1. Read Every Day
Books are concentrated sources of wisdom. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to. When you’re reading a book every day, you will feed your brain with more and more knowledge.
2. Learn a New Language
Out of interest, I took up language courses in the past few years, such as Japanese and Bahasa Indonesian. I realized learning a language is a whole new skill altogether, and the process of opening yourself up to a new language and culture is one of the best tips for self improvement.
3. Pick up a New Hobby
Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby. For example, you can try pottery, Italian cooking, dancing, wine appreciation, web design, etc. Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
4. Take up a New Course
Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills for self growth. It doesn’t have to be a long-term course; seminars, workshops, and online courses serve their purpose, too.
5. Create an Inspirational Room
If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day. If there’s a room in your house that looks messy or dull, take it to the next level by putting on a new coat of paint, buying a few nice paintings for the walls, or investing in some comfortable furniture to make it a space that will always feel welcoming and inspiring.
6. Overcome Your Fears
All your fears keep you in the same position and prevent you from improving your life. Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow as they act as a compass pointing at areas that need attention.
7. Level up Your Skills
You’ll know the concept of leveling up—gaining experience so you can be better and stronger. As a blogger, I’m constantly leveling up my writing skills. As a speaker, I’m constantly leveling up my public engagement abilities.
8. Wake up Early
When you wake up early, you’ll have time to dedicate to self development before everyone else is up. You’ll add extra time to your day, soak up the morning tranquility, and absorb the early-morning sunlight that will help your brain switch into its active mode.
9. Have a Weekly Exercise Routine
A better you starts with being in better shape through physical activity. I personally make it a point to jog at least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time.
10. Start Your Life Handbook
A life handbook is a book that contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values, and your goals. You can think of it as a manual for how to live your best life through consistent self-improvement.
11. Write a Letter to Your Future Self
Write a letter to your future self and seal it. Make a date in your calendar to open it 1-5 years from now. Then, start working to become the person you want to open that letter.
12. Get out of Your Comfort Zone
Identify where your comfort zone lines are and how you can begin to step out of them little by little. Go hiking on a trail you’ve never been to, make a dish you’ve never tried, or say yes next time a friend asks you to go out when you’d normally say no.
13. Put Someone up to a Challenge
Competition is one of the best ways to grow and aid in self-improvement. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc.) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first.
14. Identify Your Blind Spots
In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots helps us discover our areas of improvement.
15. Ask for Feedback
As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives you an additional perspective as you learn how to improve yourself. Some people to approach are friends, family, colleagues, a boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.
16. Stay Focused With To-Do Lists
Starting your day with a list of tasks you want to complete will help you stay focused. In comparison, the days when you don’t do this can end up being chaotic or unproductive.
17. Set Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals
I’m a big fan of setting 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 that will make you feel good about yourself once you complete them? Set them, and start working on them.
18. Acknowledge Your Flaws
Everyone has flaws, but what’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them through self-improvement practices. Do not look at your flaws through a self-critical or mean-spirited light. This is about finding areas you feel you can improve upon, not finding things that are wrong with you.
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?
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 as you learn how to improve yourself.
