How to Think About Progress - Like an Artist
"To be an artist means: to neither reckon nor count; to ripen like the tree..."
What if our timelines for self-improvement are part of the problem? The philosopher Heraclitus said, “Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day.” Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character and anything else worthwhile.
In his classic Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke stressed,
“There is no measuring with time, not even a year matters, and ten years are nothing. To be an artist means: to neither reckon nor count; to ripen like the tree, which does not rush its sap, and stands firm in the storms of spring, without anxiety that summer may not come after. It does come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are there, as if eternity lay before them, so carelessly silent and vast. I learn it daily, learn it with pain, and am grateful for it: Patience is all!”
Contemplation: To gain clarity on your view of self-improvement, take a few minutes to ponder these questions:
Why are we focused on self-improvement in the first place?
What does self-improvement actually mean?
How does one know if they have made progress?
My interview with Dr. Ron Siegel (author of The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary) revealed how we are hardwired to focus on self-evaluation. According to Dr. Siegel,
“Nearly everyone is preoccupied with self-evaluation and rides this sort of roller coaster. Why? Because, I’m sorry to say, we humans did not evolve to be happy. The propensity to evaluate ourselves and compare ourselves to others, which was once useful for survival, is actually hardwired into the human brain. It traps almost all of us in unnecessary self-focused suffering while cutting us off from the very pursuits that could actually make us happier and healthier.”
Paradoxically, many spiritual traditions take the opposite approach to personal development. The theologian Thomas Merton observed, “For me to be a saint means to be myself.” Similarly, the psychologist and theologian Anthony de Mello put it this way, “The spiritual quest is a journey without a distance. You travel from where you are right now to where you have always been.”
This article is not a plea to abandon all self-improvement projects. It is simply to highlight the need for clarity around the idea of progress and to remember the wisdom of patience. For example, when Seneca was asked about his progress towards wisdom, He replied, “I have begun to become a better friend to myself.”
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. Feel free to leave a comment or question.