Before you ask yourself "what could I do to improve myself" you first need to consider why you should even bother. Two main reasons: First: while suffering may be unavoidable, suffering more than what's necessary is avoidable... so improving your life helps you avoid "avoidable suffering". Second: Your improvement also affects those around you, improving yourself reduces their suffering as well.

Pain, by definition, comes with the desire to be removed; otherwise, it wouldn't be called pain. So, the pains in your life (suffering), whatever they are, come with a (by definition) desire to be reduced]. No one would say "my situation wouldn't be any different if I didn't have this painful situation*." So, you do care no matter how apathetic you may claim to be.

Here is my thoughts on this thing.

Where to start? This question alone overwhelms many who are looking to improve their lives, even if they deeply understand "why" they need to improve. It's overwhelming because there are so many problems in the world*#, both internally and externally.

The key is to start where you can start... Literally:

Once you harness your ability to identify problems you must learn to identify what you can fix & what you can't. As you improve yourself as a person you will observe real problems that you would like to fix. It will be tempting to stretch yourself beyond your limits.

Many attempt to improve their lives through ill-considered dramatic changes or unreachable goals, setting themself up (often intentionally) for failure. They think that's how improvement happens, not with simple things

Expanded: Life-changing shifts start in the mundane, you can't hope to fix big problems if you can't manage small ones.

The act of purposefully instructing your mind to genuinely pursue a goal (take aim) does a strange thing... it literally changes your perception of the world... it reconfigures itself around that aim*. Positive or negative, it follows your aim... So,

✋ This is your wake-up call. You are back in your comfort zone.

Floating through a deceptively warm world of muted colors.

It's lulling you into stagnation.

Don't push yourself, don't take a break, don't improve, don't get worse, don't do; stay, enjoy...

It lies.

It convinces you the anxiety you feel must be muted instead of channeled. Happiness must be pursued at the cost of meaning. Negativity must be eradicated, not examined.

You had to fight to get here, you might think. Why would you leave... just when you're getting comfortable?

You know why. You just haven't said it out loud in a while.

You know that meaning fades quickly without pursuit. You've grasped it before, even if just fleetingly; it's what got you here isn't it? But it's not enough to keep you going.

You don't need me to tell you that. You know it in your bones.

Or maybe you're somewhere arguably worse...

Instead of the purgatory of a comfort zone, you've found yourself in the chaos of the underworld. You've fallen face down in the dirt just when you thought you were finally getting things in order. Taken out at the knees by a tragedy, debilitation, or pure unjustifiable malice.

The world is unknowingly beautiful, but suffering is real. Terrible things find us when we least expect it. Deny this at your own parrel.

We understand your desire to curse it all for the pit you've fallen into. You have every reason to be spiteful. You are in pain, there is no denying pain, or it wouldn't be so named.

If you are here, there is good news... it can get worse, much worse. You can facilitate your own deeper suffering (as so many do) or bring those around you down with you.

This is good news.

Knowing there are figurative "levels to hell"... knowing you can always go down... invites you to consider that you can avoid making things worse or, perhaps, even improve things.

You can't always halt the suffering, undo the past, or stop the pain, but you can control how you react. You can adjust your expectations; you can consider that "hopelessness and pain" is worse than "hope and pain." You must live in one state or another; perhaps it's time to consider hope; the alternative won't do you any good. But, where can you find hope? Answering that question sounds like a suitable meaning to start persuing.

Perhaps you're fulfilled with your pursuit, not stuck, not in chaos. This post isn't for you, except to say... Well done, don't stop.

For those who are drowsy with comfort... and those who are toiling in chaos, the cure is the same: revisiting your pursuit of meaning.

Not the fairytale or self-help concept of meaning, but the raw instinct that defines us as humans. The thing worth sacrificing our weaknesses and impulses for. It's a pursuit of meaning that put explorers on an open sea and on a rocket to see the globe for the first time with our own eyes.

For some, the treasure uncovered in the pursuit may be found simply by getting out of bed when everything inside you says it's impossible.

It's the aim that matters. You need one to survive; you need one to thrive. When you reach it, make another, and another. Don't be tempted by weak desires that hold false promises of happiness. You've never been happy when you've avoided a genuine calling. You know it's true.

Fight the chaos, and leave comfort for the times when you need to heal from the pursuit. It will be so much sweeter, I promise. Take care of yourself, but don't mistakenly use care as an excuse to stop the quest. It can be a trap. You'll know when this happens because you won't feel refreshed; you'll feel guilty. You might want a break when, instead, you need to build momentum. You know the difference.

Above all else, you must learn to be terribly honest with yourself. No one can fool you better than you. No one can convince you you're right (or wrong) when you know it to be false better than you. Learn to observe, interrupt lies, and give yourself the dignity of being honest with yourself.

Then do the bloody thing you're spending all this energy avoiding. It might just calm the chaos; it might just give you the thing you're looking for.