One insanely obvious self development hack

I suspect this one might sting a bit, but I have to say it anyway.

Self development isn’t real, and no matter how hard you try to “develop yourself” it won’t work.

At least not in the way that most of us have been taught to believe. Here’s why:

What you call “you” isn’t a solid, fixed thing.

Neuroscience, Buddhism, Indigenous wisdom all say the same thing:

Your “self” is just a habit of perception.

It’s a shifting viewpoint that is shaped by memory, belief and experience, constantly rewriting itself as you move through life.

It’s a continuously flowing story that we live on repeat out of survival and the only control we have of it is to become more aware of it.

It’s why no amount of success, discipline, or fixing yourself ever feels like enough.

You can exit a company, run the marathon, publish the book, but the loop continues.

From the belief of “there is always something to improve”, there will always be something to improve.

It’s a never ending cycle of never feeling like enough. I’ve been there.

The moment you realize there is no fixed self to improve, you stop trying to patch holes that were never really there.

From that place, you can live. Not chasing the next version of “you”.

But as someone waking up inside the script, able to flow, feel and move with life.

Neuroscience calls this the predictive brain:

Your brain doesn’t see reality directly, it guesses. It takes fragments of memory, emotion, and expectation, and stitches them together into what feels like “you.” The self is more of a running simulation than a stable thing.

Buddhism says the same, thousands of years earlier:

The practice wasn’t to find your “true self” but to realize there isn’t one, only awareness, flowing moment to moment.

Even quantum physics can validate all this: 

At the smallest levels of reality, nothing is solid. Particles behave like waves until observed. Everything is probability, shifting, becoming, never fixed.

So, why would you (made of those very same particles) be any different?

David Hume called the self a “bundle of perceptions.”

Nietzsche said the “I” is just grammar, a convenient word we use to describe a stream of change.

Across science, spirituality, and philosophy, the conclusion is the same:

There is no fixed self waiting to be perfected.

There is only the awareness of what is here now, and the choice to meet it with curiosity instead of control.

Easier said than done, I know. But here’s how I think about it.

Untangling, not fixing:

A lot of what keeps us stuck is a belief that we are somehow broken, but that is just a knotted up old story or survival pattern. Untangling means seeing the script for what it is and loosening it's grip so you can move freely again, like you were a kid. No judgement. No attachment.

Flowing, not forcing:

Life rarely obeys to a rigid plan. Flowing means aligning with the natural rhythm of what is unfolding. Adapting instead of resisting, listening instead of controlling and letting the natural flow of energy, experience and perception carry you toward what matters.

Being, not endlessly "becoming":

You don't have to chase a "better version" of yourself forever. That doesn't exist anyway. Being means allowing who you already are (curious, present, alive) to come forward, instead of postponing your potential, freedom, peace and calmness until you reach some milestone.

You don't need another personal development system.

You just need to remember the story isn't the point.

The milestones, the titles, the achievements are all great, but they are all just out of pure exploration and fun.

I love achieving a goal, but it’s much more about riding the wave, creating and being curious than it is about rigid control.

They will come and go.

Being here, right now, is the point.

Living this moment.

Breathing this breath.

When you end the chase for the next version of yourself you get to experience the one that's already here.

And I'm sure he or she is pretty fucking great!

🤙

Much Love,

Cory Firth
Creator of One Minute Weekend

Let’s work together!