Does self-improvement have an end or it is a never-ending process?

At the group's first meetup, we will informally discuss whether self-improvement has an end or is a never-ending process.

To inspire the discussion, I selected two short blog posts with opposing perspectives.

The first post is by Mark Manson, the author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F#ck. He argues that:

“There’s a paradox with self-improvement (...): the ultimate goal of all self-improvement is to reach the point where you no longer feel the need to improve yourself (…). The whole goal of improving your productivity is to reach the point where you never have to think about how to be more productive. The whole point of pursuing happiness is to reach the point where one no longer has to think about being happy. (…)
The only way to truly achieve one’s potential, to become fully fulfilled, or to become “self-actualized” (…), is to, at some point, stop trying to be all of those things.”

The second post is by Maarten van Doorn, who wrote it as a reply to Mark Manson’s post. Van Doorn argues that self-improvement doesn’t have an end because it is an end in itself:

“‘The paradox of self-improvement’, as Mark calls it, is not that self-improvement, despite appearances, has as its ultimate goal something that’s ‘in your head’. No, the true paradox of self-improvement is that it’s perhaps the only kind of improvement that is not done for the sake of whatever it is being improved, but for its own sake.
Self-improvement has intrinsic value and, in contrast to productivity, becoming better and exercising skills are essential components of what makes life worth living (…)
Personal growth shouldn’t be thought of as a band-aid to fix something. That’s not what it’s for. What it’s for, is to prevent you from settling for eternal boredom — and your life from going by unnoticed.”

What do you think?

Reading the posts beforehand is optional — Just in case you want to read them, here are the links:

• ‘What is self-improvement’ by Mark Manson.
• ‘Self-improvement doesn’t have an end, it is the end’ by Maarten van Doorn

We will also have time to talk about ourselves and brainstorm ideas for next meetups.

See you soon.

Ángel