The Sufi tradition emerged in the 7th century and the adherents of it were known as being assetics. They were dressed in a humble and simple fashion and they rebelled against, which was in their view the secularization of Islam. They opposed the territorial expansion of the Islamic caliphate after the dead of the prophet, they this as an worldly act which has nothing to do with the essence of Islam; which should be spiritual growth. Consequently, a distinct Sufi movement emerged that was anti-government, antinomian and anti-social. I think a little bit of a Sufi mindset could be beneficial for the 21st century citizen. Nowadays, life has become increasingly dependent on social media and status. On the internet it seems that everything is going well with everyone. People are facing status anxiety and depression as a result of this. The anti-social lifestyle and simple dress code of the Sufis is what can be a solution. It won’t bring any harm to anyone to spend some days in isolation from others (also digitally) to become to know yourself better.
The concepts of the Sufis are worth to abide by. For example, I think that introspection, the act of deliberative contemplation of your good and bad acts, can definitely help you become a better person. Also mental, material and social poverty can be helpful to better know yourself by avoiding external distractions. However, fighting your ego through self-mortification is not serving any purpose. This way you just bring yourself bodily harms, while fighting your ego is mainly a mental struggle and process.
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