Personally I hate the term Self-Improvement because it implies that there’s something wrong with you as you are, which I will argue against wholeheartedly.
Yes, there might be things that you want to change about your life, but by starting from the assumption that there’s something wrong with you, you’ve already created a huge hurdle to surmount before actually making any of the changes.
I much prefer Self-Development which is a term that has no good/bad value attached to it.
That being said for this month’s Someday Content, I challenge you to name one thing you want to develop in your life. You can email it to me, or you can make your commitment public by putting it down in a comment.
I then promise to follow up with you during the month about the actions you’re taking to make the change.
Everyone who makes a commitment to some sort of small change this month will be eligible to win a copy of the ebook Someday My Ship Will Come In: A Practical Guide to Discovering Your Dreams. (If you’ve responded to this challenge via the Someday eNews, then you’re already entered in the contest.)
So, tell me, what small Someday will you get rid of this coming month?
PS The randomly generated winner of the August Someday Contest who will receive a copy of Richard Wiseman’s book 59 Seconds is Estelle, whose comment appeared on the post about the book. The comment is a great reminder of the importance of acknowledging your happiness (and something we learn as children):
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands!….
Estelle, I will be contacting you via email to get your details. Congratulations!
31 Responses to “September is Self-Improvement Month: What Will You Commit To?”
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Please join in the conversation and leave a comment - I’d love to hear from you!
Create a budget and stick to it.
I’ve been a student for the past 4 years (on and off) and my finances were always rocky. Sometimes I needed to borrow money to last until the end of the month, or I’d have to take out way more than expected of my college savings in the middle of the year. I have 3 more years of school to go, and have decided to set up a budget and stick to it. This will make my life a lot easier, and I will be able to stop worrying about money so much, and so asking for money all the time.
I have a feeling that September will be a tough month adjusting to that though.
I had no idea that it was Self Improvement month (though I completely agree with what you’ve written about the term). Exciting! I’m going to develop my novel-writing skills this month and focus on my Happiness Project group.
Positively Present´s last blog ..look for opportunities (to read!) everywhere 
I’m going to try to find the passion in what I do. I have the luxury of a secure job, but no interest, no passion. I want to love what I do…to feel as though I’m making a difference, no matter how small and menial the task I’m accomplishing. I’m not exactly sure how to do this, but with conscious effort, perhaps it will manifest.
Oooh, I like this month already! Ok, in September I am going to commit to turning my online writing/blogging passion into a real income. I will explore new avenues to develop my desire to do so, and will not let fear of the unknown hold me back from pursuing my dream.
Rene´s last blog ..Packing for a RV Kitchen: 2 Years Later, the Final Tally
I feel like every month is self improvement month! This month I’m going to try to stay on top of my writing and build up my blog. I’m not sure how yet, but I’ve got a month to figure it out.
Kelly´s last blog ..Menu Planning
@Marie
Good for you and good luck! Setting and sticking to a budget is especially hard in a consumer-driven world where we’re bombarded with messages about buying everywhere we turn. But if you can develop an attitude where you don’t want to buy (rather than not letting yourself buy) then the change should be easy.
@Positively Present
It’s amazing what you can find in terms of “official” months (or days) but searching around the ‘net a little. I have no idea who started Self-Improvement Month, but I love having themes…
Good luck with the Happiness Project group. The idea fascinates me and Gretchin was one of the first blogs I ever read.
@Jennifer
I’m going to stick a shameless plug in here for my ebook Someday My Ship Will Come In, which is all about helping you discover your dreams: http://somedaysyndrome.com/someday-my-ship-will-come-in-a-practical-guide-to-discovering-your-dreams/
Also check out the current Lab Rat series which takes 4 people through the book.
@Rene
Yay to blogging passion! Now that you guys have found your non-RV home you’ll have more energy and focus to making that happen.
@Kelly
Good luck with building up your blog. Last July I made a conscious decision to change things up and within a month I had turned the blog from a personal journal to the current professional incarnation of Someday Syndrome.
Yes, every month is self-improvement month, especially here at Someday Syndrome.
This took a lot of thought, but basically stop changing my mind about the direction of my blog. I want to write and keep at it. Given that I initially started blogging in April 2008 and then gave it away for a while. Then came back towards the end of 2008. However in August I deleted my ID and decided to start from scratch. I intend to write about what I want to write and see what happens from there. I still want to be writing on this blog in 12 months time. But want to set at the end of September as an initial goal.
Cathy´s last blog ..Our afternoon at the beach
Hi there, just calling in from Belgium.
I just finished a contract of limited duration and this time I want to find a job I truly have a passion for.
After 12 years in customer service (behind a desk) I want to step out and do something new but I am still trying to convince myself I am ready for it.
This is possibly the worst month for me to think about self-development, since I’m speaking at the POC Toronto Chapter meeting on the 14th, recruiting employers for the Face to Face Employment and Training Fair with a registration deadline of the 15th, and am hosting the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group Event on the 17th!
But as Roseanne Roseannadanna always said, “it’s always something,” so I am going to take your challenge and commit to taking time out for me, whether it’s to read a novel, or get together with a friend, or go out shopping for something new to wear to these upcoming events, because it’s when we’re really busy that we need those me-breaks more than ever.
Janet Barclay´s last blog ..My Connection Story
I read your newsletter, I saw your note on Facebook, and I read this post here. I didn’t respond. Why? Because I didn’t want to be held accountable for the change. I wanted a lot of attagirls for thinking about what I’d like to change, but when it came down to it, I didn’t want to have to do the work.
Which, when I thought about it, was no different from all the people who say they want to write a book but have a long list of reasons why they never actually write.
So I’m going on the record: I want a clean office. I want to get rid of the clutter. I want to file the papers that need to be instead of just sticking them in a pile to file later. I want to recycle the magazines I’m holding onto that I’ll never read again (or never in the first place!). I want to feel calm and serenity when I sit down to work and write each day.
I started this morning, by clearing off the top of a file cabinet — 20 minutes of decluttering before I sat down to the computer.
Now comes the hard part . . . keeping it up.
Good for you, Erin! I almost didn’t comment for the exact same reason - I know what I need to do but always have some excuse why I can’t. That’s why I picked something small enough that I just can’t get out of doing it!
Janet Barclay´s last blog ..It’s Fight Procrastination Day!
I will commit to putting a draft plan together around my book idea. I’ve been wanting to do it for so long and keep saying “tomorrow.” But if I have a whole month, I know I can do it!
Laura - The Journal of Cultural Conversation´s last blog ..Sexism and The Soda
@Cathy
That’s a good goal. It’s hard to pick one topic and stick to it, for sure. Plus blogging when it feels like there are so many blogs out there and so few readers in your own can get frustrating. It’s a slow build for sure.
I’ll be checking out your blog as well as checking up with you to see how it feels to be blogging regularly on the new topic.
@Kat
Do you know what it is that you want to do? What do you feel is holding you back from being ready? (If you don’t want to answer here publicly, please use the Contact Form.
If I don’t hear from you mid-month I’ll follow up to see how the preparations for the new thing are going.
@Janet
Yay to time off. That’s such a hard thing to do. Fortunately I have a boyfriend who gets really cranky if I work too much, and since I don’t like having a cranky boyfriend I set limits on how much I actually work.
@Erin
Good for you - I’m glad you decided to join in! And yay to getting started! Decluttering is a topic I don’t address much here on the blog but it’s one of the three pillars of Someday Syndrome - “I might need it someday” - and having too much stuff out of place can really hinder us in achieving our dreams.
20 minutes even a few times a week will produce a lot of progress for you Good luck with that!
@Laura
Ooh, nice! Prolific writer Holly Lisle has just come out with a new course about motivating yourself to write. I’ve bought many of her products and she really knows her stuff. You might want to check out Holly Lisle’s The Writing Craft: How To Motivate Yourself to get the project moving.
Like Erin, I read this and the little monkeys started chittering in the background about not speaking a commitment out loud. That is not the way of the road I’ve been lately walking down, so here I am commitment in hand.
I recently started working through Chris Guillebeau’s Social Web guide. I commit to having worked through the entire thing by the end of September.
This is entirely do-able. I have no reason to fear I would fail at this.
Thanks for the challenge and for being “out there”.
Keep up the good work.
Christi
Oops, forgot to click it for following the conversation.
Good day,
Christi
I need to get rid of clutter. I’ve been taking a look at what it is costing me in energy and I’m sick of it.
My office space is ok, but outside of that…. sigh….
Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..Building a House Without a Plan
@Christi
Good plan - it’s a great idea to choose something with a beginning and an end like a workbook. When you complete it, you’ll have such a great sense of accomplishment!
@Mel
Clutter is the third side of the Someday Syndrome triangle: I Might Need It Someday. It’s not a topic that I address often here on the blog, but it’s something I’ll be starting to talk about more as my third ebook will cover this very topic
Good luck to both of you!
I also prefer the term self-development even though one might assume there’s always something there to improve in a personality
This month I’m going to start exercising again - it’s not a huge thing, because I actually exercised a lot last year, but since I became ill I wasn’t able to (coeliac disease). This month I will try to get back into a routine and hopefully my illness won’t interfere too much! The plan is to exercise every second day starting with only a little bit and to increase the sets over the next few weeks and see how much I can handle with my illness.
Verena Fischer´s last blog ..Moving on after a long relationship
[...] September is Self-Improvement Month: What Will You Commit To? [...]
I intend to raise my self discipline by a certain value I have measured.
I intend to do this by one act of self discipline that stretches me slightly more than I would normally stretch myself.
Self discipline is one area which I have identified as a grey area in my life which prevents me from carrying on commitedly with changes in other areas.
But thank you for making me re-affirm my commitment to this improvement!
Meghashyam Chirravoori´s last blog ..Sep 6, How to not forget life changing ideas? 
[...] I said in a recent comment, clutter is the third side to the Someday Syndrome triangle: I Might Need It Someday. Clutter blocks progress and can especially be a problem for small [...]
@Verena
Good plan to start small and slowly build. I took a few months off from running due to bad allergies and I’ve had to start up again slowly, adding a few minutes each run to get back to my previous level.
@Meghashym
I hear you on the self discipline. My health gets bad when I eat sugar and wheat and yet I let myself do so all the time. This month I’ve started cutting back on it again and wow, it’s a challenge!
Good luck to both of you!
@ Alex, I am thinking of applying for a job in a bio supermarket which would mean I would become a shop attendant.
In one way, it’s something I would like to do because it’s an extension of how I’m trying to live, more eco, more conscious, more energy efficient but on the other hand I seem to be afraid of what people will think of me.. you know, she had a good job and now she works in a supermarket…
@Kat
Yes, peer pressure and external expectations have an insidious way of working their way inside and blocking us from following through on what we really want to do. It comes down to your sense of self-esteem I guess. If this is something you really want to do, then the opinions of others on your choices don’t matter. Passion and a sense of what’s right for us go a long way to helping us deal with the judgments of others.
Hi everyone,
I hope to hear from lots of people on ways you’re attempting to get out of long-standing ruts. And who knows, I may have an idea or two for someone else!
I too prefer the term “self-development.” It has a much more positive connotation.
I am in kind of a snag and I’m looking for ideas: Ten years ago, after years of dreaming of living in Europe, I gave up my secure life in L.A., a small apartment, a very modest income and a 13-year-old car … and took off for Spain in search of a way to stay. I had been going there for years whenever possible since I was 17 and it became my soul’s home. I was now 45.
I never found a way in and after much challenge in the ensuing decade, I find myself in Japan as an English teacher. But as my current contract is not being renewed, I’ll have to leave in December. I have nowhere to go. Not even from the airport.
There are far fewer English-teaching opportunities around the world than there used to be, due to world economic changes. With all the bad news from “home,” I know there are no more decent jobs. I have precious little time left.
Funny … even in the midst of obvious practical catastrophe … this dream still won’t let me go.
@Ana
I’m really sorry to hear that the practicalities of the world make it so hard for you to follow your dreams. Your situation has inspired me to look into that idea in general and write more about it: when dreams aren’t possible.
I am making a work space for my photography/spirituality work. I will keep it as a dedicated work space, becoming a minimalist in the process.
Hi Alex and group,
Yes, when dreams aren’t possible is a good topic as it does happen more than you think. In fact, I think that for most people, the things they’d really, really love to do are not possible.
The trick, Alex, in doing a piece on that is finding a way to tweak it so readers won’t become totally discouraged. Perhaps publishing a book won’t be possible but, for those with secure jobs who can do it on their own time: Write the book anyway, publish it yourself online and market it with a website. Some books have made it that way.
It always comes down to marketing, doesn’t it?
For example, I’m seeing a lot of people saying they want to write a book or make money blogging, etc. It is, of course, quite possible to have a good blog and to write a good book if you’re willing to work at it. What may not be possible … well, most books written won’t sell and most blogs don’t make money. It’s the one-in-a-million of us who get to those levels, always.
Thanks for your offer to help. Actually … I do have a thought … one of my challenges if I do have to go back “home” is that I have no real network to tap for job leads, and no references because I was a substitute teacher (and not a very successful one) for 4 years before coming back here. So it’s even harder to get any kind of job that would support me.
So … here you’ve got someone who will have to get on a plane to the U.S. in 3 months with nowhere to go. That means I can go anywhere in the country if I knew someone … somewhere … who knew someone who could help me set up initially. It’s a longshot because you don’t know me, but does anyone know anyone who knows someone in any city who needs someone to do some kind of work starting in January? Or perhaps someone with a housesitting need from then … You may PM me if you have any ideas.
I am happy to find your post and read the comments as I just learned about National Self-Improvement Month after doing some research for the company I work for, Betterfly. Our site matches you with the teachers, coaches and instructors who can help you be better at anything, so the month’s message (and your site) really aligns with ours.
Personally, this month I have been inspired to lead a healthier lifestyle. I joined a gym and commit to 4 mornings a week. Today I worked with a personal trainer. Although I am not a morning person, I have found that getting up earlier to work out has become a routine similar to brushing my teeth. I have much more energy, feel better about myself, am happier, sleep better, and make healthier food choices. On to the next!
@Elizabeth
Having a dedicated work space is a great idea and yay for the commitment to keep it uncluttered!
@Ana
I saw your question on Ask The Coach with Location Independent and I’m going to do it up for next month. When I get it done however, I’ll send you a copy so that you don’t have to wait until it goes live on the blog.
@Emily
I’m definitely going to check your site out. Yay to a healthier lifestyle. As I type this I’m about to shut down the computer and go for a long run. It’s amazing what it’s done for my health - from posture to sleeping to other health problems.
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