Ready to invest? in yourself? Are you ready to improve yourself? Well, the rumor is that Self-Improvement is constant. To be honest, if you are feeling dull or lifeless, then it means to gear up and start working you and your lifestyle before this dullness turns into depression or beyond. But how can we do it? Well! There are many ways, first be true to yourself. Faking things can make you smile or laugh, but it cannot bring happiness in you. Be yourself and being true to yourself can return happiness back to you. Other than this the other ways to bring improvement in yourself for better life, are here:
1. Read a book every day.
Books are our silent friends and a perfect source of wisdom. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to. It does not bring change in you but you always stay away from negativity
2. Learn a new language for self growth.
Learning a language is a whole new skill altogether and the process of acquainting with a new language and culture is a totally a mind-opening experience. It enhances cognitive abilities, memory, and problem-solving skills.
3. Pick up a new hobby.
Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up? especially a recreational one. Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
4. Take up a new course.
Is there any new course you can join? Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills. It doesn’t have to be a long-term course – seminars or workshops serve their purpose too.
5. Create an inspirational room.
Your environment sets the mood and tone for you. If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day. Make a room where you totally relish being in and inspires you to be at your peak every day.
6. Overcome your fears.
All of us have fears. Fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of risk… All our fears keep us in the same position and prevent us from growing. Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow. Always think of fears as the compass for growth. If you have a fear about something, it represents something you’ve yet to address and addressing it helps you to grow.
7. Level up your skills.
If you have played video games before especially RPGs, you’ll know the concept of leveling up – gaining experience so you can be better and stronger. Start setting clear goals, seeking opportunities for learning and growth, and embracing challenges. Don’t shy away from stepping outside your comfort zone. Embrace failures as learning opportunities, and celebrate your progress along the journey to personal development.
8. Wake up early.
Waking up early (say, 5-6am) has been acknowledged by many (Anthony Robbins, Robin Sharma, among other self-help gurus) to improve your productivity and your quality of life. I feel it’s because when you wake up early, your mindset is already set to continue the momentum and proactively live out the day.
9. Have a weekly exercise routine.
A better you start with being in better physical shape. Take out at least 30mins for you every day to stay fit and healthy.
10. Start your life handbook.
A life handbook is a book which contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values, and goals. Sort of like your manual for your life. It’s could be a crucial enabler in your progress.
11. Write a letter to your future self.
What do you see yourself as 5 years from now? Will you be the same? Different? What kind of person will you be? Write a letter to your future self – 1 year from now will be a good start – and seal it. Make a date in your calendar to open it 1 year from now. Then start working to become the person you want to open that letter.
12. Get out of your comfort zone.
Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. Being too comfortable doesn’t help us grow – it makes us stagnate. What is your comfort zone? Do you stay in most of the time? Do you keep to your own space when out with other people? Shake your routine up. Do something different. By exposing yourself to a new context, you’re literally growing as you learn to act in new circumstances.
13. Put someone up to a challenge.
Competition is one of the best ways to grow. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first. Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.
14. Identify your blind spots.
Scientifically, blind spots refer to areas our eyes are not capable of seeing. In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots help us discover our areas of improvement. One exercise to discover your blind spots is to identify all the things/events/people that trigger you in a day – trigger meaning making you feel annoyed/weird/affected. It is gonna be always fun to do the exercise because you will discover new things about yourself.
15. Ask for feedback.
As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective. Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.
16. Stay focused with to-do lists.
Start your day with a list of tasks you want to complete and this helps make you stay focused. In comparison, the days when you don’t do this end up being extremely unproductive.
17. Set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs).
BHAGs stretch you beyond your normal capacity since they are big and audacious – you wouldn’t think of attempting them normally. What are BHAGs you can embark on, which you’ll feel absolutely on top of the world once you complete them? Set them and start working on them.
18. Acknowledge your flaws.
Everyone has flaws. What’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them. What do you think are your flaws? What are the flaws you can work on now? How do you want to address them?
19. Get into action.
The best way to learn and improve is to take action. What is something you have been meaning to do? How can you take action on it immediately? Waiting doesn’t get anything done. Taking action gives you immediate results to learn from.
20. Learn from people who inspire you.
Think about people you admire. People who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you want to have for yourself too. What are the qualities in them you want to have for yourself? How can you acquire these qualities?
21. Quit a bad habit.
Are there any bad habits you can lose? Oversleeping? Not exercising? Being late? Slouching? Nail biting? Smoking?.
22. Cultivate a new habit.
Some good new habits to cultivate include reading books (#1), waking up early (#8), exercising (#9), reading a new personal development article a day (#40) and meditating. Is there any other new habit you can cultivate to improve yourself?
23. Avoid negative people.
As Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. Wherever we go, there are bound to be negative people. Don’t spend too much of your time around them if you feel they drag you down.
24. Learn to deal with difficult people.
There are times when there are difficult people you can’t avoid, such as at your workplace, or when the person is part of your inner circle of contacts. Learn how to deal with them. These people management skills will go a long way in working with people in the future.
25. Learn from your friends.
Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to how we want to tap into them. With all the friends who surround you, they are going to have things you can learn from. Try thinking of a good friend right now. Think about just one quality they have which you want to adopt. How can you learn from them and adopt this skill for yourself? Speak to them if you need to – for sure, they will be more than happy to help!
26. Start a journal.
Writing Journal is a great way to gain better self-awareness. It’s a self-reflection process. As you write, clarify your thought process and read what you wrote from a third person’s perspective, you gain more insights about yourself. Your journal can be private or an online blog.
27. Start a blog about Self-Improvement.
To help others grow, you need to first be walking the talk. There are expectations of you, both from yourself and from others, which you have to uphold.Encourage self-awareness, goal setting, and the importance of continuous learning. Empower them to empower yourself.
28. Get a mentor or coach.
There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals. They provide guidance, support, and personalized strategies to help you overcome obstacles, set goals, and unlock your full potential. Their expertise and encouragement can accelerate your growth and lead to lasting positive changes in your life.
29. Reduce the time you spend on social media sites.
We waste a lot of time on social media sites. This time can be much better spent on other activities. The days when you don’t get on these sites, you get a lot more done. Try to reduce the time you spend on social media.
30. Learn chess (or any strategy game).
Chess is a terrific game to learn strategy and hone your brainpower. Not only do you have fun, but you also get to exercise your analytical skills. You can also learn strategy from other board games or computer games, totally up to your taste.
31. Stop watching TV.
Most of the programs and advertisements on mainstream TV are usually of lower consciousness and not very empowering, so, reduce watching TV or better stop it. You can use that time constructively for other purposes, such as connecting with close friends, doing work you enjoy, exercising, etc.
32. Start a 30-day challenge.
Set a goal and give yourself 30 days to achieve this. Your goal can be to stick with a new habit or something you’ve always wanted to do but have not. 30 days is just enough time to strategize, plan, get into action, review and nail the goal.
33. Meditate.
Meditation helps to calm you and be more conscious. The clutter clearing process is very liberating. By engaging in regular meditation practices, individuals can enhance their self-awareness, develop emotional resilience, and foster a deeper understanding of their thoughts and behaviors.
34. Join Toastmasters (Learn public speaking).
Interestingly, public speaking is the #1 fear in the world, with #2 being death. Learn public speaking, why? because you learn a lot about how to communicate better, present yourself and engage people. Toastmasters is an international organization that trains people in public speaking.
35. Befriend top people in their fields.
These people have achieved their results because they have the right attitudes, skill sets, and know-how. How better to learn than from the people who have been there and done that? Gain new insights from them on how you can improve and achieve the same results for yourself.
36. Let go of the past.
Is there any grievance or unhappiness from the past which you have been holding on? If so, it’s time to let it go. Holding on to them prevents you from moving on and becoming a better person. Break away from the past, forgive yourself, and move on.
37. Start a business venture.
Is there anything you have an interest in? Why not turn it into a venture and make money while learning at the same time? Starting a new venture requires you to learn business management skills, develop business acumen and have a competitive edge. The process of starting and developing my personal development business has equipped me with many skills, such as self-discipline, leadership, organization, and management.
38. Show kindness to the people around you.
Bring stabilization in life with kindness. It is a fact that most of us don’t show enough kindness to people around us. Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love. As you get back to your day after reading this article, later on, start exuding more kindness to the people around you, and see how they react. Not only that, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others. Chances are, you will feel even better than yourself.
39. Reach out to the people who hate you.
If you really want to move ahead in life then learn to let go. If you ever stand for something, you are going to get haters. It’s easy to hate the people who hate us. It’s much more challenging to love them back. Being able to forgive, let go and show love to these people requires magnanimity and an open heart. Is there anyone who dislikes or hates you in your life? If so, reach out to them. Show them, love. Seek a resolution and get closure on past grievances. Even if they refuse to reciprocate, love them all the same. It’s much more liberating than to hate them back.
40. Take a break.
Have you been working too hard? Self-improvement is also about recognizing our need to take a break to walk the longer mile ahead. You can’t be driving a car if it has no petrol. Take some time off for yourself every week. Relax, rejuvenate and charge yourself up for what’s up ahead.
41. Read at least one personal development article a day.
Empower yourself and read at least one personal development article every day, it is a great habit. There are many terrific personal development blogs out there.
42. Commit to your personal growth.
We are responsible for our personal growth – not anyone else. Not your mom, your dad, your friend, me or my blog. Make the decision to commit to your personal growth and embrace yourself to a life-long journey of growth and change.
Kick off your growth by picking a few of the steps above and working on them. The results may not be immediate, but I promise you that as long as you keep to it, you’ll start seeing positive changes in yourself and your life.
