Mentally, emotionally and/or physically speaking.

40 comments

  2. I just got done “working on myself”. I’ll rest 30/45 minutes and I’ll “work on myself again”.

  3. I’m a woman but I love the question. To me it meant building that life I’ll miss when I’m no longer single and independent. In no particular order, getting a job I like, getting into therapy and doing the work, living in a city I love, in a home I love. Having a regular routine that involves a hobby or a talent, and sometimes traveling solo.

  4. Being satisfied with yourself in those aspects you mentioned. Ideally, you want to be in a stable place.

  5. All the above. I try to have a long term project or goal set for each one of those aspects.. I normally have physical, knowledge, and overall mental health based goals in the works at any time.

  8. Bettering your life overall.

    Start getting your sleep straight

    Quit bad addictions

    Go to the gym

    Have a proper hygene and glow up routine

    Start a side hustle to make some more income

  9. It means “I have to go have a mental breakdown for a few days, I’ll be back though”

  10. In all cases I accept myself as a flawed human being and actively find ways to try to make myself better.

    Physically, right now I’m finishing a half marathon training plan (just ran one for funsies this weekend) and plan to do a marathon next year. I had not run much more than a 5k until a few months ago, this took a lot of work and suffering.

    Emotionally, I’m doing my best to reflect on the situations I’ve found myself in and figure out how I got there and if the way I acted was the most appropriate. I’m making an effort to use a lot of “I feel” language and not keep things to myself when I’m with the GF.

    Mentally, I can’t go into detail but I just achieved a major victory at work that was the end result of a ton of effort that required me to learn a lot. But I could probably still do a better job of doing things like reading more and incorporating math puzzles into my day, things like that to keep myself sharp.

    In all cases I will say that the experience of watching some of my relatives get old and die recently, which is of course a normal part of life, really hammered into me that the only higher power guiding my life is me and my own will to do better.

  11. Being alert to moments that call for humility and self-correction. I’ve done a lot of active work on the way I view myself, the world, and everything in between, now I’m more at a passive-corrective stage of things. At least until I feel like taking the time to do active work is called for again.

  13. Putting in the time and effort to work on things in your life you want to change.

  14. It just means having some sort of goals to work towards that will ultimately increase my happiness while on earth.

    That looks different for everyone — I reject the notion that there’s one “optimal” path in life that everyone should follow.

    And sometimes, “working on yourself” means taking time to be a potato and enjoy some rest.

  15. For me it’s focusing on things that I enjoy and inspiring myself to forward with new goals etc.. ex. Like focusing on becoming stronger at the gym and therefore I focus on increasing my weights and feel mentally better abt my progress etc…

  16. * Going to the gym, any kind of workout or yoga class
    * Therapy
    * Socializing practice without the pretense of dating
    * Establishing boundaries with work
    * Exploring interests and hobbies

  17. To me it’s making money, working more or getting a side hustle, that kind of stuff

  18. Depends on what needs to be worked on. I could lose a few lbs (put on a little fat in the honeymoon period of dating a new girl) so I’m watching my diet and taking more time to exercise. I also need to put more work in on my career, so that means updating the resume and keeping an eye out for new work opportunities. Mentally/emotionally, I just need to make sure I’m saving enough time for myself. Between work and relationships, I don’t get a lot of alone time, and eventually I need to treat myself.

  19. People have different definitions, I’m sure. But my personal take is that you are actively working on your own personal growth, in order to be the most refined and excellent version of yourself that you can be.
    For some men that might mean going to the gym and developing their physique into something that will boost their confidence and self-esteem. For other men it means developing their character, learning to become more empathetic and altruistic in their actions. For other men, it might mean that they want to shed the insecurities and/or anxieties that keep them down. They want to be able to experience joys and live a fulfilling life.

    Every man is different so their goals are going to just as varied. But at the root of it all, ‘working on yourself’ is a euphemism for working on and changing something about themselves that they find unsatisfactory.
    This concept isn’t exclusive to men and it applies to humans in general.

  20. Working on completely getting rid of the desire and interest to do things like dating and to not think about it anymore.

    Also trying to find proper work and maintain savings.

  22. Abstaining from alcohol, spending time w family, reading, practicing patience, prayer, meditation, and breath work. I can do these things with my family around, and am grateful for it.

  23. For me it’s not being bothered by anyone to focus on improvements on myself (professionally, mentally, emotionally and if I’m there- physically)

  24. When I hear people say it, I suspect they don’t like how things are in their lives, may or may not have identified the correct issues driving those things, and have zero plan to improve.

  25. It means I am not happy with my Job, Body, or the way I am processing shit, so I am going to take some time off from being in a relationship to get back into shape, play some videogames, an get a new job.

  26. It means – “I’ve got some shit that I need to sort out right now”.

    People usually see that as a reason from them to take a break from something in life, which may work. But ultimately we’re all imperfect human beings who are constantly improving ourself day in, day out.

  27. You are composed of 3 elements. Physical. Mental. Spiritual. Like the legs of a tripod, these things support you. All three are required.

    Physical is the easiest of the three to master. An uneducated brute in a prison cell can be trained to become stronger.

    Mental is where you go off to get an education, and how to live in a society. Cause your brain is just like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. But it’s not for everybody.

    Spirituality is the last thing to ripen in a human being. It includes things like an unfiltered sense of compassion and empathy.

    When you work on these qualities, you become strong enough to push the gate open between this world and the rest of creation unseen to most humans. Despite 8 billion people in the world, there is only a handful of these individuals.

    So? If you want to work on the self, you must know how you’re put together. I hope this helps.

  28. Working with my therapist to understand and overcome the things which block me. Going to the gym and spending more time in the wilderness to get healthier and get more sun and fresh air. Leveraging AI to make job faster so that I never have to work before 10 or after 4 and I can be with my family and be present.

  29. Reduce drinking. No smoking weed. Get exercise daily. Eat all three meals and make them healthy. Journal. Be social.

  30. It means whatever it needs to mean at the time. All of the above in different circumstances

  31. Making myself better. In my case it meant improving my health and fitness and losing fat. Now I am working on my ADHD to mitigate that.

  33. It means I’m learning how to deal with my emotional health in a better way when it comes to negative coping mechanisms.

    Physically it means I gained weight and need to lose some pudge.

  36. For me, focusing on doing more of the things that make me happy and less of the things that don’t.

    Doing the things I don’t want to do, but need to.

    Trying to have more patience, to accept that people are who they are and not judge.

    Trying to get better at accepting kindness and help.

  38. Going to the gym and changing my diet, therapy, reading books, but the big thing is just cutting socializing down or almost out completely i don’t really know why this is a big part of it.

  39. Living healthy-ish. Walking my dog bc making her happy makes me happy. Spending too long on my hair or skin or nails on a random night. Cutting out things that don’t make me feel good (booze, certain friends). Learning new things (getting into gardening). Reading and writing for myself (I work as a writer and it’s hard to get motivated to work on personal projects on my off time).

    Basically doing more things that make me feel good the day after, and less that leave me hungover or riddled with anxiety.

  40. Prioritizing activities that are isolated to yourself and directly benefit your physical and emotional state.

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