Improvement: What does it mean to you?

 Look up the word "improvement"on Google, and this is what you'll get: A definition, and over five million search results. For my own search, I also had ten "personal" results. One of them was an improvement post put out by YAFCA, and the others were either from friends in the online and local community, or from various products and services I use or care about.
The reason I was curious about the topic of improvement is because lately I feel like I have been doing a lot of this in my own life.
 The funny thing is that nothing at all has changed yet in my life. Things are by in large identical now to the way they were a few months ago - business as usual. So what, then has improved?
Well I'm glad you asked. It's my attitude. Although all my life I have been taught, and generally have had a good attitude... that was all I strove to have. Sure, a good attitude is what they tell you to have in school, and on the sports teams most of us grew up playing on. And a good attitude about things goes well with others. Having a good attitude will set you apart from those who are negative or pessimistic about the situations they encounter as they navigate life.
But what about having the best possible attitude about life that you possibly can? I mean really, would you rather have good grades, or great ones?
I'd rather have great ones. Funny thing is, when it comes to academics, I am open to admitting that it's honestly not my strong suit. I am admittedly averse to structured learning, especially in a classroom environment. I am much more inclined to soaking up a new topic I stumbled upon myself, and decided to learn through online research, usually with something like Wikipedia,
or Khan Academy walking me through what I need to know. This is all fine and well, expect the glaring fact that so far, I have never seen Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales give out diplomas.
That being said, I typically find myself earning a "C"or a low "B" in college classes. Some of you would consider that academic suicide, but I have instead chosen to instead see these results as great! You might wonder how this could be. Well for me, the grade is irrelevant as long as I accomplished my main objectives for the class. Heck, I'll even settle for learning that my style of learning was incompatible in a class I failed and had to pay for. Why...?  Because I LEARNED more about my learning style in the process. It wad not the class that was great - it was the process of self discovery that happened during it. I grew in a way I might not have if I had not gotten that grade, or struggled on that exam. The price of experience and attitude is not something you can pull out of a wallet or savings account. The price instead stems from your own soul, and the reactions you choose (wether consciously or subconsciously) based on your surrounding events, actions, and their causes.
My own attitude about my life experiences cannot be based on if the results I get make me happy, successful in a way I deem appropriate, or if I'm better off than when I started. Improvement should rather be based on if the journey to the result was a great one. Did I strive for the best? What about the moments when I did not do so, and instead went for the mediocre? Even these aspects of the journey are valuable if we take away a lesson that improves our approach for the future.

Cheers.