanatory term, but closer examination, as usual, should prove enlightening. The word "self" by itself usually refers to an individual from his or her own perspective. As wiktionary states it is "an individual person as the object of his own reflective consciousness". This is the way we will be using it here. "Self" is you from your point of view and me from my point of view. It is who you and me are.

The word "improvement" is by Merriam-Webster dictionary defined as "the act or process of improving" and "improving" is defined by any of the following relevant definitions

• to enhance in value or quality
• to use to good purpose
• to advance or make progress in what is desirable
• to make useful additions or amendments

Since the object of improvement in "self improvement" is obviously "self" as defined above, this would produce the following definitions of "self improvement":

• to enhance self in value or quality
• to use self to good purpose
• to advance self and make progress in what is desirable
• to make useful additions or amendments to self

Feel free to replace "self" above with "myself" or "yourself" if it helps read better.

What is becoming interesting to note here is the lack of clarity as to what exactly "value", "quality", "good purpose", "advancement", "desirable progress" and "useful" above means. We could go on forever defining each term by means of a dictionary, but I think it is apparent that this would not lead us to satisfying answers. The reason is simply that these are largely subjective in this context. Only you and me can define them for ourselves.

And that requires self knowledge.

What do you deem valuable or of good quality about a person or yourself? What do you think would be a good purpose for you? What do you find to be desirable advancements of yourself? It is necessary to know who is your "self" to begin with before you can modify or add to it.

So ultimately the definition of "self improvement" in its most precise form is objectively always going to be incomplete because it is you who has to fill in certain blanks. "Self" is merely a variable for "who am I" and the concept of its improvement remains meaningless until that question is answered. Only once you know who you actually are right now can you know who you want to become as a better person. And only once you know these answers can you know what to improve about yourself and how.

The best we can then do in putting it into a succinct definition would probably be this:

Self improvement is the process of thoroughly and constructively answering these questions and implementing the answers: Who I truly am (defining self)? Who I desire to be (defining improved self)? How do I become what I want to be (learning how to improve)?

This is the definition that we will be working with as we explore this subject further on this site. It is certainly possible to expand upon this definition, almost endlessly, as the questions on which it depends might be among the most complex or most important questions an individual can ask him or her self, and we will explore them in the future.

Thank you for reading and feel free to comment below if you are enticed or inspired to add anything or wish to ask a question.

Next, we will define "personal freedom".