Beyond Self-Improvement
By Clyde E. Gumbs
There appears to be an insatiable appetite for self-improvement.
Many people seek to be better people with better lives. Many people seek something or someone to motivate them. Many people
seek useful advice, tips and techniques. Although some of these people may believe they have become better people with better
lives, despite this apparent achievement they seldom experience fulfillment and in many cases experience frustration, disappointment
and emptiness.
There is an alternative to this self-improvement/motivation/advice
orientation that focuses on self-awareness instead of self-improvement, transformation instead of motivation, and illumination
instead of advice.
Self-improvement approaches are rooted in the context
of judgment (i.e. good/bad, right/wrong, better/worse, positive/negative). Implicit in the concept of self-improvement is
that if a person can be “more good,” “more right,” “more better,” and “more positive”,
then those achievements will provide the person’s greatest opportunity to experience a fulfilling life. Unfortunately,
people find that although they may be “more good” than they were in the past, they still experience themselves
as not being “good” enough to experience fulfillment. Although they may be “more right” than they
were in the past, they still experience themselves as not being “right” enough to experience fulfillment. Although
they may be “more better” than they were in the past, they still experience themselves as not being “better”
enough to experience fulfillment. Furthermore, although they may be “more positive” than they were in the past,
they still experience themselves as not being “positive” enough to experience fulfillment. In other words, they
have an experience similar to being a dog chasing its tail.
Self-awareness approaches, on the other hand, are
premised on the concept that lack of awareness leads to inauthentic behavior (i.e. behavior that is inconsistent with the
person’s true or inspired self). This inauthentic behavior is a barrier to full effectiveness, full self-expression,
and having an inspired and fulfilling experience of life. Accordingly, with awareness, a fulfilling experience of life is
possible immediately, while without awareness it may never be.
The essential difference in these two approaches is
that self-improvement implies that a person needs to be better than they are and self-awareness implies that a person needs
to be who they really are.
Motivational approaches are premised on the observation
that people are prone to react to external stimulation and that it is possible to offer externally induced stimulation that
can cause people to alter their behavior. Accordingly, if the “right” stimulus is offered, the “right”
behavior should occur. The nature of this approach has it be dependent upon external stimuli to produce behavior that would
not otherwise occur. Therefore, if you remove the stimuli, the alteration in behavior may cease. Furthermore, over time, that
same stimuli may cease to cause that alteration of behavior and new stimuli may be required.
Transformational approaches are predicated on the
premise that how a person behaves is a function of the way they are viewing life. Since the person’s viewpoint (i.e.
mindset) is generally transparent to them (i.e. not readily seen), they may demonstrate little power in altering their viewpoint
in ways that would lead to profound shifts in effectiveness and the experience of fulfillment. Transformational approaches
are not focused on behavioral change, but are focused on impacting the viewpoint that is informing the behavior.
The essential difference between these approaches
is that motivation approaches rely on the source of behavior being external while transformation approaches rely on the source
of behavior being internal.
Advice oriented approaches are forms of self-improvement
premised on the value of receiving tips, techniques, suggestions, and/or guidance, from some form of authority, that offers
“a good or better way.” These approaches are naturally subject to the same pitfalls as other self-improvement
approaches in that they are also improvement driven. Additionally, they are only as useful as the quality of the advice and
the person’s willingness to take the advice and apply it correctly.
Illumination oriented approaches offer access to self-awareness.
As with the self-awareness approaches, the value of illumination is predicated on the impact that occurs out of people seeing
what they haven’t been seeing that is at the source of inauthentic behavior.
Advice oriented practitioners offer a “good
or better way,” whereas illumination oriented practitioners offer the opportunity to “see” your way to personal
effectiveness and fulfillment.
The Chrysalis Experience
represents mastery in utilizing illumination and focused awareness to cause life-altering transformation through a process
that is revolutionary in the simplicity and efficiency of its the design and delivery. This is at the source of what allows
results to be produced so simply, efficiently, powerfully and effectively. Additionally, and most importantly, The
Chrysalis Experience shifts the context from becoming a better person with a better life to fulfilling your
purpose and potential and living an inspired and inspiring life----the life you were born to live.
Copyright © 2008 The Chrysalis Experience
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