When I was 19, I had my first encounter with personal development, and admittedly, I was shocked by not having heard about it before.
In fact, I was kind of angry I didn’t hear about so many life-changing topics such as the importance of setting goals, the power of having habits, emotional intelligence and all the other topics that are covered when we say personal growth.
I tried to understand why I had to have hundreds of hours of biology and chemistry at school instead of learning what really matters.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect anyone who is into biology, chemistry, or any other science, but it’s not my interest field.
And I just wished I had used all these hours at school more productively, for example, by learning about personal growth and self-improvement.
I’m convinced anyone can transform her life through tiny steps taken regularly.
However, the problem is hardly a lack of motivation but not knowing what to do and how to stick to it.
That’s why I decided to put together a list of actionable, practical changes that will impact your life forever. Given you practice them regularly, of course.
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Getting enough sleep
One of the most common mistakes adults make nowadays is neglecting the importance of sleep.
Too often, we believe cutting down on sleep and having more hours to get shit done would make us more productive. Yet, the reality is the contrary.
A lack of sleep over a long period will harm many areas of your life.
Sleep deprivation can lead to less productivity, an inability to concentrate, a higher risk of diabetes and stroke or heart diseases, and many more inconveniences.
A good night’s sleep is, in fact, one of the cornerstones for a happy, healthy life.
According to studies, our bodies’ ability to function correctly decline if we don’t get at least seven to eight hours of sleep.
Too much sleep is also counterproductive, yet, seven to eight hours should be your daily routine.
For those who are used to only six or even five hours of sleep per day, making this profound change and spending more time in bed might be challenging.
Yet, giving your body the rest it needs each night will surely pay off as you’ll be more productive and energized during the day.
Reading daily
For me, being inspired and learning daily is a must-have.
It’s not only part of my identity but also necessary for my job.
I’m a coach, writer, and entrepreneur, and 95% of my work is about personal growth.
Reading is not only the most effective but also the most durable way to learn, grow, and stay inspired.
Before building a daily reading routine, I struggled for many months.
I kept finding excuses on why I couldn’t make time for reading every day.
Here’s what helped me to be consistent and read every day, no matter what:
There’s no regulation on how much you need to read.
If it’s five minutes, it’s five minutes.
If it’s a single page, it’s a single page.
And if it’s an hour of reading, it’s an hour.
On most days, it’s not a lack of time but a lack of motivation we have to encounter.
If you, however, tell yourself that even a minute of reading is better than not reading at all, finding time and motivation will become easier.
In fact, we don’t struggle to read.
We just struggle to sit down, be comfortable, and grab a book. Once we do that, we often find that we have more time than we actually thought.
Food is your energy supplier
Most people are not only used to eating out of boredom but also so oversaturated they forget why we eat at all.
Instead of nourishing our bodies with essential vitamins and supplies, we eat whenever and whatever we feel like.
I’ve been doing that for many years until I realized my eating habits are draining my energy while eating is actually here to energize us.
Along with the amount and quality of our sleep, our diet is responsible for how we feel and perform throughout our days.
Mainly consuming processed, carb, and fat loaded meals with low nutrients will eventually lead to a lack of energy and concentration, skin problems, and weight struggles.
It might be debatable if nutrition and health are part of personal growth.
For me, they are.
Everything that helps me live happier, healthier, and more joyful is an essential and a part of my personal development.
Reading hundreds of motivational books and blog posts, setting big goals and working your ass off will probably not lead to your desired results if you keep consuming frozen pizzas, burgers, and fries on most of your days. You’ll simply lack the energy, and your levels of concentration will drop.
Once you start seeing food as an energy supplier, choosing healthy, nourishing options becomes a whole lot easier.
Appreciate yourself
Most people wonder why they are not loved or liked by others but never consider working on their relationship with themselves.
In most cultures, self-love is still considered a taboo topic.
Being confident is cool, but if we heard somebody saying I love myself, we’d probably give them a weird look.
Yet, appreciating yourself is the foundation for others to acknowledge you.
If you don’t love yourself, how and why should someone else do so?
You need to be your biggest cheerleader. Your biggest lover.
There’s no relationship longer, more intensive, and more important than the one with yourself.
Self-love and self-care are no luxury but necessities.
Be authentic
Easier said than done if we always compare ourselves to others and try to be better, I know.
Yet, authenticity is what thrives successful, happy people.
Too often, we do things that are not aligned with our personality or our purpose.
We tend to believe we need to do what others expect. Yet, that’s bullshit.
By doing what others desire, you’ll probably make them happy, but not yourself.
Only if you authentically communicate your own message, can you live a life true to yourself and your values.
Be focused
One of my core beliefs is that anyone can have it all in life.
There’s enough for everybody and no need for hate, grief, or envy.
However, there’s one thing most people miss out:
You can’t have it all at once.
Focusing your energy on a few critical goals will always lead to better results than trying to do it all.
I love trial and error, and I find tremendous joy in trying out new, different things.
Yet, I also know that having a few specific goals and an appropriate action plan in mind is the ultimate key to actually achieving your goals.
Otherwise, you’ll be wandering around, trying different things, but never achieving significant results.
Be aware that your life is pure abundance, and you can have anything you dream of, but never forget you need a clear focus to achieve one step after the other.
Plan your days ahead
I’m not an over-planner. In some areas of my life, I love spontaneity.
Yet, when it comes to being productive and achieving my goals, planning is a must-have.
You just can’t be effective without proper planning and structuring.
As Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said:
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
While I like making quarterly, monthly, and weekly plans, I believe the most critical plan to make is the one for tomorrow.
Knowing your goals and to-do’s for the next day will help you save a considerable amount of time and energy.
That’s why I spend 10–15 minutes every evening to create my to-do list for the next day and plan everything in advance so that I can fully concentrate on getting shit done once I open my laptop the following day.
Practice gratitude
There’s no way to live an abundant, vibrant, and joyful life if you don’t practice gratitude for everything you already have.
Being thankful for all we have right now is the root of creating and attracting more of what we desire.
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” — Eckhart Tolle
My favorite way of practicing gratitude is through journaling.
By writing down three to five things you are grateful for, you can already shift your energy and raise your vibration.
This will not only help you to stay positive throughout your day, but it will also widen your perspective and see more of the abundance in your life, which is already there.
Listen to your gut feeling
In his bestselling book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell explains how we make our decisions based on our feelings anyway.
While we often think of making a rational, neutral decision without mixing up our emotions, that’s not true.
Almost all our decisions are based on our gut feeling, we just try to justify our conclusions through rational explanations.
For me, this was an incredible eye-opener.
For many years, I’ve been the greatest overthinker I personally knew, and I thought it was a good thing.
I sincerely thought being thoughtful, reflecting much, and spending hours on making small decisions was an important characteristic.
Yet, when I read Blink, I realized how dumb I was.
I was spending hours on unnecessary decisions that I could make in a few seconds.
Too often, our feeling already tells us what’s right and what’s wrong. We just need to be confident enough to listen to our gut feeling.
Starting to trust your emotions and making decisions quickly will save you a lot of time and energy, which you can invest elsewhere.
Now, that’s one of the not-so-small changes, I know.
You can’t change your family or friends from one day to the other.
And get rid of negative people is easier said than done.
Been there done that.
However, I also realized how incredibly powerful the right circle of like-minded people is.
If you are surrounded by friends who don’t think of anything else than partying, drinking, and going out, you will have a hard time building a business.
If you, however, surround yourself by aspiring entrepreneurs and highly motivated people who keep learning and growing, you’ll grow together.
You don’t need to change your whole social circle at once.
Yet, there’s indeed incredible power in having a critical look at the people with whom you spend most of your time.
Bottom Line
Personal growth and self-improvement don’t need to be hard or complicated.
In fact, it can and should be fun.
We all make mistakes, we all overreact from time to time, we all lose motivation, and we all have lazy, sluggish days.
In the end, we’re all just humans, and life is certainly not about being perfect. But I believe it’s about growth.
As Lou Holtz once said:
In this world, you’re either growing or you’re dying.
I am convinced life is more fun if we dare to grow, to develop ourselves, and to explore our own potential.
And if even small changes can help us to be happier, healthier and more satisfied, why not practice them?
Don’t try to transform your whole life at once.
That’s the surest way to fail in personal growth.
Instead, take one small step after the other.
You don’t need to see the whole path, you just need to make the next right move.
The way through the challenge is to get still and ask yourself: What’s the next right move? — Oprah