higher self | ideal self | becoming

this very effort to “become” is the barrier—because you are already carrying your being with you. You need not become anything—simply realize who you are, that’s all. Simply realize who is hidden within you. Improving, whatsoever you improve, you will always be in anxiety and anguish because the very effort to improve is leading you on a wrong path

“Okay,” you might be thinking, “so the project of self-improvement is largely unrelated to the project of spiritual awakening, but it couldn’t possibly undermine the awakening process, could it?” Yes, it could. Let me explain. What exactly is this best version of themselves that people want to be? All too often, it’s a socially conditioned figment

Perhaps we’ve spread ourselves too thin, by trying to do too much, too fast, with too little. Or maybe we are just limited by a conventional view of success. When we constantly pursue and prioritise ‘more’ above ‘meaning’, we take wrong turns, box ourselves in,

This impulse is helpful most of the time, but compounded over one’s life it stops us from moving towards what Gilovich and Davidai call our “ideal self.” When people reflect on their lives, these are the things that people regret most – not moving towards their ideal selves.