How personal development could lead to a society improvement
One step closer to the society that we all want
Yesterday I was reading this article by Darius Foroux when an idea crossed my mind. It is an overwhelmingly simple idea, which actually surprised me when I examined it in more depth.
If each person in a society improves itself by 1%, society as a whole should have an improvement in the quality of life of 1%.
It’s so simple, that 1% would mark an immeasurable improvement for all the components of that society, both the physical persons and the institutions and environment where this society operates.
Personal development is always treated from the individual point of view but today I want to take it to another level, to the social level. Where hypothetically we all benefit.
On several occasions, I’ve read people who try to improve themselves 1% on a daily basis, according to the premise, after a hundred days they would be a person 100% better, that is, twice as good. After reflecting on whether this is possible, I come to the conclusion that this idea is not feasible, and the explanation has a bit of logic.
Of course, it’s possible to learn something new or implement new habits every day, but in no way could we get to change 1% of our person in 24 hours.
Just think about this, try to become aware of everything you are, your knowledge, your relationships, your behaviors, habits, possessions, and everything that shapes your life or who you are in one way or another. We have a lot of information in our mind and everything that surrounds us is actually uncountable. It is not practical to change 1% of all that in one day.
Hopefully, this would be possible in a year, and that if I put a superhuman effort in that task.
Therefore, a way closer to the possible would be for each generation to improve itself a bit. If during its maturity stage that evolution is 0.5% it is enough. This would lead to a great leap in the quality of life for the next generation.
Now I will go into detail of the circumstances for this event to take place. As I said, each person must improve 1% during a certain period of time and for that, he must put into practice certain habits that enhance his well-being.
Personal habits
These habits implemented individually would contribute to a better spiritual life, more valuable relationships and a healthier body and soul.
Meditation
Much has already been written about the short and long-term benefits of meditation, but what we can highlight as the most important is the reduction of stress and anxiety, it also improves memory and gives us more awareness about ourselves and our surroundings.
If you can make a big difference on a personal level, imagine if all the people you know will meditate.
The anxiety level of people on the street would drastically decrease, while their happiness would increase.
Physical and mental health
If each individual leads a healthier lifestyle, surely life expectancy would increase as people become aware of what is best for their body and mind.
I’m not saying that eating fast food or consuming sugar becomes illegal or something, but that each person has the necessary information to know what is beneficial for their body and what is not.
Learning
It is not a novelty that once they finish college most adults do not cultivate the habit of reading. But what would happen if it were the other way around? If each person read about topics that are interesting and continue to grow as the years go by.
This point doesn’t sound so farfetched by the fact that Internet access is almost universal today, but unfortunately, it is not the majority of the society that continues to learn with the only goal of knowing more.
Hobbies and side hustles
Everyone has a favorite hobbie, but not everyone has the time or the motivation to carry it out regularly. It would be interesting if each person could do what they love in their free time.
Playing an instrument, creating web pages, practicing a sport, learning a new job are excellent ways to pass the time that if you have enough dedication could become the main activity of those who practice them.
What would contribute to their own happiness and who helps with their talent.
Relationship with money
Until now, the previous habits contribute enormously to greater happiness, and this last individual habit also does. That more and more people move away from senseless consumerism and adopt lifestyles close to minimalism would help society as a whole understand what is really important in life and that money and possessions are only resources that are only present for a moment in our lives.
Also, people must have an acceptable financial education so that they are able to save and invest in order to enjoy more of the fruits of their work.
Social habits
This other type of habit would help a society with more and better values, a better care world and a higher quality community life.
Environmental care
Separate waste, reduce the consumption of plastics, save resources such as water and electricity, recycle everything we can are actions that would benefit in an unimaginable way to our planet.
Another way to improve the environment would be the commitment of industries to reduce the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere and stop practices that affect the health of the environment.
Mutual respect
Unfortunately today a world without wars is almost unimaginable, but at least let’s dream for a moment that all people respect the diversity that exists.
A world where religions, ethnic minorities, different types of ideology are respected is practically a utopia but we must never stop trying to eradicate hatred and violence in the world.
It is very important to respect the consensus among social groups for a peaceful and equitable social and political life.
State tasks
In this mission, the states and public dependencies would have two main tasks: promote and safeguard.
Promote personal and social habits. Safeguard individual and community freedoms.
A state that ensures access to education and health for the entire population is essential for a fair and educated society. Representative democracy is equally important so that each person can feel heard and represented. The state must respect the agreements that are made and must guarantee the full freedom of each person.
Conclusion
If a society wants to evolve, each one of the individuals that compose it must do it, each person must assume the commitment and the responsibility to improve itself so that the next generation enjoys a society and a better world than the previous ones. Only in this way can we reach the world we so dreamed of, starting with us.
Your turn
What do you think? Are there other ways for our society to move towards a better place? Let me know in the comment section.
