40 Practical Ways To Improve Yourself

Looking to grow? Do you always seek to improve yourself and become better? If you do, then we have something in common.

The more I grow, the more I realize there is so much out there I don’t know, so much that I have to learn.

For sure, there is always something about ourselves we can improve on. The human potential is limitless.

Whenever we think we are good, we can even do better.

Some are bigger steps which take conscious effort to act on. Here they are:

1.   Read a book every day.

The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to.

What are some books you can start reading to enrich yourself? Some books I’ve read and found useful are Think and Grow Rich, Who Moved My Cheese, 7 Habits, The Science of Getting Rich and Living the 80/20 Way.

When you’re reading a book every day, you will feed your brain with more and more knowledge.

 

2. Learn a new language.

 

I realized learning a language is a whole new skill altogether and the process of acquainting with a new language and culture is a totally a mind-opening experience.

 

3. Pick up a new hobby.

Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up? Any new sport you can learn?

Examples are fencing, golf, rock climbing, football, canoeing.

Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby. For example, pottery, Italian cooking, dancing, wine appreciation, web design, etc.

Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.

 

4. Take up a new course.

Is there any new course you can join? Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills.

It doesn’t have to be a long-term course – seminars or workshops serve their purpose too.

I’ve been to a few workshops and they have helped me gain new insights which I had not considered before.

Check out our certification programs

5. Create an inspirational room.

Your environment sets the mood and tone for you. If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day.

In the past, I didn’t like my room at all because I thought it was messy and dull. A few years ago, I decided this was the end of it – I started on a “Mega Room Revamp” project and overhauled my room.

The end result? A room I totally relish being in and inspires me to be at my peak every day.

6. Overcome your fears.

All of us have fears. Fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of risk… All our fears keep us in the same position and prevent us from growing.

Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow. I always think of fears as the compass for growth.

If I have a fear about something, it represents something I’ve yet to address and addressing it helps me to grow.

7. Level up your skills.

If you have played video games before, especially RPGs, you’ll know the concept of leveling up – gaining experience so you can be better and stronger.

As a blogger, I’m constantly leveling up my writing skills. What skills can you level up?

8. Wake up early.

Waking up early (say, 5-6am) has been acknowledged by many (Anthony Robbins, Robin Sharma, among other self-help gurus) to improve your productivity and your quality of life.

I feel it’s because when you wake up early, your mindset is already set to continue the momentum and proactively live out the day.

9. Have a weekly exercise routine.

A better you, start with being in better physical shape. I personally make it a point to jog at least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time.

You may want to mix it up with jogging, gym lessons and swimming for variation.

 

10. Start your life handbook.

A life handbook is an idea I heard of about a year ago.

Basically, it’s a book which contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values and goals. Sort of like your manual for your life.

11. Write a letter to your future self.

What do you see yourself as 5 years from now? Will you be the same? Different? What kind of person will you be?

Write a letter to your future self – 1 year from now will be a good start – and seal it.

Make a date in your calendar to open it 1 year from now. Then start working to become the person you want to open that letter.

12. Get out of your comfort zone.

Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. Being too comfortable doesn’t help us grow, it makes us stagnate.

What is your comfort zone? Do you stay in most of the time? Do you keep to your own space when out with other people?

Shake your routine up. Do something different.

By exposing yourself to a new context, you’re literally growing as you learn to act in new circumstances.

13. Put someone up to a challenge.

Competition is one of the best ways to grow. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first.

Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.

14. Identify your blind spots.

Scientifically, blind spots refer to areas our eyes are not capable of seeing. In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots help us discover our areas of improvement.

One exercise I use to discover my blind spots is to identify all the things/events/people that trigger me in a day — trigger meaning making me feel annoyed/weird/affected. These represent my blind spots.

It’s always fun to do the exercise because I discover new things about myself, even if I may already think I know my own blind spots (but then they wouldn’t be blind spots would they?).

After that, I work on steps to address them.

15. Ask for feedback.

As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective.

Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.

16. Stay focused with to-do lists.

I start my day with a list of tasks I want to complete and this helps make me stay focused. In comparison, the days when I don’t do this end up being extremely unproductive.

Since my work requires me to use my computer all the time, I use Free Sticky Notes to manage my to-do lists. It’s really simple to use and it’s a freeware, so I recommend you check it out.

17. Acknowledge your flaws.

Everyone has flaws. What’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them.

What do you think are your flaws? What are the flaws you can work on now? How do you want to address them?

18. Get into action.

The best way to learn and improve is to take action.

What is something you have been meaning to do? How can you take action on it immediately?

Waiting doesn’t get anything done. Taking action gives you immediate results to learn from.

19. Learn from people who inspire you.

Think about people you admire. People who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you want to have for yourself too.

What are the qualities in them you want to have for yourself? How can you acquire these qualities?

20. Quit a bad habit.

Are there any bad habits you can lose? Oversleeping? Not exercising? Being late? Slouching? Nail biting? Smoking?

21. Cultivate a new habit.

Some good new habits to cultivate include reading books (#1), waking up early (#8), exercising (#9), reading a new personal development article a day (#40) and meditating.

Is there any other new habit you can cultivate to improve yourself?

22. Avoid negative people.

There is a saying that goes,

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”.

Wherever we go, there are bound to be negative people. Don’t spend too much of your time around them if you feel they drag you down.

23. Learn to deal with difficult people.

There are times when there are difficult people you can’t avoid, such as at your workplace, or when the person is part of your inner circle of contacts.

Learn how to deal with them. These people management skills will go a long way in working with people in the future:

24. Learn from your friends.

Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to how we want to tap into them.

With all the friends who surround you, they are going to have things you can learn from.

Try thinking of a good friend right now. Think about just one quality they have which you want to adopt. How can you learn from them and adopt this skill for yourself?

Speak to them if you need to. For sure, they will be more than happy to help!

25. Start a blog about personal development.

To help others grow, you need to first be walking the talk. There are expectations of you, both from yourself and from others, which you have to uphold.

26. Get a mentor or coach.

There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals.

Many of my clients approach me to coach them in their goals and they achieve significantly more results than if they had worked alone.

27. Reduce the time you spend on chat programs.

I realized having chat programs open at default result in a lot of wasted time. This time can be much better spent on other activities.

The days when I don’t get on chat, I get a lot more done. I usually disable the auto start-up option in the chat programs and launch them when I do want to chat and really have the time for it.

28. Learn chess (or any strategy game).

I found chess is a terrific game to learn strategy and hone your brainpower. Not only do you have fun, but you also get to exercise your analytical skills.

You can also learn strategy from other board games or computer games, such as Othello, Chinese Chess, WarCraft, and so on.

Check out fun games to play even at your workplace

29. Stop watching TV.

I’ve not been watching TV for pretty much 4 years and it’s been a very liberating experience. I realized most of the programs and advertisements on mainstream TV are usually of a lower consciousness and not very empowering.

In return, the time I’ve freed up from not watching TV is now constructively used for other purposes, such as connecting with close friends, doing work I enjoy, exercising, etc.

30. Start a 30-day challenge.

Set a goal and give yourself 30 days to achieve this. Your goal can be to stick with a new habit or something you’ve always wanted to do but have not.

30 days is just enough time to strategize, plan, get into action, review and nail the goal.

31. Meditate.

Meditation helps to calm you and be more conscious. I also realized that during the nights when I meditate (before I sleep), I need lesser sleep. The clutter clearing process is very liberating.

32. Join Toastmasters (Learn public speaking).

Interestingly, public speaking is the #1 fear in the world, with #2 being death.

After I started public speaking as a personal development speaker/trainer, I’ve learned a lot about how to communicate better, present myself and engage people.

Toastmasters is an international organization that trains people in public speaking.

33. Befriend top people in their fields.

These people have achieved their results because they have the right attitudes, skill sets and know-how. How better to learn than from the people who have been there and done that?

Gain new insights from them on how you can improve and achieve the same results for yourself.

34. Let go of the past.

Is there any grievance or unhappiness from the past which you have been holding on? If so, it’s time to let it go.

Holding on to them prevents you from moving on and becoming a better person. Forgive yourself, and move on.

Just recently, I finally moved on from a past heartbreak of 5 years ago. The effect was liberating and very empowering, and I have never been happier.

35. Start a business venture.

Is there anything you have an interest in? Why not turn it into a venture and make money while learning at the same time?

Starting a new venture requires you to learn business management skills, develop business acumen and have a competitive edge.

The process of starting and developing my personal development business has equipped me with many skills, such as self-discipline, leadership, organization, and management.

36. Show kindness to the people around you.

You can never be too kind to someone. In fact, most of us don’t show enough kindness to people around us.

Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love.

Not only that, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others. Chances are, you will feel even better than yourself.

37. Reach out to the people who hate you.

If you ever stand for something, you are going to get haters.

It’s easy to hate the people who hate us. It’s much more challenging to love them back.

Being able to forgive, let go and show love to these people requires magnanimity and an open heart.

Is there anyone who dislikes or hates you in your life? If so, reach out to them. Show them love.

Seek a resolution and get closure on past grievances. Even if they refuse to reciprocate, love them all the same. It’s much more liberating than to hate them back.

38. Take a break.

Have you been working too hard? Self-improvement is also about recognizing our need to take a break to walk the longer mile ahead. You can’t be driving a car if it has no petrol.

Scheduling downtime for yourself is important. Take some time off for yourself every week. Relax, rejuvenate and charge yourself up for what’s up ahead.

39. Read at least 1 personal development article a day.

Some of my readers make it a point to read at least one personal development article every day, which I think is a great habit.

40. Commit to your personal growth.

I can be writing list articles with 10 ways, 25 ways, 42 ways or even 1,000 ways to improve yourself, but if you have no intention to commit to your personal growth, it doesn’t matter what I write.

Nothing is going to get through. We are responsible for our personal growth — not anyone else. Not your mom, your dad, your friend, me or Lifehack.

Make the decision to commit to your personal growth and embrace yourself to a life-long journey of growth and change. Kick off your growth by picking a few of the steps above and working on them.

The results may not be immediate, but I promise you that as long as you keep to it, you’ll start seeing positive changes in yourself and your life.