As the title suggests, in this post I will be sharing 6 tips on self improvement and how to continuously improve your life. But before we hop into the subject, let me share a small yet intriguing incident with you.
A Reddit user had asked a few questions, as he was seeking some sincere suggestions on self improvement. And here’s an excerpt –
How do I stop dwelling in the past?
How do I stop blaming people around for things I couldn’t achieve?
How do I learn loving myself?
How do I stop comparing myself to others?
How do I stop “feeling bad” for myself?
How do I find myself?
I know these questions are vague as hell. I just want something, anything to help me live the life I want to live – to become the best version of myself. I appreciate any answers, help and advice.
Many of us can easily relate ourselves to if not all but a few of his concerns. In my growing years, even I had to swim in troubled waters constantly fighting with my rebellious mind and constant pressure of proving myself.
Imagine how your life would be if every day you were under constant pressure to work on your health, relationships, staying focused, resilience and stability? In order to sustain ourselves in the rat race, we’re left with nothing but leading a mechanical life. Even at job, we can see how people are purely focusing on their job responsibilities so as to attain the targeted goals. Promotions, appraisals and offshore opportunities are always in their list of things to do. And in all these farce, self improvement has seriously taken a back seat. This often remains the status quo until a major health issue ensues or their personal life is badly disrupted.
Why is it that we spend our health accumulating wealth and then retire and spend our wealth trying to get back our health?
This is present day’s irony. It’s a question that permeates in my mind on a daily basis.
Sigmund Freud, the great Australian neurologist and found of psychoanalysis, had once said that the best any of us could hope for is ordinary unhappiness. These days, staying positive, personal growth at both personal as well as professional levels and unflinching pursuit of happiness have become moral imperatives now. While there has been a lot said and written on self improvement, a counter culture is transpiring. We are living a norm, where we are encouraged to suppress our feelings and opinions. And in a culture of proclaimed positivity, if we’re unhappy then we have to blamed nobody but ourselves. One statement and our well wishers summarize our problems – “You aren’t positive enough.”
To make it worse, there has been a rising paradox. While positive psychology has become more broadly accepted, rates of depression are also increasing at the same rate. Self-improvement, however, was never a taboo. Until a few decades ago, it was never considered as a thoroughly heavy-handed pursuit. Back in the 70s era when the rock n roll culture was fast emerging, the air was filled with rebellion and liberation from the rigid social norms. Now coming back to the present day, self improvement is adopted by the so-called “happiness industry” that tells us our despair is simply below par and promises us fulfillment through self-growth.
The concept of consistent self improvement is a no-brainer, especially when it comes to maintaining a smooth flow in your professional lives But what about in your personal life? We do not pay much heed towards our personal growth i.e. how to grow as a person and be a better and happy person. Adopting an attitude of working on your body and brain on regular basis can certainly reduce many health issues including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, whilst keeping your mind relaxed and stress free.
When realization dawned on me, I promised myself to sincerely work on self improvement. And during my growing years as a better and aware person, I realized there was always so much out there to learn. For sure, there is always something about ourselves we can always work upon. The human potential is limitless, so it’s impossible to reach a point of no growth. Whenever we think we are good, we can be even better.
As a passionate advocate of growth, I’m continuously looking for ways to self-improve. I’ve compiled 27 tips which might be helpful in your personal growth journey. Some of them are quite simple which you can adopt immediately, while others require some conscious effort to act on.
6 tips on self improvement and how to continuously improve your life
1. Read a book every day
Books are a man’s best friend, the gift of life and esteem of an intellectual. Books are like mirror, where you see your reflection and they portray you comprehensively. A man’s bookshelf will reveal everything you ever wanted to know. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to. Some great books on self improvement include the following –
- Whatcha Gonna Do with That Duck?: And Other Provocations by Seth Godin
- Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen. R. Covey
2. Learn a new language
Leaning a new language will certainly help you in opening up a world of job opportunities, it can give your brain a boost, it can help establish deep connections and cross cultural friendships, it helps you get an outsider’s perspective about your culture and last but not the least you can travel freely to all the countries where your newly language is widely spoken.
3. Pick up a new hobby
Come out of your monotonous life and start learning new things Explore your areas of interest and pick a hobby accordingly. If art interests you then take on art classes. If sports drive you then join any academy say badminton academy. Learning something new makes you discover yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
4. Wake up early
Take it as a thumb rule. If you are serious on your self improvement then the first thing you should do is to change your lifestyle. These days out of 10 at least 6 people are night owls – blame it on the present day lifestyle. So you need to stop staying awake late night and instead wake up early.
In 2008, as per research done by Harvard biologist Christoph Randler, those who wake up early are more proactive than who are night owls. They are more likely to agree with statements like “I spend time identifying long-range goals for myself” and “I feel in charge of making things happen.”
5. Overcome your fears
All of us have fears, which can be fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of failure, fear of losing someone and the list just goes on. The Bollywood hit movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” becomes a perfect example here. The story line of the movie is truly motivational on how to overcome personal fears. All our fears prevent us from growing. So identify your fears and start working on them and find a great change within you.
6. Quit a bad habit
This can be best explained by the “Empty the Cup” story.
A martial arts master was trying to explain something to a student. Now this student was not a brand new student, but a senior student who had learned many things. He had knowledge and experience aplenty to draw upon. But each time the master tried to explain something new to the student, the student kept trying to hold it up against his own notions of the way the world is and how it ought be, and he was unable to see the lessons in what the master was trying to teach him.
Finally, the master poured a full serving of tea into his own cup, and into the cup of the student. Then he told the student he wanted to give to him some of the tea from his own cup. He began pouring tea from his cup into the student’s cup, but the student’s cup was already full, and all the tea from the master’s cup spilled out over the cup onto the surface below.
The student said, “Master, you can’t pour anything into my cup until I empty it to make room for what you are trying to give me.”, and the master replied “Yes I know.” “And I can’t give you any new thoughts or ideas or perspectives on life’s lessons until you clear out some thoughts that are already teeming in your mind to make room for what I have to teach you.”
” If you truly seek understanding, then first, empty your cup!”
So those were the top 6 tips on self improvement. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this article or anything about personal growth. Feel free to share your thoughts and if you’ve any suggestions to add to the list, please share with me too!
Stay happy! Stay blissful!
