7 Tips on How to Improve Your Personal Growth

Just two years ago, in 2019, the personal development industry was at $38.28 billion with no signs of slowing down.

Personal growth, self-care, personal development, self-improvement, whatever you want to call it, we all know it’s essential. But how to improve personal growth? That’s another question entirely.

What is Personal Growth?

Personal growth is learning how to take care of yourself in all ways – mentally, physically, emotionally. It’s a learning process everyone goes through at their own pace.

It’s like the quote from the movie Matilda:

“By the time she was two, Matilda had learned something that most people learn in their early 30’s. How to take care of herself.”

That’s not to say that people don’t know how to take care of themselves, but you learn and adapt self-care to your life as time goes on.

It’s a very personal experience, but personal development tends to be a combination of 5 different areas.

• Mental health
• Physical health
• Self-awareness
• Inspiration/motivation
• Skillset improvement

Personal growth is all about learning to take care of yourself to be a better you.

The better mental health you have, the less stressed and happier you are. Your mind stays sharp longer.

Good physical health means healthy coping mechanisms and longer life. It also helps reduce many medical conditions that are plaguing the world today.

Being self-aware is all about knowing your gifts and limitations. Learning about yourself improves your personal growth by challenging stereotypes that you might have internalized while also perfecting the skills you give to the world.

The more inspired and motivated you are, the happier you’ll be, reducing stress and improving your mood. This also can lead to a longer and healthier life.

Any skill you want to hone, such as communication, being a better parent, being a fantastic lover, cooking, sewing, writing, meditating, etc., will help you be a better person and a more well-rounded individual.

Learning new skills can help you improve your personal growth by finding new things to love.

How To Improve Personal Growth

We all know what we should be doing to take care of ourselves. Eat right, exercise, use our brain, get enough sleep, apply healthy coping mechanisms. So why is it that we never seem to get around to it?

We ignore the fundamentals, the foundation of self-care. We spend the whole day running around, like a chicken with its head cut off, that we don’t seem to have time for ourselves.

That and we want it now. We don’t want to have to work for it.

Jeff Olson, author of The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Discipline into Massive Success and Happiness, had this to say:

“There is a natural progression to everything in life: plant, cultivate, harvest.”

And that’s the crux of the matter. These are the most important things to do to improve your personal growth, and we don’t do them.

Let’s look at seven tips that can help you improve your personal growth without breaking the bank or turning you into a basket case.

Tip #1 – Personal Growth Starts Today

No matter where you are in life, personal growth is something we all need to work on. The only way to do that is to make that first step.

Don’t treat your mental, emotional, and physical health like a New Year’s resolution to be started and then discarded. Do you think Olympic athletes get to where they are now by just half-assing it? No way!

Oprah Winfrey once said:

“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”

The only way to become what we need is to start today. No procrastinating, no putting it off, pick your course and go. You can always correct it later.

Tip #2 – Be Honest With Yourself

To tell yourself the truth is one of the hardest things you can do. To face the fact that where you are right now is no one’s fault but your own.

Expect everyone around you to lie, misdirect, half-truth, bullshit, and cover-up. But there is always one person you can trust to tell the truth. You. If you let yourself.

There’s no lying. There’s no pandering. There’s no pretending.

To grow and improve yourself, you have to face facts, see where you stand, and go from there.

In The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson says some amazing things that get to the heart of the matter, like this one:

“People on the success curve live a life of responsibility. They take full responsibility for who they are, where they are, and everything that happens to them.”

Tip #3 – Practice Personal Growth – Then Practice Some More

The most incredible dancers of our time have put years into their craft. They practice for hours. Daily. Daaaiiillly.

So why do you think that 5 minutes a week is going to get you anywhere?

Improving personal growth takes time, commitment, and consistency. It is these seemingly little things that add up to enormous value.

Think of it as a glacier. What you see is gorgeous and breathtaking, but it’s minuscule compared to what lies beneath the surface.

Practice also creates a routine. Once you have that routine, you don’t have to consciously think about it anymore. It just happens.

So, set a specific time aside every day and practice. This is the foundation for how to improve your personal growth.

Try not to get distracted, or sidetracked and pretty soon, you’ll see that you don’t even have to think about it anymore. It just happens naturally.

Tip #4 – Be Willing to Face Your Fears

To grow, you must push yourself out of your comfort zone. You must feel the fear and do it anyway.

Another of my favorite personal growth books: Feel the Fear… And Do it Anyway: Dynamic Techniques for Turning Fear, Indecision, and Anger into Power, Action, and Love by Susan Jeffers has the powerful message that no matter what comes, you can handle it.

And if we can handle whatever comes our way, then what do we truly have to fear? So, when you are feeling afraid, take it out and look at it, dig deep into why you feel this fear, then go out and do it.

Just… don’t start breaking laws and ending up in jail. That’s no good for improving your personal growth.

Tip #5 – Experience Real Rest

How busy are you? Do you feel as if you’re constantly going? Can you never seem to slow down?

When you do stop, how long are you at rest? Is it with your whole being, or is your mind going a hundred million miles a second?

How long can you sit in a moment and just watch the world pass you by without worries, stresses, or to-do lists creeping back in when you’re not looking?

Real rest, also known as mindfulness, is all about being in the moment. In taking the time to let the worries, fears, and responsibilities of the day fade and enjoying what life has brought you.

This is where your entire being: mind, body, and spirit, is at peace. It is the most rejuvenating feeling in the whole world.

It’s the eye of the storm, but just like everything else, it takes practice. To sit in perfect, quiet, peaceful contemplation.

Perhaps you can only hold it for 10 seconds. That’s fine—work on growing those 10 seconds into 30, then 60, then 90. You’ll be surprised at how much more open to the world you are.

And an open mind and heart breed positivity and happiness.

Tip #6 – Learn to Set Boundaries

Why do we set boundaries?

It’s so we can establish how others treat us. It’s natural to want to be treated kindly, respectfully, and with compassion.

It’s why we set personal boundaries.

We want to feel at peace with the world when we interact with it. To be filled with light, joy, and positivity.

So, when your friend puts your dream down, or a neighbor starts a nasty rumor, this is where boundaries are tested. This is where you stick to your guns, put down your foot, and say that’s not acceptable, or you become a doormat that allows that behavior to continue.

Setting and maintaining your boundaries cuts out those that would bring more sorrow, frustration, and anger than joy, happiness, and contentment.

It’s not easy. But it is necessary.

Think of it as an abusive relationship if you have to. You’d never let your friend be with someone who constantly belittles them and puts them down without speaking up. So stand up for yourself like you would that friend.

Tip #7 – Never Give Up Improving on Personal Growth

No matter what, do not stop growing. Do not stop learning how to improve personal growth.

Each day matters, no matter how great or awful it is. Continue to take the time and do the work.

Consider again the words of Jeff Olson:

“The truth is, what you do matters. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters. Successful people just do the things that seem to make no difference in the act of doing them, and they do them over and over and over until the compound effect kicks in.”

Learning to improve your self-growth is just like learning how to ride a bike, or walk, or cook. You’ll fail a lot at first, but over time you will see improvement in your life.

Be successful in your personal growth and continue to improve it. As long as you do that, you will not have failed yourself no matter what comes your way.

Recap

1. Start now. Not tomorrow, or the next day, or next week or next month. Start learning how to improve your personal growth now
2. Be honest about where you are with your personal growth journey and where you’d like to be
3. Set aside a set time and practice personal growth every single day. Preferably at the same time each day to turn it into a habit
4. Feel the fear and push through it to the other side
5. Take the time to be in the moment fully.
6. Do not let others disrespect you and push past your boundaries
7. No matter what, never give up

Continue doing the things you love and make you happy. Continue to find new things that you can love as well. We are at our best when we are happy and learning, and that’s no small thing.

After all, the author of The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho, said:

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

As for how you can improve your personal growth? You already know what you should be doing, so what are you waiting for? The only person holding you back is you. So go get ’em, tiger!