Stop trying to fix yourself!

[Geoff-Allen]

Hope you are all well enough - all things considered ...

Here's a quote you may enjoy -

“Don’t meditate to fix yourself, to heal yourself, to improve yourself, to redeem yourself; rather, do it as an act of love, of deep warm friendship to yourself. In this way there is no longer any need for the subtle aggression of self-improvement, for the endless guilt of not doing enough. It offers the possibility of an end to the ceaseless round of trying so hard that wraps so many people’s lives in a knot. Instead there is now meditation as an act of love. How endlessly delightful and encouraging.”

~ Bob Sharples, from Meditation: Calming the Mind

Comes from this page -

Meditation as an act of love

Enjoy your day!

 

[SomeRandom]

I am pretty flawed though. If i stop trying to fix myself I can never grow as a person

 

[Mock Turtle]

I'm not perfect but I am in the satisfaction with oneself zone - so little impetus to seek any remedies for whatever.

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

It is a complicated balance for me to maintain. I'm always trying to accept myself for who and what I am. If I don't I'll get depressed and lose motivation to succeed in anything in life. But at the same time, if I don't look at myself critically in a strict way, my ego is going to take over like he thinks he himself is the God I worship. And I don't want that to happen. I know what it's like to be deceived and hurt by people who are not aware of the ignorance and darkness of their egos. I do everything I can to not be like them, as I think narcissism is one of the biggest reasons why reality can be so dark to so many people. So I guess what I want to say in a nutshell is: Don't be too hard on yourself, but don't be so quick to pity yourself either.

 

[Left Coast]

I am pretty flawed though. If i stop trying to fix myself I can never grow as a person

I sympathize with this quite a bit. What I've found in meditation is that the self-improvement is a side effect, not a goal. So it's not that you're perfect and need no "fixing," it's that paradoxically, the way to improve yourself is actually to not focus so much effort on improving yourself.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I sympathize with this quite a bit. What I've found in meditation is that the self-improvement is a side effect, not a goal. So it's not that you're perfect and need no "fixing," it's that paradoxically, the way to improve yourself is actually to not focus so much effort on improving yourself.

And thinking of/helping others often magically seems to improve oneself for some reason.

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

And thinking of/helping others often magically seems to improve oneself for some reason.

Indeed. The "magic" behind it is that it helps one making feel good about oneself in a selfless way, so that you're not just at peace with yourself, but with others as well.

 

[SomeRandom]

I sympathize with this quite a bit. What I've found in meditation is that the self-improvement is a side effect, not a goal. So it's not that you're perfect and need no "fixing," it's that paradoxically, the way to improve yourself is actually to not focus so much effort on improving yourself.

Perhaps. I think self improvement is a consequence of just living life. As long one is open to the possibility that new experiences can change your perspective.
I used to be quite hostile but I realised that I was just sticking my fingers in my ears instead of listening. I’m still a bit hot headed but I’d like to think I’m not the same person I was last year or even yesterday.
To become static is to cease existing, imo.