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Do you feel sometimes that each day morphs into the rest? That you are just going through the motions? You may not be in your ideal job, are saddled with too many obligations or just plain need a change. Shaking up the routine may be just what you need to arouse some excitement and enthusiasm in yourself. Below are 12 personal growth ideas that can help lead to positive change. You can even take on the challenge of pursuing one of them for each month of the year!
Self-confidence and esteem is definitely the secret to a successful and satisfying life. A lot of people look at others wishing they too, could have such confidence and would do anything to achieve it. Improving ones self esteem and confidence is not as difficult as it may appear, you just have to look in the right direction. Most of the help books you will find in bookshops will be of no help at all; what you really need are stories that relate true experiences. Look for biographies of people you admire and who have a positive attitude towards life. Helping other people in difficulty also does wonders for your self-esteem and boosts your confidence, as does a positive outlook towards everyday life. Avoid comparing yourself with others who are more successful than yourself, this will only make things look gloomier; after all how successful is this person really?
“Act as if”. These simple words have the power to transform a person and/or situation. Say you feel self-conscious and nervous whenever you have to speak in front of people. The next time you are in this situation, you can make a choice to be more confident and “act as if” you are more confident. See how it works for you. Your perceived lack of confidence is from persistent thoughts of how poor you think you are as a public speaker, when in fact you appear to others much better than you think.
Everyone hides weaknesses behind an apparently strong façade. Appraise yourself with what you were before you started building up your self esteem and see if more efforts are needed. Another basic but essential recipe is in smiling. If you walk out into the day with a smile on your face, your whole being and charisma will reflect a positive aura to others. People will feel better just looking at you and will think that you are one of those people that must have all the luck in life.
If you’re planning to improve your health, a list of self-improvement ideas might include:
Creatively express yourself. Creativity gives us an outlet to express our authentic selves—the true self which is aligned with its values, desires, talents, and beliefs. So how do we choose what best expresses our true selves? Think about what creative activity excites you? Is it writing, painting, cooking, making jewelry, or flipping houses? You can spark some creative thinking with ideas like creating a vision board, trying a new recipe, or taking a day trip somewhere new. This will help you discover what inspires you most.
Choose a virtue. One way to challenge yourself is to choose a virtue that can support your vision for the year. Practicing a virtue such as kindness can make a difference in the many people you meet and there are so many ways to express kindness. Not to mention how good you’ll feel when spreading kindness! Other virtues such as gratitude, courage, determination, and integrity are all important for a successful life. You can choose one, two or even three virtues from the recommended list that can be a steady guide and inspiration for what’s to come. To select a virtue, ask yourself, “What do I most want to manifest in my life?” Then select the virtue(s) that you’ll need to achieve that answer. Once you have chosen your virtue (or even two!), here are some suggestions to help keep it a priority all year long.
Write it down and place around your home, office and even your car, wherever you will see it during your daily routine. This helps to keep it present in your mind and remind you to live it each day.
Journal about the virtue. Write about how you envision the virtue playing out this year. You can jot down ways you will practice it and then write about your experiences. This will provide great insight on your success with the chosen virtue.
Create powerful affirmations that you can read regularly such as: “I am a courageous person who radiates strength and determination.” (Courage); “I am grateful for all that I have and all that is yet to come.” (Gratitude); “I love and accept myself for who I am.” (Acceptance)
Take one daily or weekly action. If you choose “peace”, perhaps you can begin meditating daily. Think of ways to incorporate the virtue into your life through specific daily, weekly and/or monthly actions. And don’t forget to journal about it!
Practice self-love. Being kind to ourselves is not something that comes easy for most. Our natural tendency is to talk to ourselves in a negative way, criticizing our behavior and who we are. To be kind to ourselves means to honor our needs and wants. It also means to take care of our health, stress levels and personal happiness. Find ways to practice self-love which will help increase your confidence.
Start doing what matters. “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least,” said German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This quote by Goethe brings to light a very important point. If we do not place our attention on what matters most to us in life, we can easily end up with regret later in life. What matters most to you right now? Are you setting aside time to focus on this or are you placing other obligations and distractions ahead of it? Try and move what you want to the top of your list and rearrange your schedule to honor that desire.
Do some self-introspection. When did you last take some time to reflect on how your life is going? Asking yourself, “Am I happy?” “Do I have meaning in my life?” “Am I using my talents?” and “What do I value and am I making my values a priority?” These questions are some of the most important ones you can ask yourself and the answers can bring about change that leads to greater joy and fulfillment in life. Set aside some time to reflect on your life to become more self-aware. Even write the answers to the questions above in a journal to help you get started. Then see if what you want in life is matching up with your daily life choices.
Serve more. What if we woke up in the morning and instead of thinking about all that we needed to do that day, we asked ourselves, “How may I serve today?” This question takes us out of ourselves and gives us a new and different perspective. For example, someone might wake up and say, “I have so much to do at work today and not sure how I can do it all.” Alternatively, someone can say, “How can I make a difference today with a project or a co-worker?” This approach gives us a whole new way of looking at things, taking us out of our ego and into the difference we can make in in others lives and in our own.
Change your mindset. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes,” said Marcel Proust, French novelist. Changing our mindset, can change outcomes. It’s not easy though because so much of our thinking is habitual. Really, it’s becoming more aware of our thoughts that allow greater control over them. So keep in mind that you always have a choice in how to react to life’s setbacks and challenges.
Stop resisting. “What you resist, persists,” said Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Meaning that whatever experience you are pushing away, keeps showing up in your life because another option is not present. For example, if your thoughts are always focused on what you don’t like about your job then you are resisting it, and your situation gets magnified, creating anxiety for you. If you give yourself another option, another way to think about the job, then your resistance and misery lessens. To do this, mentally catch yourself next time you complain about the job and shift to something you like about the job and/or how you will make things better by finding a new job or becoming an entrepreneur.
And finally...
Forgive someone. Who have you not forgiven? Although forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do in life, it’s one of the biggest acts of self-love. Forgiveness expert Fred Luskin said that the single most beneficial thing that comes from forgiving is that people, once they forgive, feel that they can deal with whatever life sends to them. He also says, “Forgiving lowers blood pressure. It reduces the strain on your heart. It certainly reduces depression, anger and stress as well as makes people feel more hopeful.” We can forgive for a better life. By letting go of anger and resentment, we become more peaceful, happier people.
Think big and you will achieve big!
Self-confidence and esteem is definitely the secret to a successful and satisfying life. A lot of people look at others wishing they too, could have such confidence and would do anything to achieve it. Improving ones self esteem and confidence is not as difficult as it may appear, you just have to look in the right direction. Most of the help books you will find in bookshops will be of no help at all; what you really need are stories that relate true experiences. Look for biographies of people you admire and who have a positive attitude towards life. Helping other people in difficulty also does wonders for your self-esteem and boosts your confidence, as does a positive outlook towards everyday life. Avoid comparing yourself with others who are more successful than yourself, this will only make things look gloomier; after all how successful is this person really?
“Act as if”. These simple words have the power to transform a person and/or situation. Say you feel self-conscious and nervous whenever you have to speak in front of people. The next time you are in this situation, you can make a choice to be more confident and “act as if” you are more confident. See how it works for you. Your perceived lack of confidence is from persistent thoughts of how poor you think you are as a public speaker, when in fact you appear to others much better than you think.
Everyone hides weaknesses behind an apparently strong façade. Appraise yourself with what you were before you started building up your self esteem and see if more efforts are needed. Another basic but essential recipe is in smiling. If you walk out into the day with a smile on your face, your whole being and charisma will reflect a positive aura to others. People will feel better just looking at you and will think that you are one of those people that must have all the luck in life.
Why Will Power and Discipline are Important
Will power and discipline are the two most important virtues needed in order to develop and grow as a responsible human being. But what does these terms actually mean?What is Will Power?
Will power is our ability to control the harmful impulses. A combined feeling of happiness and optimism helps to develop will power. Will power is the main virtue that aids in developing inner power and control the unnecessary and useless habits. It is to set positivity in our mind and clear out negativity from our brain. Will power is the strength of a conscious mind. In order to develop will power, you need to focus on your goal and get control of the emotional or behavioral responses.- Will power boosts your brain; with the development of will power you develop the strength of mind to achieve something. Even if it’s a challenging task, you get the inner boost to be the gainer only if you have will power.
- This virtue helps you to stay away from negativity and mental ailments like depression, forgetfulness and other issues. It helps you to stay calm, composed and well balanced.
- Will power helps you to develop self control and ability of systematic planning.
What is Discipline?
Discipline teaches you to get responsible, punctual and lead the life in systematic way. It is the habit which should be practiced at every age. Discipline plays vital role towards the success and meet the ends of the goals set in life.- Discipline helps you to stay focused towards the work and achieve the goal. It is a habit which we can practice and build in our day to day life.
- Some basic aspects of discipline are punctuality, time management, priority setting, and ability to organize and divide work in segments to cover them all up in stipulated time. If you are disciplined, you can achieve all of these easily.
- Discipline teaches you to respect others; as you respect your lifestyle and adapt the ways of discipline, you in return respect others you are associated with your lifestyle.
Developing the will power and self discipline can make a great difference in your life, both are vital for success and personal growth. Will power and discipline cannot be achieved in a day – it should be a lifelong practice and only then they will help you to reap benefits. Following are the ways how you can maintain a well disciplined life with will power –
Believe in yourself; do not underestimate your abilities. Hear to criticisms but take them in a way to improvise your skills. A person who criticizes you actually wants to make you a better human being! (or at least that's how you should interpret it) Practice meditation and simple physical exercises on regular basis; sedentary life has no goal and to trigger the “mantra” of life you need to keep your physical self agile too. Read books that talk about positivity, will power and organizing skills. Everything does not come through management classes; you can read these non fictional books yourself and gather inner strength.
Finally, you need to keep time for yourself. These virtues are usually instilled from childhood but there is no age for learning and development, thus you can definitely achieve will power and discipline if you want to at any age!
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Imagine yourself five years from now. What would your life look like if you made the decision right now to improve every aspect of yourself every day from this point forward? What kind of impact would that commitment have on you as a person? What would your health and physical appearance be like? Where would you live? How much money would you have? What would it mean for your relationships and what kind of people would you be surrounded with? No matter what you’re personally striving for there’s no doubt that continuous self-education is extremely powerful. Coming up are some really awesome tips that everyone should know about and put to use.
The Starting Point is Closer Than You Know!
Are you feeling like you don't know where to start? I have a few recommendations for you that may lead you in the right direction.
Let's be honest, this long list of tips and tricks can get a little overwhelming if you're not sure what exactly you should work on. But hey, I'm here to help! One place that I like to start is with an online personality test. I know what you're thinking. "Personality? What's wrong with my personality? Why would changing my personality help with my development? Why should I change?" Don't worry, I'm not trying to insult you in anyway. This test gives you more of an insight into your strengths, weaknesses, romantic relationships, friendships, parenthood, career paths, and workplace habits. Some of these are more than you've ever really thought into before! In their words, its "freakishly accurate".
The 16 Personalities test is available to take any time, even if you've taken it before. And, in my experience, your personality concepts can change! I like to take it about once a year to see how much has changed. It's entirely free, very quick, and extremely easy. It also offers the availability to learn to understand others. The more people who take the test and share their results, the better chance you have to understand those people in your life.
5 Love Languages is another free online test that can help you understand a little bit more of your soul. By taking the official assessment it'll help you discover your love language and begin improving your relationships. Your love language profile will explain your primary love language, what it means, and how you can use it to connect to others.
Finding Potential has a self assessment that also opens your mind to your behavioral preferences. This assessment does cost you about $7.50 that you can complete with your PayPal, but based on the testimonials, it seems more than worth it! It provides you with Personality Premium Reports, Connect Premium Reports, and Supporting Workbooks.
There is a lot of science behind these questionnaires which is why large organizations use them in recruitment to identify people who are best suited to their requirements – for a change you can be in the driving seat.
To work on your development, you must start to understand the you from within.
5 Kinds of Self-Improvement Goals and Ideas to Get Started
We’re always looking, either consciously or unconsciously, for ways to improve ourselves or the various aspects of our live. Changing things can be a daunting task, and sometimes it’s hard to know where to start, so we’ve gathered a list of self-improvement ideas and tips for motivation. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of taking steps to improve your life.1. Health and Fitness Goals
Improving your health is one of the most common forms of self-improvement, and it’s often one of the most difficult. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Issues (NIDDKD), more than 2/3 of adults are overweight or obese, and about 1 in 20 are morbidly obese. Most of us have learned, either from childhood or over our adult life, unhealthy habits that take a long time to unlearn.If you’re planning to improve your health, a list of self-improvement ideas might include:
- Changing your eating habits. Don’t go on a diet — according to research they don’t work. Instead, resolve to make healthier choices a little bit at a time. Don’t try to change your entire lifestyle overnight.
- Counting your calories. This doesn’t have to mean that you’re changing your eating habits. Simply use an app like MyFitnessPal to track your calories for 30 days. This will give you an idea of how much you’re eating. If you decide to make changes to your diet, use that information as a foundation for change.
- Not exercising — just moving. Going to the gym can be intimidating, especially if you’re not in the best shape. You don’t need a gym membership or an exercise plan to improve your health. Simply start moving as much as possible during the day. Dance in the living room, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or do yoga before bed. Just get moving!
- Using the power of accountability. If you tell yourself that you’re going to get up and move, there’s no one to hold you to that statement when you decide you don’t want to do it. Use your friends, your coworkers or your social media followers to keep you accountable and make sure you stick to your goals.
- Not getting discouraged. It’s easy to get discouraged and quit if you don’t see results immediately. Don’t let yourself become discouraged. It takes you a lot longer to see results than people around you, simply because you see yourself in the mirror every day.
2. Self-Care Goals
Self-care is often described as the steps you take to help optimize your physical and mental health, but what does the term really mean? In a nutshell, it means putting yourself first and taking care of your needs before you spread yourself thin to help others. A list for proper self-care should include:- Treating yourself. One of the easiest ways to practice self-care is to treat yourself. Enjoy a manicure or a haircut, or do something you’ve wanted to do but haven’t.
- Stepping out of your comfort zone. This might seem detrimental to self-care, but it’s not. Stepping out of your comfort zone and traveling to another country or city can be a great way to take care of yourself.
- Trying meditation. Meditation is a great tool for self-care. It makes you slow down and focus on yourself rather than trying to keep up with the world around you.
- Writing it down. Journaling, writing or dumping your mind out on a sheet of paper at the end of the day is a great way to keep track of your thoughts and make sense of everything that happened during the day.
- Learning to say no. It’s tempting to say yes to everything that people ask of you, but it often ends up being detrimental to your own mental and physical health. Learning to say no is the best application of self-care that you can do.
3. Mental Health Goals
One out of 5 adults suffer from some form of mental illness every year, so mental health should be a priority. In our fast-paced world, it’s too easy to let our mental health suffer. Maintaining and improving your mental health should include:- Being aware. We’re aware of our physical health because of the way it impacts us, but many of us aren’t aware of our mental health. Take a few minutes every day to be aware of your mental state and use that information to make changes or improvements if necessary.
- Taking time to yourself. You don’t have to open yourself to others 24 hours a day. Even if it’s only 20 minutes a day, set aside a period of time for yourself and guard it jealously. This is your time — don’t let anyone else intrude on it.
- Practicing self-care. Practicing self-care can be a great way to help improve your overall mental and physical health. If you’re worried about not having time, consider using the time you set aside for yourself as time for self-care.
- Getting enough sleep. Most adults aren’t getting enough sleep. According to the CDC, as many as 1 in 3 adults aren’t getting enough sleep, which can be detrimental for both your mental and physical health. Focus on getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
- Asking for help. Mental health can be difficult to handle on your own sometimes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends, family or mental health professionals if you feel the need. You don’t have to do it alone. There are many resources available!
4. Relationship Goals
Relationship management doesn’t only refer to romantic relationships. It can also refer to your relationships with your family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances. All of these relationships need maintenance at one point or another, whether that comes in the form of a quick text, a handwritten letter or a visit. The following tasks should be on your list of self-improvement ideas to help you maintain your relationships with all the important people in your life:- Resolving to connect with at least one person every day. Start by sending a text to someone that you don’t talk to everyday, or send an email to reconnect with a good friend. Sometimes all it takes is a small effort to rekindle communication between you and the other individuals in your life.
- Skipping social media. Social media is a great way to keep in touch with new and old friends, but it’s not the best way to stay connected if you’re concerned about maintaining your relationships. Don’t post on Facebook — text or message people individually.
- Removing toxic people from your life. Toxic people take and take and take without giving anything back. Kick those people out of your life without a second thought, because all they’re doing is draining your vitality.
- Constantly evaluating your relationships. Simply because you enjoy someone’s company now doesn’t mean they will continue to be good for you in the future. Evaluate your relationships consistently and make sure they aren’t becoming toxic.
- Keeping an open mind. You can form great relationships with almost anyone, as long as you keep an open mind. You’re not going to find people who are exactly like you — and that’s the fun of forming and maintaining relationships. Keep your mind open, and you’ll be amazed at the kind of people you meet.
5. Education Goals
In recent years, education has become synonymous with debt. If you go to a traditional college, you’ll often find yourself facing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Thankfully, you don’t have to put yourself in debt to use education for improve your life. The following education-based tips should be part of your self-improvement plan:- Utilizing Free Tools. There are many free sites on the internet where you can learn about anything. Kahn Academy, for example, is a totally free site that offers classes on everything from math and history to computer programming and test preparation. If you want to start from scratch or simply need a refresher, Kahn Academy is a great tool.
- Taking free courses from accredited collages. Yes, you read that right. Have you ever wanted to take a physics course at MIT or a literature course at Harvard? You can do it with the power of the internet at your fingertips. Sites like edX allow you to take free courses with curriculums designed by the world’s top professors. You’re taking the same courses as students at the universities, for free.
- Learning a new skill. Coding is one of fastest growing fields, and you don’t need a college degree to learn how to code. Instead, sites like code.org and Code Academy offer free self-paced coding courses you can use to learn how to write everything from HTML/CSS to C# and everything in between.
- Starting a hobby. Learning and mastering a new hobby gives you a way to enjoy spending some time with yourself — and that can be beneficial.
- Emphasizing the importance of learning. Albert Einstein once said “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” No matter what life throws at you or what you find yourself facing each morning, make it a point to learn one new thing every day.
Small Changes Can Make a Bigger Difference Than You Think
Take a spiritual journey. Spirituality has different meanings for people. For some, it’s going to a house of worship. For others, it may be reading religious texts, practicing meditation or taking yoga. Whatever spiritual journey you desire, start a journal to write down your thoughts, challenges and accomplishments along the way. You’ll be sure to gain some valuable insight about yourself.Creatively express yourself. Creativity gives us an outlet to express our authentic selves—the true self which is aligned with its values, desires, talents, and beliefs. So how do we choose what best expresses our true selves? Think about what creative activity excites you? Is it writing, painting, cooking, making jewelry, or flipping houses? You can spark some creative thinking with ideas like creating a vision board, trying a new recipe, or taking a day trip somewhere new. This will help you discover what inspires you most.
Choose a virtue. One way to challenge yourself is to choose a virtue that can support your vision for the year. Practicing a virtue such as kindness can make a difference in the many people you meet and there are so many ways to express kindness. Not to mention how good you’ll feel when spreading kindness! Other virtues such as gratitude, courage, determination, and integrity are all important for a successful life. You can choose one, two or even three virtues from the recommended list that can be a steady guide and inspiration for what’s to come. To select a virtue, ask yourself, “What do I most want to manifest in my life?” Then select the virtue(s) that you’ll need to achieve that answer. Once you have chosen your virtue (or even two!), here are some suggestions to help keep it a priority all year long.
Write it down and place around your home, office and even your car, wherever you will see it during your daily routine. This helps to keep it present in your mind and remind you to live it each day.
Journal about the virtue. Write about how you envision the virtue playing out this year. You can jot down ways you will practice it and then write about your experiences. This will provide great insight on your success with the chosen virtue.
Create powerful affirmations that you can read regularly such as: “I am a courageous person who radiates strength and determination.” (Courage); “I am grateful for all that I have and all that is yet to come.” (Gratitude); “I love and accept myself for who I am.” (Acceptance)
Take one daily or weekly action. If you choose “peace”, perhaps you can begin meditating daily. Think of ways to incorporate the virtue into your life through specific daily, weekly and/or monthly actions. And don’t forget to journal about it!
Practice self-love. Being kind to ourselves is not something that comes easy for most. Our natural tendency is to talk to ourselves in a negative way, criticizing our behavior and who we are. To be kind to ourselves means to honor our needs and wants. It also means to take care of our health, stress levels and personal happiness. Find ways to practice self-love which will help increase your confidence.
Start doing what matters. “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least,” said German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This quote by Goethe brings to light a very important point. If we do not place our attention on what matters most to us in life, we can easily end up with regret later in life. What matters most to you right now? Are you setting aside time to focus on this or are you placing other obligations and distractions ahead of it? Try and move what you want to the top of your list and rearrange your schedule to honor that desire.
Do some self-introspection. When did you last take some time to reflect on how your life is going? Asking yourself, “Am I happy?” “Do I have meaning in my life?” “Am I using my talents?” and “What do I value and am I making my values a priority?” These questions are some of the most important ones you can ask yourself and the answers can bring about change that leads to greater joy and fulfillment in life. Set aside some time to reflect on your life to become more self-aware. Even write the answers to the questions above in a journal to help you get started. Then see if what you want in life is matching up with your daily life choices.
Serve more. What if we woke up in the morning and instead of thinking about all that we needed to do that day, we asked ourselves, “How may I serve today?” This question takes us out of ourselves and gives us a new and different perspective. For example, someone might wake up and say, “I have so much to do at work today and not sure how I can do it all.” Alternatively, someone can say, “How can I make a difference today with a project or a co-worker?” This approach gives us a whole new way of looking at things, taking us out of our ego and into the difference we can make in in others lives and in our own.
Change your mindset. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes,” said Marcel Proust, French novelist. Changing our mindset, can change outcomes. It’s not easy though because so much of our thinking is habitual. Really, it’s becoming more aware of our thoughts that allow greater control over them. So keep in mind that you always have a choice in how to react to life’s setbacks and challenges.
Stop resisting. “What you resist, persists,” said Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Meaning that whatever experience you are pushing away, keeps showing up in your life because another option is not present. For example, if your thoughts are always focused on what you don’t like about your job then you are resisting it, and your situation gets magnified, creating anxiety for you. If you give yourself another option, another way to think about the job, then your resistance and misery lessens. To do this, mentally catch yourself next time you complain about the job and shift to something you like about the job and/or how you will make things better by finding a new job or becoming an entrepreneur.
And finally...
Forgive someone. Who have you not forgiven? Although forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do in life, it’s one of the biggest acts of self-love. Forgiveness expert Fred Luskin said that the single most beneficial thing that comes from forgiving is that people, once they forgive, feel that they can deal with whatever life sends to them. He also says, “Forgiving lowers blood pressure. It reduces the strain on your heart. It certainly reduces depression, anger and stress as well as makes people feel more hopeful.” We can forgive for a better life. By letting go of anger and resentment, we become more peaceful, happier people.
Think big and you will achieve big!
Thing small and unfortunately you will achieve small.
Achievements begin in the mind before they can be manifested in the physical world. If you can conceive it, and believe it, you can achieve it! So make this list of self improvement ideas and tips your biggest friend and liberator. Put them into practice for the upcoming month and start doing and implementing at least 5 of them. After you master them, move onto 5 other ones, and by all means, if you want to go with more, just do it, it’s even better! Make the decision that this will be your self improvement month and that you are going to change!
