Everyone should consistently try to improve themselves. Period.
I picked up chess recently. It was, and still remains a hobby for me. For many interests that I’ve had, I take a few lessons and take it somewhat seriously for a few weeks. The interest dissipates and the hobby is quickly forgotten. Some examples include piano, karate, movies, photography, batman comic books, batman movies, etc. Yet, chess has persisted a few months now and I’m really loving it. I’ve seen YouTube videos and have played locally at a few spots. But, for about a week I didn’t really play anymore. My interest was disappearing and becoming quickly lost with time.
Obviously, with this attitude and mentality, I’ll never get good, or develop any serious skill in any of these hobbies. Duh.
I think this is what happens in my social life. Every time, I attempt to actively be a better person by making people comfortable around me, making my friends laugh, and being overall a good person.
Don’t think that I’m this evil, sadistic person who enjoys inflicting pain. However, my sense of humor is brash, sometimes I’m blunt, and enjoy a conversation where I bully my thesis in your face.
Why am I like this? Great question. That’s a topic for another day.
Of course, if I don’t improve myself and don’t have a desire to keep my small group of friends, then I shouldn’t care. I do, though. Very much.
Self-monitoring. That’s a set of words I haven’t heard since my college days. For those that want to say, “Dude, you shouldn’t change yourself for other people”. Yeah, great advice if I want to keep hurting peoples’ feeling. Truly, I should aspire to be someone that’s genuine, but nice. Heck, I’m even willing to compromise on being an asshole sometimes, when it’s really needed.
I’ll see how long this mentality lasts before I plateau.