The Balance of Good Enough v.s. Self Improvement

I have always believed in bettering myself. I see problems in myself or my actions and I figure out a solution and I act on it. Life is too short to not spend it always improving. I don’t want to waste a precious second of this human life (it is said that only a human embodiment can achieve moksha/samadhi).

Trouble socializing? I studied how to small talk the way Data did. Okay, maybe not exactly the same way.

Trouble with intimacy? I set up a regimen for myself and got better.

Fear of sharing my writing with others? I joined writer’s groups and forced myself to do it.

I’m always on the look out for new areas of self-improvement. It seems to be one of the major things people who like me like about me! I’ve been told sometimes that it’s admirable, although I just didn’t realize there was any other way.

This drive to always be improving myself does have its downsides, though. It can bring with it a frenetic intensity and sometimes attempts to squash things that are not actually problems but are innate parts of my personality.

We are told that we are already divine, that God is within us and without us, filling the entire creation. The Perfect Prayer reminds us that everything is already perfect, including ourselves.

That is Perfect; This is Perfect;

Perfect Comes From Perfect.

Take Perfect from Perfect,

The Remainder is Perfect

Where does that fit in with my compulsion to find and fix problems in myself? How do we balance making strides towards our goals with also remembering that we are good enough and that our true inner Self is already perfect?

Please share your experience! (I know my husband will have a comment for this one too! He’s big on what he calls “self cultivation.”)