In 'Unimproving Part 1: Original Sin' I take aim at self-improvement, arguing that this confuses our essential worth, our being, with what we do. It plays on our real need for esteem and pits us against presentations of perfection and elite performance that create in us a continuous sense of not being good enough. This is best (or rather worst) exemplified in the profound distortions of social media. Attempts to repair these false deficits cause untold suffering. As the gap widens between our honest self-appraisal and our projected, perfected self, so does our vulnerability and distress deepen. Healthy task and skills improvement turns into unhealthy and often compulsive ‘self-improvement’.
