The Shift -  Going Beyond Self-Improvement

For those of you who have delved deep into the world of self-improvement, who have spent their time reflecting, self-assessing, and finding any flaws they may have that are limiting them in some way, you might be wondering what comes next.

Most of us who aim to improve ourselves most likely did so because of the position we were starting from. We finally decided to do something about our situation because it is likely a miserable place to be.

So at the beginning, there will be a lot of work needed to simply undo the countless flaws and aspects of ourselves that were causing said misery. This takes a while.

Then, continuing to improve until that version of yourself seems like a distant memory.

The question is, however, what comes next? 

Some people might just want to leave it there. Once they improve enough to get out of a rut, they can take what they’ve learned and apply it to stay away from ever going there again, which is fine and sounds worthwhile to me.

But some of us want to take it a step further, we not only set out to undo the unsatisfactory, but we also want to bring out the excellence. The problem is a lot of what we learned to drag our feet out of the mud won’t necessarily take us to the next level.

So the question is then, how do we do it? 

From Running Away to Chasing

As mentioned, to start changing at the beginning, we need to identify the parts of ourselves that we dislike, then set out to change them. When this is our mindset, it’s only natural to look back at the person we used to be, as that’s our only sense of progress. 

If we were better than the old self, we’re improving. This is necessary and productive.

But when it’s time to take it to the next level and truly chase the great, this thought process and gauge of progress will no longer serve us.

It reaches a stage when thinking of self-improvement gets a little daunting, because it feels as though you’re stuck, repeating the same level of a video game over and over again. 

To shift from self-improvement to mastery, you’re going to need to stop that comparison with the old self, and instead start comparing yourself with the person you want to be.

Start picturing what it will take to become them, what they do, how they think and what they sacrificed to get there, because that’s a picture of your future.

Without this shift in mindset, you’ll be stuck in a loop of self-improvement. Reaching the top, dipping because you no longer know what to do, then improving yourself again to get back to the top, and repeat.

So, stop focusing on the past and start focusing on the future.

Systemise And Grit

Okay, so it’s obviously going to take more than merely a difference in thinking, so what are you actually going to need to do? 

Well, this stage is going to take a lot longer than the first and also quite a lot harder. Although self-improving isn't easy, results do come extremely quickly. The worse you are when you start, the less it takes to get results, but this is no longer the case. 

This is when you’re going to need to create systems that will get you to where you’re going.

Instead of trial and error, you need to create a structure to follow that guarantees the results you need. Routines, habits, leverage and repetitive action that acts as a roadmap to your destination.

If it’s harder and takes longer, then you’ll need help along the way, and that’s what systems will do, they eliminate choice and maximise momentum, so start working on your systems.

Then, it’s all about grit. We’re talking years, and doing the same thing over and over again for years will take a level of grit to get you through. It’s taking the discipline and self-belief that you built from self-improvement and putting them to the test.

You’re no longer talking about an earlier alarm and getting up on time, you’re talking about mastery, and mastery requires a new level of grit and hard work. More and better.

There are no examples here, because it doesn’t matter what you want to achieve, the same will apply.

Understand that there is no magic way of doing something difficult, it just takes work. More work than you’re probably currently used to doing.