We all have inside us an inner guiding voice: the voice of conscience that guides us to act in ways that are worthwhile, ennobling and positively transformative. It is this conscience that is responsible, at least partly, for those moments of self-reflection when we feel the impetus to improve ourselves.
Such moments of self-reflection may arise due to various stimuli: we may read some wisdom-text, hear an inspiring talk or interact with an equal whose virtuous character reminds us of what we could have been if we had put our act together better. Whatever be the specific stimulus for the impetus for self-improvement, we can see the impetus as a precious gift that we just need to encash.
How can we encash this gift? By ensuring that our inner self-talk works with our conscience, not against it. That is, when our conscience urges us to change for the better, we seek to reinforce its message, not refute it. It is easy to come up with many reasons why we can’t or won’t improve, but will echoing those reasons do any good for us? No, it will keep us stuck in the same rut, where we continue to live far below our potentials.
Instead of undermining our intelligence’s prompting, we can try to undergird it. How? By looking for reasons to act on it, not act against it. Instead of worrying about what we won’t be able to do, we can work on what we will be able to do, even if all we can do is just take one baby step. By taking such small steps in the direction of self-improvement, we can make our life better, at least during that time. Such baby steps are the key to taking responsibility for elevating ourselves with ourselves, as the Bhagavad-gita recommends (06.05).
One-sentence summary:
When our conscience prompts us to change for the better, strive to reinforce, not refute, its prompting.
Think it over:
- When did you last feel an impetus to improve yourself?
- What’s wrong with refuting the voice of conscience?
- How can you reinforce the voice of conscience?
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06.05: One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
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