Why You Don’t Want To Become A Better Person

The original title for this blog post was going to be Becoming A Better Person. Then I sat and thought about the blog title and knew it wasn’t right. The direction was wrong and I felt like I’d be doing you a disservice to write that type of article.

Instead, I wanted to share you don’t want to become a better person.

Share your art like Pop's from Speed Racer

Image via JD Hancock

Now, I know you’re probably scratching your head wondering why in the world you shouldn’t want to become a better person. I had the same thought as I began to write this post.

Becoming a better person sounds like a great idea. Who doesn’t want to become better?

Don’t Become A Better Person

There’s a problem with the phrase “a better person.” Can you spot it or do you know what the problem is?

The problem with saying you want to become a better person is that “a better person” is such a generality that you won’t hit your target.

This is like saying you want to lose weight or you want to save money. The phrasing being used is so general you won’t know if or when you hit your goal.

What To Do Instead

Instead of wanting to become a better person, look at the qualities you want to achieve. After all, it’s not really about being a better person. Your desire is to see an improve in a specific area, we just phrase things poorly.

So, let’s take a look at a couple of goals that may push you towards the generalization of becoming a better person.

Volunteer at the local homeless shelter 1 night a week: Now this is something that’s tangible and is helping others. It’s also creating a difference in your life.

By volunteering and helping someone who can’t help themselves, you’re putting yourself into a situation where you’re able to give and improve yourself.

Commit to using more appropriate language: Maybe you said you wanted to become a better person because you know you’re rude or abusive when you speak. Rather than being general about the change, make it specific.

Commit to being more positive in your speech. Commit to not cursing when speaking to others. Commit to complimenting someone rather than criticizing them.

Set aside a specific amount to donate to worthy organizations: Your struggle might be with giving and helping others through financial gifts. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is.

Talking is cheap, getting in and giving of your money (or time, like I mentioned in the first point) takes effort. Stop the flapping of your lips and whip out the wallet. There’s people that need your money. (BTW, if you’re looking for great organizations to help, Kiva and Compassion International could both use your financial support).

Create art that improves the world: I’ve taken to blogging as a way to help the world and improve my life. This could be your way of contributing to the world. But if that’s not for you, you could always paint, make music, lead well, do excellent work, etc.

Put something into the world that will change it.

Maybe I Lied

Yeah, I might have lied by saying you don’t want to become a better person. You do want to become better but sometimes we don’t know how to actually accomplish what we want.

This is why we’ve got to look at what we’re saying and see if there’s any actionable steps we can take to accomplish the goal.

If not, it’s time to examine what you’re saying. See if there’s something deeper you’re looking to do. Find the steps you can take to reach that general goal.

Question: What are you doing that’s making you a better person? Lets hear it in the comment section below.

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Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.