Everyone wants to be happy, and personal growth is a wonderful way to reach happiness through sense of achievement.

You have to be better than you were yesterday. You have to grow to that point in your life where you can look back and say, “I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”

Putting in the effort required to improve yourself is not easy, and this is why few people go through with it.

However, if you’re at a place in your life where you’ve grown weary of living the basic life, then this post is for you.

If you want to do more, experience more, and be more, then keep reading.

Personal growth largely centres on embracing a growth mindset, which is the belief that you can improve your skills through effort, input from others, and good strategies.

This guide overviews some insights from research on personal growth, as well as insights from my personal experience.

Personal growth is a journey that doesn’t happen overnight.

But with a little determination and an open mind, it can improve your life drastically.

In this post, I share 16 personal growth tips that’ll help improve your life.

Personal growth is a journey, and to achieve real progress, you have to be willing to make it a lifestyle. It’s not a quick hack; it’s a process.

Why is personal growth important?

Whether it be intellectually, morally, physically or all of the above, personal growth is the direct result of efforts made to improve yourself.

Sometimes referred to as self-improvement or self-actualisation, the purpose of personal growth is to improve one’s habits, behaviour, actions and reactions.

Some examples of personal growth include:

• Learning to stay present

• Learning to control your anger
• Learning to overcome the urge to procrastinate
• Taking time to be there for your body through exercise and a healthy diet.
• Learning to break the habit of laziness
• Learning to be more considerate
• Learning to become more responsible
• Developing new skills and learning new things
• Changing your mindset
• Adopting a more positive attitude

Those are just a few examples; the potential list is endless.

16 Tips for Personal Growth – Ultimate Guide!

As you keep growing, life will become more fulfilling. But how do you grow to become a better, happier version of yourself?

Here are 16 things you can start to do now.

Make time for rest

Before you learn how to be better, it’s important to start with the basics.

You need to have your basic needs met before you move on to self-improvement.

Part of that is to make time for rest and self-care.

There are many different types of rest. Are there moments in your schedule where you have the opportunity to do nothing and take a break?

Those quiet moments of rest can help you decompress and process what happened in your day.

That’s why making time for rest can do wonders for your well-being.

Plus, when you’re well-rested, you’ll have more bandwidth to work on the other ways you can better yourself.

Create a morning routine

I know it sounds mundane but it has been proven over and over.

I disagreed with this notion for a very long time until I actually proved it to myself.

Typically, I would wake up with just enough time to shower, get dressed and grab breakfast to go.

But when I changed this habit, something almost miraculous happened – I was more alert, focused and much more productive throughout the day.

Having a morning routine helps to set the tone for the day.

It helps to develop good habits that can enable us to focus, accomplish more, achieve our goals, and improve our life overall.

Start a gratitude practice

One way to learn how to be a better person is by being grateful for what you have.

Practicing gratitude for your current situation can help you avoid feeling bitter about what you don’t have.

You don’t have to feel grateful about huge things, either.

Try to notice the small things that make you happy and make you feel grateful.

You can fine-tune your gratitude practice over time. With practice, it gets easier to naturally think of what you’re grateful for.

This new perception can change your life for the better.

Focus on what you do have, and not what you do not.

Try meditation

Meditation provides you with a great way to slow down in a fast-paced world.

Even just a few minutes a day of meditation can help you better yourself and improve your mental health.

A recent study has shown that meditation can improve anxiety, depression, and pain scores, especially during times of crisis.

You’ll also become more aware of your thought patterns.

This mindfulness means you can learn more about yourself over time.

It can help you spot bad habits that are making a negative impact on your mood and your life.

Meditation can also help you practice mindful breathing and improve your self-awareness.

Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is a practice that allows you to stay present regardless of what’s going on around you.

Mindfulness is another practice that benefits the mind.

To simply put it, mindfulness is an act of intentional living.

Intentional Living in the sense that it requires you to bring consciously bring your attention to the now and focus with all of your senses on all that is occurring at the present moment.

This state of mind can be easily achieved through the practice of constant mindfulness living and meditation.

For example, when you are completing a simple task, such as washing up, give your 100% attention to it and do not let you mind take over.

Every time your mind starts thinking thoughts, revert back to the task in hand with 100% attention.

When you are living in the present moment, the gap in consciousness becomes longer and the thoughts and illusions of the mind quiet down with it.

The more you practice the more at peace you become.

Achieving a constant state of mindfulness is difficult, especially if you experience things like anxiety or sensory overload.

To improve your own ability to move mindfully through the day, start with practices in a controlled environment.

Set aside alone time each day to try meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises.

The more you practice these things in a controlled environment, the more your body will help you navigate experiences that are not in your control.

Practice self-forgiveness

Wallowing in guilt and regret can seem like a productive thing to do, but that’s because many of us are inclined toward self-punishment.

The reality is that refusing to move on from a mistake or an error is not helpful.

Learn to recognise your mistakes and errors while also acknowledging that you always have the room to do better next time.

Let go of the past

Who doesn’t have regrets? Who hasn’t made mistakes in the past?

You are not alone; everyone around you has their fair share of regrets.

All of us have made mistakes and wish to change the past and day dream of how things would be different.

But time has passed, people have come and gone and you aren’t at the same place anymore.

Don’t let your guilt weigh you down; always believe that everything happened for your own sake and if not for your past, you wouldn’t be where you are right now.

You have no control over time, and today will pass too; it’s up to you if you choose to mourn over your past or make peace with it and move on to better things.

Practice self-awareness

We often assume that we’re self-aware because we may understand how our words and actions affect others.

However, how often do we turn that self-awareness inward and examine our own feelings?

Getting back to the basics with our emotions is an important part of personal growth.

When you feel emotions that make you uncomfortable, don’t try to ignore them.

Instead, sit with them, ask yourself what’s uncomfortable about them, and do your best to identify what made those emotions arise.

Step out of your comfort zone

Expand, push, and cross the lines of your comfort zone.

You cannot become what you want to be unless you move your boundaries a little bit.

Yes, it is scary and can be the hardest thing you have ever done, but being scared means you are about to do something great for yourself.

Don’t wait for yourself to be ready because you will never be as ready as you are now for nothing ever grows in the comfort zone.

Don’t chase perfection

Many people are plagued with the idea of perfection and they spend most their time and energy to achieve something that doesn’t exist.

Every single of us has imperfections and flaws that we wish to erase, but the truth that you are not perfect and you will never be; make peace with the fact and stop striving for perfection.

Whether it’s your work or your appearance or your life, there will always be some room for improvement.

Instead of running after perfection, aim for progress.

Put your current habits on the examination table

A lot of the less productive or even self-destructive habits we have are actually responses to our uncomfortable emotions.

When we don’t feel good, we tend to seek out ways to either replicate good feelings or distract ourselves.

After sitting with uncomfortable emotions, pay attention to your urges.

What do you normally do at a time like this?

Once you start exposing the connection between discomfort and your responses to discomfort, you can start replacing your current habits (sometimes also referred to as coping mechanisms) with new habits that are more productive.

Surround yourself with good souls

The kind of company you keep affects you more than you think.

You will meet many people and some of them will make you happy, some will bring you down, some will make you question your morals and some will inspire you.

You should surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you, those who always inspire you to move forward in life.

You are going to be as good as the people around you, so surround yourself with good souls and let go of those who bring you down.

Read

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are”- Mason Cooley.

A book is someone’s experience, feelings, thoughts, perception, and world; when you read, your mind wanders to places that nobody has seen.

You get to be the writer’s friend as you understand him through his words; you can travel in time and meet all sorts of creatures through books.

Your horizons expand and books give your mind wings to take a flight to the place where you can see things differently.

Books are your constant friends and teachers and the wisest of the counsellors; read as much as you can and forget the world.

Practice saying no to assert your boundaries

It can be easy to say yes to everyone and everything, even when you don’t feel comfortable.

This can be true at work and in your personal life.

Some family members invite you to their home the day you set aside for you-time?

You’re allowed to say no and keep that day to yourself.

Your manager asks you to take a look at something while you’re on vacation?

You can also choose to say no.

AFFIRMATIONS

I’m sometimes a bit reluctant to mention affirmations as I think you generally either love them or hate them – but as cheesy as they can be, reciting an affirmation can be really helpful for creating a more positive mindset.

I always prefer to write my own ones based on what I’m struggling with kind of reversed.

At the moment I have an affirmation that is ‘I am happy and positive even when I can’t control the situation or outcome’.

Think about where the negativity is and see if you can flip it into a positive statement.

I was stressing out over a situation I couldn’t control, so my affirmation is really helpful to remind me that even when I can’t be in control, I can still be happy and positive.

Just saying it to myself when I wake up, or when I’m having a bit of a wobble can help.

Create an evening routine

Lastly, create an evening routine.

An evening routine can be just as important as having a morning routine because it helps you wind down, relieve stress, and can help you to get better sleep.

16 tips for personal growth – final thoughts

No matter what stage of life you’re in or what battles you’re fighting, personal growth is always possible.

Use these tips to find the best approach to personal growth for you and remember, it won’t happen overnight!

I would love to hear your thoughts below on what you are doing to change your life in the coming days and years!

If you have any questions please reach out to me via adam@adam-lawrence.org. I would love to hear from you!

I really hope you found inspiration in this article.

IF YOU FOUND THIS POST USEFUL, THEN PLEASE SAVE THIS PIN BELOW TO YOUR PINTEREST PERSONAL GROWTH BOARD OR SOMETHING SIMILAR FOR LATER – THANK YOU!

Adam

Hello! My name is Adam and welcome to my space on the internet. Here you can find me writing about subjects such as spiritual growth, self-discovery, wellbeing, addiction recovery and mental health. Please connect with me on my journey and join the community!