I was originally going to create a single, general self-improvement thread. But the number of factors that come into play with such a thing are so vast that it seemed likely the thread would be too disorganized. So I have broken the concept down into four categories: Physical (exercise/nutrition & appearance), Mental, and Spiritual.

This thread concerns spiritual self-improvement. That would be anything dealing with our emotions and whatever you define as your spirit (religious or otherwise).

So, I have been in both individual and group therapy weekly for almost three years. (explains a lot, huh? lol) But I am not ashamed of that. In fact, I am quite grateful for it because it has helped me finally get a realistic but appreciative sense of myself after a lifetime of unsuccessfully dealing with abuses from my childhood that I allowed to ruin my life until this point because I didn't know how to deal with them properly.

I have learned so many skills from the this therapy; how to manage disappointments, accept myself, take responsibility for my own feelings but not others, and so on. All of it has helped me tremendously in becoming a better person.

What I am not quite clear on is why we as individuals and as a society don't put more of an emphasis on this sort of development. Children spend a quarter of their life (and all their developmental years) sitting in classes learning about photosynthesis or the dates of a historical war instead of learning mental tools for coping with life's challenges and methods of self-improvement.

I am not talking about religious based classes or any sort of conformist brainwashing but instead developing our cognitive awareness of our own thought processes so we learn how to make our own best decisions instead of the faulty thinking that leads so many to anxiety, depression, or a host of other problems with which we are then ill-equipped to handle.

But even mental therapy in general is often talked down. Many assume one only goes to a therapist if they are "crazy" or that it only helps the truly depressed or perhaps that the whole idea of mental therapy is a joke designed to take people's money. The most dangerous of all are the people who assert that "maybe other people need therapy but not me."

I instead view therapy as a sort of "mental maintenance". In the same way I periodically change the oil in my car to keep it clean and at its best, so too could anyone benefit from periodically engaging in mental self-examination with the help of a qualified therapist.

I believe such a thing would go a long way in helping each of us deal with our own life challenges while at the same time creating healthier connections with others.

Your thoughts?

This is a part of mental self-improvement, yes. But I felt it was best separated toward this topic because our thoughts can affect our feelings. Spiritual self-improvement has a great deal more with how we feel than what we think but since our thoughts can create those feelings then an initial opening commentary toward mental therapy seemed most relevant here.

Thoughts>feelings>action is a complex cycle and it is difficult to entirely separate thoughts (the mental) from the feelings (the spiritual). Personally, I see the spiritual as the end overall result; but that too made for a thread that was too diverse.

I'm sure each person has their own thoughts on what develops a person spiritually so we'll see what they have to say.

It can be religious and is for many people. It is not for me and perhaps that is a factor in where I placed the post.

But, regardless, by "Spiritual" I am speaking of the way in which we approach the experience of living in the world. It is far more than being intelligent and therefore not solely Mental. It is "wisdom", if you will.

Wisdom comes from understanding ourselves so that we make good choices. Mental therapy is highly conducive to that. Thus, my post.

I completely agree that spiritual health is a very individual process. In fact, I can't think of anything that is more individual.

As you say, we benefit from gathering as many perspectives as possible. But learning how to take the components of those perspectives and adapt to them to what is right for us is what is required.

I can no more determine what is right for you than I can for anyone, nor could anyone do that for me. We must each determine the benchmarks of our own success by realistically evaluating our own level of self-acceptance and self-worth; essentially, "How happy am I with myself and my life?"

"The worst education which teaches self-denial, is better than the best which teaches everything else, and not that."
John Sterling

Bible and God.  I have let him down, but he has not let me down.

I have been thinking that sometimes our spiritual self-improvement can be moved forward by even little things that help us feel better about ourselves.

All my life I have felt incapable or odd in some ways because of some very minuscule traits or inadequacies. While individually none of them much matter, I have decided to tackle each of them so that, collectively, they do matter in a positive way.

On my list:

• Learn how to swim.
• Learn how to drive stick.
• Learn how to skip.
• Learn how to blow a bubble with bubble gum.
• Learn how to find the beat of a song.
• Learn how to dance, even if only adequately.
• Learn to ride a motorcycle (without dying).

Do you have such things that, while not a determinate of your life's course, you would like to learn/improve upon?

Wearing 50 pound weights while learning to swim makes perfect sense. I have to be strong and this is a great way to develop that strength.

I will start with the swimming lessons and let you know how it goes.

Thanks, Slappy. I take back all those ridiculous claims I made about you being my mortal enemy.