So how might one think about this in terms of a self. Is there a self and are there ways to improve one’s self of life through means we are not yet understanding?

This is a beautiful and profound question—and it’s one that Carlo Rovelli gently invites us to consider, though he doesn’t fully spell it out.

If time is not fundamental, and the present is not universal, then the self—as we experience it through time—is also not a fixed or absolute entity. Instead, it might be more accurate to think of the self as a process, a pattern, or even a knot in a web of relations.

Here’s one way to begin thinking about the self through Rovelli’s framework:

1.

The Self as a Relational Event

Just as time emerges from interactions and entropy, the self emerges from relations—with our environment, memories, language, other people, even the cells in our body. It’s not a static thing but a continually shifting process shaped by perspective and interaction.

So rather than “being” a self, we are “selfing”—a verb, not a noun.

2.

Memory and Entropy Create the Illusion of Continuity

Our sense of continuity—the “I” who remembers yesterday and plans for tomorrow—arises from memory, which is itself a product of entropy. We remember the past because entropy gives it structure. But the self that remembers is not the same self who experienced—it’s a reconstructed narrative.

Understanding this might help us loosen the grip of ego or the feeling that we are trapped in our past mistakes or destined to be who we were.

3.

Freeing the Self from Illusion

If we accept Rovelli’s view that the universe is not built on enduring things but on interactions and relationships, then improving our life is less about changing “who we are” and more about changing how we relate—to others, to time, to ourselves.

This opens the door to transformation:

• You are not your past, only a story you’re telling now.

• You are not bound to repeat patterns, because those patterns are statistical, not fated.

• You are not a thing, but a process that can shift, evolve, and reconfigure.

4.

Improving Life Beyond the Conventional

If we want to improve life through means we don’t fully understand yet, Rovelli’s perspective encourages us to:

• Let go of fixed identities; change might come by recognizing we are not a fixed self, but a stream.

• Explore consciousness relationally, not as something isolated in a brain, but as a field of interactions between body, world, and others.

• Slow down our perception of time, recognizing that urgency and worry are often illusions tied to a rigid timeline.

• Practice humility and curiosity, since the deepest truths of existence may not be accessible through ordinary thought but through being, feeling, listening.

5.

Final Thought

Rovelli’s work gently dissolves the walls around time, and in doing so, he offers us a vision of the self that is fluid, relational, and open-ended. That’s not nihilism—it’s liberation. If we are not fixed in time, then we are always capable of becoming something new.

So yes—there may be ways to improve our experience of life that involve stepping outside of linear thought, identity, and control. They may lie in embracing impermanence, deep presence, and the humility of not-knowing.