Developing the Self
Evolving authenticity is your natural state.
I’m coming out—finally—as a self-development devotee. I can no longer deny it: I am one of those people who are obsessed with evolving into their “higher selves”. If that wasn’t obvious already.
May it be so!
I cringe at my entry into this world of developing-the-self eight or so years ago. My ego swelled, I drank mason jars of celery juice every morning, and was convinced that everyone needed to be meditating daily and conversing with their inner child in order to be actualizing their highest selves. I definitely thought that talk therapy was for everyone, for their entire lives. I was earnest in my seeking and without the wisdom that what someone is actually saying is as important as their underlying intentions.
Living in the Midwest for a while, and growing up more, helped weed out this arrogance and ground me in reality: of course, self-development is not about whether you can afford sound baths or sessions with healers, nor is it about whether you’ve dissected every moment of your past and can recite your triggers.
As it turns out, personal growth is mostly an inside job; what you do on the outside is tangential. You do not need to be “healed” in order to live from your evolving authenticity. Your “better self” is already present within you, seeking expression. Chances are, you already live from this place; if you aren’t, explore where your life feels like a lie, and address what comes up.
The heart of self-development is about awareness and the willingness to be honest. If you want to become more free from your past baggage and future fears, work with the moment in front of you. Life is always offering you opportunities to let go and grow. You don’t really need to buy anything (unless it’s The Untethered Soul) to feel better internally; it isn’t *really* about the menu of practices you can choose from, as enjoyable and supportive and empowering those may be. Personal growth is about whether you can see and confront whatever reactions and emotions are being served to you, today. Every time something on the outside hits something on the inside, and you feel bad as a result, there’s the chance to see and work with it. Committing to addressing your inner disturbances and letting them go is a surefire way to develop the self that wants to be lived through you.
. .
While I may not drink celery juice or wake up at 5am to meditate anymore, I still listen to plenty of “uplevel your life” podcasts and continue to believe that I need the enhancing supplement I just heard about. I dream of the day I can have an infrared sauna and a cold plunge in my backyard; I’m a self-development girlie, after all. I guess it’s authentic. I tried to abandon this world a little while ago, because it is so often thick with pretentiousness; full of people who I pretentiously judge as “missing the point”. Even still, there are many more whose intentions appear to remain loving and earnest; there are many teachers and ideas and practices to discover and experiment with. If you continuously examine your own intentions, you’ll attract what is right for you.
For the sake of our higher selves—onward!
Maggie