I’d like to share with you some self-improvement lessons I have learned from my college computer programming classes. In software development, an application (or app, for short) always has a version number. It’s usually 1.0 for a new app, 2.0 for its major upgrade, and so on. With each new version, the app gets better and better. A good app never stops having new versions. The company behind it is always working on an upgrade. For instance, that’s has been the case with Microsoft Word for more than thirty years.
When a new version comes out, it contains one or both of these:
- New features: new capabilities that the app has. These are things that the app previously couldn’t do, but now can.
- Bug fixes: fixes for errors in the app. The fixes make the app work the way it’s supposed to be.
I think there are lessons here that we can apply to our own self-improvement. If you apply them, you will become a much better person. Here they are:
1. Always work on a new version of yourself.
Never be satisfied with where you are. Instead, always work on a new version of yourself. There are always things that you can improve.
2. Add new “features” to yourself.
With each new version of yourself, you should add new “features.” These can be:
- New skills. For example, you can teach yourself design skills. There are many resources online that you can use to learn new skills.
- New good habits. For example, you can build an exercise habit to live a healthy life.
- New experience. For example, you can go to a foreign country or join a new social club. The experience will expand your perspective.
3. Fix “bugs” in your life.
In addition to adding “features”, you should also fix “bugs” in your life. That means breaking a bad habit that you might have. The bad habit could be procrastinating, putting off schoolwork (I’m usually guilty of this), or something else. Break it for a new version of yourself.
4. Think about what “major upgrade” you could have.
Most of the time, your improvements will be incremental. But every now and then, you should do a major upgrade of yourself. This usually involves a big change in your life. An personal example is when I went to study overseas. The experience upgraded me in so many different ways that it qualifies as a “major” upgrade. Further examples are starting your own business, changing your job, or moving to a new city.
Ask yourself: what is something big you can do to take yourself to the next level?
(Image Source: iCLIPART)