Josh,
This is a great topic!
I do agree with your statement that, “There are whole industries built around the idea that we are broken, ” and part of your statement that “As adults our position is to remove all of the noise and the muck from our eyes and see”.
However, I respectfully disagree with your argument and belief that “ We are perfect the day we are born and that we are exactly who we are and who we were ever meant to become”.
Let’s start by defining the term self improvement by referencing three online sources:
- The Cambridge online dictionary:
Learning new things on your own that make you a more skilled or able person.
2. The Oxford online dictionary:
The improvement of one’s knowledge, status, or character by one’s own efforts.
3. The Websters new world college dictionary:
The improvement of one’s status, mind, abilities, etc. by one’s own efforts.
Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/self-improvement#jkICh9PS9Ovebizu.99
Your argument and belief that we are born perfect is incongruent with the fact that a perfect being does not need to be cared for or nurtured in any manner; or given food for nourishment, protected from danger or taught how to solve problems and over come obstacles.
But new born babies do require all of these care giving efforts in order to survive and eventually develop the ability to live and function by their own efforts, hence self-improvement by definition.
As human beings we possess DNA and proteins, which contains evolutionary history and encoded instructions that express themselves in some aspects as innate drives and instincts. Our DNA does share some remote similarities with the DNA of; insects, birds, animals, fish and reptiles with regard to patterns which express unlearned innate drives and instincts, i.e, a new born baby sucking milk from it’s mothers breast or Canadian geese flying in a “V” formation. Additionally human being share some remotely similar molecular and atomic structure elements with; dirt, rocks, mountains, canyons, lakes and oceans.
With that being said, the one characteristic and profound difference between human beings and the other organisms and inanimate objects mentioned, is that human being have the ability to make choices and decide what actions we will take.
We are conscious of our existence and death.
We can contemplate the meaning of life and determine what we can do to improve the quality of our lives.
We can reason, problem solve and make rational decisions to improve our life.
We can choose our purpose, set goals and make decision which will result in the achievement of our intentions.
Human beings unlike Canadian geese can choose to build commuter planes or fighter jets and then decide whether or not to fly those aircraft's in a “V” formation or not. Also human beings unlike mountains can choose to stand firm and be as unmovable as a mountain when defending a strongly held belief or ideal even in the face of certain death or retreat and then return as ocean tides do.
Human beings unlike other forms of life found on earth have the remarkable and magnificent ability to determine; who we are, want we desire, where we are going, what we will or will not learn and what we will or will not do.
Self — improvement is one of the primary activities which enables human beings to continuously enhance our quality of life and grow beyond our wildest imaginations.