I admit, I am a self-improvement junkie. I have been reading self-improvement books since I was a teenager. I’ve also written seven of them myself.
I see life as a continuous learning process. Call me a wide-eyed optimist, but I continue to believe that no matter what our age, no matter what our condition, if we put our minds to it, we can get better and better everyday, in every way.
In my obsession with self-improvement, I have developed a new process to continue learning how to be a better person. Here’s how it goes so far. I realize this process can be better, so if you have suggestions for improvements, please share them with me.
- Using a journal, write down every morning what you anticipate about the coming day. This is not a “to-do list”, but rather a reflection of what, given what you can anticipate about the day ahead, you expect from yourself.
- At the end of the day write a review of how you conducted yourself throughout the day.
- Did you anticipate correctly what you had to face that day?
- Did you manage yourself with equanimity, courage, kindness and wisdom that you hoped for yourself? If not, what did you fail to anticipate.
- What did you learn about yourself? How can you do better tomorrow?
If you repeat this process daily you will begin to identify patterns of behavior and get to know yourself better. You will begin to recognize what triggers positive behavior and emotions, and you will be better able to recognize your blind spots.