A BETTER YOU AWAITS
Your personal growth and development are influenced by many different factors and encompasses all aspects of your personal wellness.
If you want to promote your personal growth and become a healthier, happier, more well-rounded person, there are many actions you can take to achieve these goals.
100 Things To Do To Promote Your Personal Growth
Here are 100 things you can do to promote your personal growth and improves your wellness.
Make a bucket list
Write down everything you’d like to achieve in your lifetime. Make it as long as you need to to get it all down. Whatever you do in life, these accomplishments should have some level of priority in what you do.
Do your favorite things regularly
If you think about the top ten things you must do in your life in order to be happy today, how many of those have a place in your daily or weekly existence? Make efforts to do these treasured things as much as you can.
Make time for friends regularly
Spend time with a friend at least twice per month to maintain your relationships and provide support to others.
Be silent
Enjoying your solitude is an excellent way to reflect and explore your personal growth needs. It is essential to make time for this activity amongst the business of each day.
Brighten someone’s day
Doing kind things for others to help them feel good can impact your own personal growth by showing you the influence you have on other people.
It’s okay not to be good at something
If you really enjoy doing something, regardless of the outcome, then keep enjoying it! Focus on what you gain from the experience rather than the final product, and you will get more satisfaction out of life.
Give yourself a pep talk
Focus on a time when you felt very positively about yourself and your choices. If you are currently dissatisfied with your circumstances or life, what has changed between that time and now? Use that positive memory to bolster your confidence to make positive changes in your life.
Get out of your comfort zone
Try to do something every day that makes you a little uncomfortable. This will break you out of your shell, help you test your boundaries, and expose you to possible difficulties that push for your continued growth.
Get rid of the clutter
Getting rid of things that have no value or purpose in your life can help you feel less stressed, gives you time to focus on what matters, and frees you to enjoy your environment more. A clean, clutter-free space is excellent for promoting positive change and personal growth.
Don’t bring work home
Even if you are really passionate about what you do, enjoying leisure time is just as important for your personal growth as enjoying your professional life. Leave work at work, and you’ll find you have more time to explore the other dimensions of your life that are necessary for personal growth.
Put quiet time on your schedule
Spending time alone should be a priority for part of each day. Alone time gives you a chance to meditate, do absolutely nothing, or just relax and regroup.
Adopt a growth mindset
When you embrace a growth mindset, you are open to new challenges, see opportunities instead of obstacles, and can become more resilient. A growth mindset allows you to continue developing and growing over time and across the span of your life.
Remember, nothing lasts forever
Whether things are going well or have hit rock bottom, your current situation will not remain permanent. Change is inevitable, and the only thing you can control is your reaction to that change. Be accepting of this and embrace that personal growth is what will see you through the good and bad times in life.
Write in a journal
Daily journaling is an excellent tool to increase your self-awareness. Journaling is self-reflective and can clarify your thoughts, emotions, and needs. You can choose to share your journal through a blog or keep it private, but many people gain tremendous insight through this daily practice.
Get a hobby or two
Hobbies provide us with many benefits, including learning new skills or knowledge, being a reason to remain active, meeting new people, and gives you a sense of purpose and accomplishment. As you grow, your hobbies will likely adapt and grow with you, too. Become passionate about something in which you are interested.
Learn from others
You can learn a great deal about success and overcoming setbacks in life from others. You don’t have to make all the mistakes yourself to learn valuable lessons. You may learn from others in your life already, a mentor or coach, from self-help experts, or from people who have accomplished goals to which you aspire.
Freeze your spending
For the next 30 days, buy only what you absolutely need in life. Pay your bills, buy food, get yourself where you need to be, but stop buying anything else that isn’t a daily need in your life. This exercise can help you gain perspective about what you need in life as well as teach you how easy it is to save money.
Turn off the television
Instead of spending hours being distracted by real or fake stories about other people’s lives, why not invest that time in yourself? Go on a TV diet for at least a month to see how much more time you have to focus on your personal growth and development. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish now.
Focus on your physical wellness
Making your physical health and fitness a priority will serve you well now and well into the future. Adopt a mindset of wellness and chose activities and goals that help you achieve better health and a stronger body.
Accept your flaws
We are all imperfect. Understanding and addressing your flaws is an essential life skill. Figure out which of your imperfections you can live with and which you would like to improve, then make a plan for personal growth in that area. Don’t beat yourself up over your lack of perfection. We are all in the same boat.
Stop justifying
If people are always questioning the choices or changes you are trying to make in your life, remember that you do not owe them any explanation. Your life is your own, and you can make whatever choices you want that do not harm other people. Don’t justify yourself to anyone.
Eat something new
Trying out cuisines and foods that you usually wouldn’t exposes you to new worlds and new ways of thinking about food. Eating new foods is a great way to explore your city or learn new cooking skills, and you may just discover some healthier foods to add to your dietary staples.
Take a quiz
There are thousands of surveys, profiles, tests, and quizzes available today that can help you gain insight into yourself. Be mindful that not all are sound in their methodology, but many can be extremely helpful in offering you insight into yourself.
Get rid of the negative people in your life
The people you spend time with have a significant impact on you and your outlook. Those who are always negative can bring you down and drain your energy and optimism. If you can’t cut this person entirely from your life, limit your exposure to them and their influence on how you feel and think.
Enroll in a class
Taking a class is a great way to focus on yourself and your goals. Whether you want to learn a new skill, study a specific topic, or just be exposed to something completely new, there are many free and inexpensive courses in most communities that can be helpful.
Stop rushing
Learning to slow down can help you enjoy your life more. Savoring each experience is a form of mindfulness. Instead of rushing through each activity in your day, stop to consider what you can learn and enjoy in every moment. Slow down, and your perspective changes significantly.
Read something completely different
As a lifelong learner, it’s good always to be pushing yourself. Instead of reaching for the same type of book you always read, try a new genre, pick up a new author, or explore an unfamiliar topic. Reading is a healthy personal growth activity, and you can use what you read to expose you to new perspectives and ideas.
Get outside
Getting in touch with nature and spending a little time outdoors each day is energizing and great for your mindset. Enjoy the night sky, walk among some trees, soak up the sun’s rays, or stroll in a garden, but make it a point to get outside each day.
Embrace the mid-life crisis
One of the reasons this phenomenon is so common is because it’s necessary. We spend years focused on one set of goals only to have our priorities shift as we embrace aging and our needs shift. Use this time to figure out what’s not working in your life and make the necessary changes.
Be passionate about something
Choose work, activities, and people about which you are passionate. Figure out your real values in life and focus on goals that are aligned with those, and you will always enjoy what you are doing, even when things are difficult.
Be decisive
Those who experience the most success in life and accomplish their goals are decisive. They make choices and have the confidence to stand behind them. They can make decisions in difficult times, and they live with the consequences of those decisions.
Know thyself
If you want to figure out your personal growth goals, you need to have a clear understanding of yourself. Take some time to do a real assessment of your life, your personality, your strengths, and your areas for growth. Knowing your values and beliefs is key to this process, too. Knowing yourself well can help you achieve happiness and work on the areas that will benefit you the most.
Focus on developing your strengths
Rather than spending a lot of time working on your areas of weakness, instead focus on improving your strengths. This strategy is effective because your strengths can always be used to overcome any weaknesses you may have, but you may never be able to fully correct for areas of weakness.
Be dissatisfied
A healthy sense of dissatisfaction in life can be a good thing. When you embrace the positive in everything, you can become complacent and settle for less. But, when you adopt a stance of questioning or dissatisfaction, you can be motivated to improve your life. Don’t let this feeling make you cynical or frustrated, though. There is a delicate balance.
Become accountable
The only person who is responsible for you and your happiness is you. Only you are responsible for your actions and decisions in life. The sooner you embrace being accountable in your life, the sooner you can start addressing the areas where you can make the most difference.
Know your worth
Seeing how what you do impacts others can be highly motivating. As you see the difference or impact you make in someone’s life, this can drive further personal growth and development. You are not just growing to benefit yourself but to help others, too.
Wake up earlier
When you set your alarm for just 20-30 minutes earlier in the morning, you can enjoy the start of your day and not feel rushed or stressed. Mornings are the start of your day, so you want them to be positive and helpful. Use that extra time to collect your thoughts, reflect on your goals, make a plan for the day, and prepare for what you need to do.
Make your space inspirational
Your surroundings influence your thoughts, emotions, and mindset. Create a space that inspires and motivates you. Figure out what colors and elements bring you energy and joy, and make it happen!
Focus on the inner beauty in others
Make friends with people who help you see the world in a new way and have beauty in their hearts and souls. Find people who do extraordinary things and include them in your life. Their qualities can influence you, so focus on people who bring drive, bravery, compassion, and light into your life.
Drink your morning coffee outside
Starting your day with a cup of coffee gives you energy and a chance to reflect, and when you enjoy that morning ritual outside, you can enjoy the benefits of being in nature, too. Turn your coffee time into a morning meditation ritual, and you’ll reap numerous benefits.
Write down three good things
Every day, take a minute to write down three good things that happened to you, that you did that day, or for which you are grateful.
Stop comparisons
Comparing yourself to others is not healthy behavior. Social media makes the process even easier, as we are constantly exposed to the good parts of other people’s lives. But that image isn’t real, and you know it.
Stop worrying about what others are doing or have accomplished and focus on what you can change or where you can make a difference in your own life.
Meet new people
Getting to know new people is a great way to help you develop personally. New friends broaden your perspectives, teach you new things, and expose you to new cultures and ideas.
Be a kid again
Adopt a childlike sense of humor which allows you to see the amusement in everyday situations. Learn to laugh at yourself, or you might be taking life too seriously. Being lighthearted and zany helps you remain positive and keeps things in perspective, too.
Grow your own food
Planting a garden is a wonderful personal growth activity. Not only will you be contributing to your overall health, but you’ll be spending time being active outside. Plus, a garden provides you with a purpose and reason to focus.
Say “no”
Learning to say “no” to others means you are saying yes to yourself. Establishing boundaries helps you keep your own priorities in focus and focus on your personal growth rather than the desires of others. Boundaries are a healthy thing for everyone to have.
Get feedback
We all have blind spots about where we need to improve Get feedback from others you trust to gain additional perspective about your personal growth needs. Look for objective feedback from those who are not personally invested in your growth, too.
Banish a bad habit
Commit to quitting one bad habit you are trying to lose. Focus on that one habit for at least two months and set up rewards for yourself when you have reached your goal.
Dream big
Everything you accomplish in life started with a notion, a dream. Allow yourself to explore those dreams, to expand your idea of what you could have or could become without limits. Not only are dreams a way to develop your creativity, but they are also ways for us to identify our new goals in life.
Write out your mission
Spend time writing down all the crucial things in life that support your happiness. Write out your dreams, purpose, values, and goals. Think of it as a manual for your life. Add to it over time and use it to reflect on your past and continuing efforts at personal growth.
There is always room for improvement
No matter how hard you try, there is always room to grow. You can learn from every experience and use feedback from every opportunity to grow. Accepting this means that you no longer need to judge yourself or accept judgment from others, as you already doing the very best you can.
Get rid of the junk
Purge your pantry and refrigerator to get rid of all the unhealthy items in your home. Eating better is the path to feeling better, and when you don’t have unhealthy foods tempting you, it’s easier to stay focused on the right choices.
Start today
No matter your goals, do something today to help you get a little closer to achieving it. Overcome procrastination and lack of momentum but doing something right now to help you in your quest for personal development.
Complete a 30-day challenge
One month is an excellent time frame to start developing a new habit. Set a goal and work on it for 30 days. It can be anything you want to achieve but focus on that one thing for 30 days to see how much you can accomplish.
Create a workable plan
Any good plan will include a final goal as well as intermittent steps to help you achieve that aim. Break your larger goal up into secondary goals, then break those down into baby steps, things you can accomplish in a single day or week.
Overcome fear
We are all afraid of something (or many things). Fear keeps you from growing, though, so learning to cope with or overcome your fears is the key to personal development. Get to know your fears, understand their motivation, and take steps toward tackling and overcoming them systematically.
Accept change
Trying to stop change from happening will only leave you feeling frustrated. There is no escaping change, so changing how you react to it is the only possible move. Change should be embraced as a positive part of life, as without change, no new learning would ever occur.
Deal with difficult people in your life
Learning to deal with conflict or handle stressful situations can be uncomfortable for some. But, learning to cope with these types of people can improve your relationship, enhance working conditions, and help you achieve your goals.
Be intentional
When you focus on your intention, which is your purpose and motivation for doing something, you can ensure your actions are aligned with your beliefs and values. Intentionality is another form of mindfulness that helps you achieve your goals and become the person you want to be.
Maintain your curiosity
Being curious about other people and the world can help you explore possibilities. Ask others’ questions about their lives and experiences, learn from their perspectives, and show your interest in them and your world. Be sincere in your interest and show appreciation for what they share with you.
Set personal challenges
Goals are attainable when they are just out of reach for your current capacity. Impossible dreams result in frustration, and easy goals provide no challenge, which means no growth. Aim for that sweet spot, and you’ll soon see how this strategy helps you become whatever you want in life.
Challenge someone else
When setting goals for yourself, involve someone else and create a little competition, which can be highly motivating. Whether you are working on a financial, weight loss, fitness, or other personal goals, enlist the help of someone else to join you and challenge one another to stay motivated and reach the finish line.
Smile
Even when you aren’t happy, smiling tricks your brain into believing that you are. If you want to improve your mood but don’t know how to do that, try smiling.
Meditate daily
Meditation as regular practice helps your mind, calms you down, and relieves stress. When you meditate before bedtime, you can even start sleeping better. Meditation is like decluttering your mind.
It’s never too late
No matter what you want to accomplish, there is still time. If you are holding on to something that you regret or a dream that has gone unfulfilled, you still have time to do what you want in this life.
Tell someone how you feel
Expressing your love or gratitude to another person is a wonderful exercise that helps you as much as them. You can spread joy, build a closer bond, and spend time reflecting on the positive aspects of your life with that person.
Forgive
Practice forgiveness for yourself as well as others for mistakes and transgressions. Holding on to grudges will never help you grow, and allowing rifts to fester will ultimately impact your relationship in a negative way. Let it go, and you can start moving forward to a healthier place.
If it doesn’t matter, don’t do it
We all do things every day that don’t really matter. So, why do we do them? Most of the time, it’s to distract us from our unhappiness or dissatisfaction. Give up the time-wasters in your life to gain back time to focus on what is important to you.
Host a game night
Get together with your friends once a month for a night of games and companionship. Game nights are a fun, low-key way to spend time with others, and you can strengthen your bond as well as challenge your own mind at the same time.
Level up
If you are a gamer, you’ll understand that leveling up occurs when you gain enough experience in a game to advance to the next stage. This is life. Find a skill you want to improve and practice it so much that you can level up in your practice.
Create a vision
Visualization can be a very powerful tool for motivation as well as goal attainment. Visualize the life you want, imagine what it will feel like to attain your dreams. Make your picture as clear and vivid as possible. Use this vision to guide your plans and work toward them.
Say thanks to your parents
Show your appreciation to your parents for everything they have done for you in your life. Say thanks in a personal and meaningful way, being sure to recognize the sacrifices they made to help you become who you are today.
Find your blind spots
In personal development, a blind spot is an aspect of yourself that you can’t see, for whatever reason. These areas are often ones where you may need improvement. Figuring out what triggers you toward negative emotions is one way to look for and identify your blind spots.
Do something about your unhappiness
If you don’t like where life is going right now, do something to remedy that situation. If you hate your job, change what you don’t like or change jobs. If your relationship is making you miserable, it’s time to move on.
Don’t be so serious
Laughing at yourself is a good indicator of balance and emotional wellness. Taking yourself seriously keeps you dwelling on the negative aspects of your life. Learn to laugh about your mistakes, and you’ll feel less stressed.
Dig deep
When things get tough, and you feel like giving up, it’s time to push yourself that extra bit. You can do more than you realize you are capable of, and there’s always a little more in reserve, so dig deep to push past this temporary obstacle.
Live simply
No matter how much money you make, try to live below your means in every way possible. Save as much as you can when you have extra, and focus on meeting just your basic needs each month instead of how much you can spend. You will be less stressed, and your future self will thank you someday.
Use positive affirmations
Affirmations are short statements that can motivate you to accomplish a goal or realize a dream. Repeating these to yourself daily invites the possibilities into your life that can allow these goals to be realized. Make this a part of your morning ritual, and you will soon notice positive results.
Make friends with leaders
Getting to know and spend time with the leaders in your industry can help you achieve some of your professional goals. By becoming acquainted with the people, you can learn from their life lessons, successes, and even their missteps.
Surrounding yourself with those who have achieved what you desire is another way to get closer to what you want to achieve.
Do unto others
By following the golden rule in life and treating others as you wish to be treated teaches you to lead by example, how to recognize the good in the others, and to see the results of your generosity in action. Do something good every day and focus on how you can spread joy and positivity to others.
Stand tall
When you change your posture, you change how you feel inside as well as how you look on the outside. For mood follows your physical form and vice versa, so stand or sit straight, and you’ll project confidence to others as well as to yourself.
Cook from scratch
Make an entire meal, start to finish, entirely on your own, preparing each dish mindfully. Making everything from scratch helps you appreciate the ingredients, teaches you valuable skills, and allows you to savor each portion of the experience.
Use to-do lists
If you tend to lose focus on your plans, use lists to help you accomplish your daily tasks. Lists are great reminders and keep you focused. Organize your lists with the most critical tasks at the top.
Call your friends
Pick up the phone and actually talk to someone you haven’t talked with in a while. Conversations are so much more meaningful and personal than messaging.
Spread kindness
Doing small deeded for others, such as offering them your seat, holding the door, and smiling at them, spreads positive emotions throughout the world. Being mindfully kind helps you feel good and models this type of behavior for others.
Become a role model
Act in ways you are proud of and for which you would like for others to admire you. Be the role model you wish you had when you were younger. Live your life by being an example of the values and beliefs to which you profess. If you aren’t there yet, then setting personal growth goals can help you achieve it.
Have a weekly fitness plan
The fitter you are, the healthier and happier you will be. Having a weekly fitness routine means you know what to do, you have a plan for accomplishing your goals, and you are prepared to make it happen.
Write to the future you
Sit down and write a letter to yourself five years from now. What do you hope to accomplish, what do you envision your life will be like at that point? What do you want the future you to realize about the present you?
Seal your letter, put it somewhere safe, and make a note on your calendar to open it one year from today. Start working on all the things you just wrote about achieving.
Set big goals
Goals that are big and audacious can seem daunting, but they are also a great way to get motivated to make big changed. Big goals are partly realistic and partly dreams you envision for yourself someday.
Dreaming big may set your heights high, but the payoffs can be remarkable when you attain even part of what you were aiming for.
Grow a new habit
Pick one new, positive habit you want to develop. Practice this new habit every day for two months. Evaluate your progress to see how you are doing, what adjustments you need to make, and how this habit is changing your life.
Focus on happiness
Being happy is a choice, and the more you focus on what you are or are not doing in your life the contribute to your bliss, the happier you will be. When you are down or upset, you can change your outlook merely be changing your thoughts. Think it and you can be it. Master being happy, and you can accomplish your dreams.
Start a blog
Blogging about your personal development journey is a great way to document what you are doing and what you have learned. It can serve a reflective record for your future self, and sharing your experiences with others can be helpful, too.
Learn a strategy game If you have never played chess or other types of strategy games, they are excellent for helping you hone your thinking skills, practice analytical strategy, and have fun at the same time.
Master public speaking
If you want to learn to communicate more effectively, build confidence, and share your knowledge with others, consider joining an organization like Toastmasters, which trains you in the art of public speaking.
Start a business
If you have a passion for something, why not turn it into a business venture? By starting your own business, you can learn while you make money, develop new skills, and learn important habits like self-discipline and organization. It’s doesn’t have to be your full-time work, but starting small means you have room to grow.
Boost your confidence
By improving yourself, you will soon start to feel better about yourself. The more you improve, the more confidence you will gain. By recognizing your accomplishments and paying attention to your progress, you will start to feel more and more confident about what you can achieve.
Give back
When you start experiencing growth and personal fulfillment, it’s time to give back what you have learned to others. Become a mentor, donate to your favorite organization, volunteer, or start a movement in your local area to make a difference in a meaningful way. Get involved and give back.
Keep control of your finances
Managing your money is essential to lifelong happiness and success. While money can’t buy happiness, it can make achieving many of your goals that much more attainable. Make sure you know how much you have, where it’s going, how you are spending it, and where you can make adjustments. Being smart with your money is a wonderful personal developing goal.
Get enough rest
Most of us don’t get enough sleep, and without it, we are not at our best. Taking care of yourself means getting at least seven hours of sleep each night and following a nighttime routine that allows you to have restful sleep.
Make a commitment to personal growth
With all the suggestions you have read here, the only thing that really matters is that you commit to making necessary changes in your life and doing something to take action. Only a commitment and action from you will make the difference you want in your life.
