80% YES

This sounds like young person mindset. And you can't blame the young for being young.

Accepting and embracing who you are now is not mutually exclusivve with pushing yourself to improve. I expect that for many it provides a much healthier basis from which to grow and improve.

However, if your only motivation to improve is your dislike of your current self, it might not be an unequivocal YES to this pol.

Still, I'd argue that this is an unhealthy and frail* source of motivation, and you've got a too narrow view of what it is you have to improve. Accepting your current self, and allowing yourself to have become this version of yourself is in itself a major improvement.

PS: I would have disagreed with my statement only a couple of years ago; I was afraid that embracing my current self would doom me to stay that versionof myself forever. This was a thought distortion that proved to be wrong.

@GazDownright Also without understanding and accepting yourself, there is a huge risk that you spend effort on trying to improve in ways that turn out to be useless or even detrimental (e.g. doing something because your parents/society wants you to, not because it is actually good)

@MartinModrak True. Another important facet.

IMHO false dichotomy. For most people understanding and lovingly accepting who they are is the best starting point for a sustainable long term improvement.

it depends on how shitty you are now. some people would benefit from improving, others would benefit from laying off the gas. both of these people have been me in the last two years.

i reject this premise

@mattyb 🤣🤣

@mattyb how shitty you are depends on how high your standard is. There will probably always be people who are better and worse than you