-Steve JobsSimply, I am in love with improvement. The satisfaction it gives me. The accomplishment it gives me. The happiness it gives me. The drive it gives me to do more, to complete more. Improvement is like a drug, the more you do it, the more you want it.
I am one of the most stressed and negative people you will ever meet, yet I love improvement. Crazy, isn't it? How one can talk themselves down so much and never say they can do it, but they're able to do the exact thing they said they wouldn't. What is it? False motivation? Contradictory words to make you feel better when you do what you said you couldn't? Whatever it is, needs to stop.
Through determination and motivation, anything can be done; people say it all the time. Though many things are easier said than done. This is why I love improvement. To be able to physically see the amelioration and advancement of myself gives me some sort of adrenaline rush to keep on going.
Are you academically inclined? Think about how great it would be to get an A on your chemistry test that you have to take tomorrow. Sure, you may think it's stopping you from procrastinating but is it really motivating you to actually study? Now think about the fact that you did get an A on your chemistry test. How good do you feel? Happy, content, accomplished, satisfied, and you're ready to get that feeling again. That's why I love improvement.
Are you athletically inclined? Think about the game you have next week against your biggest rival. You know you should be training as hard as you can and you're searching for the motivation. You look at the plays you need to make, the streak of the other team, you think you have it, but it's not physically there. Now think about how great you felt about yourself running the winning touchdown last week, or scoring the final goal at the game. You felt powerful, successful, excited, and ready to do it again.
Improvement is that little bit of nostalgia that keeps me going. I thirst for it day in and day out. It gives me a reason to keep the wheels turning, to do better and succeed. Once I improve, I feel like the next time that comes around, I need to do better than I did before. I'll get the same great feeling that I did the first time, and also the satisfaction of knowing it was all me that was able to better myself than ever before. Improvement is something that we've all experienced at least once before, but we have never really thought how beneficial it is to our lives and our well-being.
Next time when you're down in the dust, you think you will fail no matter how hard you try, and there's no point in doing anything anymore, think about improvement. You see how much you can accomplish just knowing that you've done it before. Challenge yourself and test your limits, the road is a never-ending journey that only takes you further. Have the confidence and get to your goal, and then some. You can never take away the improvement you've made. All you can ever do is add to it.
Addy, I loved your blog post! Right when I saw the title, I knew I had to comment. I was captured from the minute I saw Steve Jobs' quote. Also, it helps that we were talking about this in the hallway the day you wrote it and I was interested on what you were going to write. The quote you had from Steve Jobs was attention grabbing because in my case, I wondered what does this quote have to do with her blog post? I wanted to figure it out so I kept reading. I love the repetition you do right off the bat in your first paragraph when you use "it gives me" over and over. You say you love improvement, but why? Right after I asked myself that question, you answered it with all of the things that improvement gives you as an individual. I also liked the simile you used in the first paragraph, that improvement is "like a drug." It really pushed your point across about how much you loved improvement. In your second paragraph, you made me realize how I was connected to your blog post. I was so interested in your blog post because I am exactly like you. I am so negative and sometimes don't believe in myself, yet I love improvement. Your rhetorical questions got me thinking more about why I put myself down but I like to improve. It got me thinking deeply about what you were asking, which I do believe its contradictory words that will make you feel better once you do what you think you couldn't. For example, I always tell myself I will fail my math test, yet I never do. I love seeing that big, red "A" on the top of my paper and am so happy I proved myself wrong. I think I know I wont fail, yet I tell myself otherwise. What I though was really effective was when you went on to connect your audience to your post; whether they are more academic or athletic, you gave them an example and made them relate. The questions you asked and the emotions you expressed is what made your audience think about it and then realize that in one way or another they related to your blog post. Your ending completes your post just like it should. It gives motivation and advice and I think you will take your own advice to and it will help all. All in all, I loved your blog post!
ReplyDeleteImprovement is the feul that keeps human life running and motivated. All work that is done by a human is hoped to be the mother of success. We work hard so that we will know the feeling of accomplishment after we have improved. Without improvement in our lives we would feel no sense of pride of our lives. You are correct when you give the examples of studying for a test or excelling in an athletic activitiy. We as humans would not feel the need to even participate in schooling or athletics if we were not striving to improve all of the time. I agree with you in your blog when you make the argument that improvement is a highly rewarding concept and it makes humans feel that they need to be improving every second in order to succeed.
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