People are always developing, it’s how we do things. Whether we’re strengthening one habit or learning another, we’re always building onto something and this can be either negative or positive. If you ask us, the latter is the better option. We want to see people grow and develop in a positive way and not just a once-off development either, but consistent, organic, and healthy personal growth is what we’re after!
In this article, we’re going to give you some life hacks that’ll help you have consistent personal growth!
Understanding What Personal Growth is and What it is Not
We touched on this a little in the intro, but the kind of personal growth we’re referring to is only beneficial and positive. Let’s talk about how people learn habits quickly. Humans take in information via associates. We have these little branches in our brains called dendrites that form when we do something for the first time. The more we perform an action, the larger that branch gets and the more we associate with that experience.
When we consistently turn to bad habits that break down or lead us to neglect ourselves in one way or another, we’re strengthening the association of those actions in our brains. Positive personal growth is when we start to put actions into place that or more beneficial and when we begin to actively refer to these as our defaults more than bad habits.
Following that explanation, these life hacks are all ways of creating positive personal growth and development in your life. Let’s take a look at them:
Study Further
Studying further is our first tip. For those of you who already have a degree, study your postgraduate degree online or find a specific niche and dive into researching it on your own time. Adding to your knowledge and skill set is incredibly beneficial. It’ll keep your mind sharp, curious and ready to learn. Not to mention, having extensive knowledge in a certain field will also make your resume look more appealing to potential employers.
Get a Mentor
We all learn from someone or something throughout our lives. Ask parents! They’ll tell you that their kids come home from school with behavioural differences often. This is because of influence. What’s great about influence is that it can be used for good! For instance, you can get yourself a mentor who can have a positive influence on your life.
Whether they be a superior at work or someone you look up to, having a mentor help walk the road with you is a great way to start and successfully finish the road to personal growth.
Seize Every Day
Yes, yes, we know this saying has been overused, but it’s true. When you picture every new day as an opportunity to grow and develop, you set yourself on an optimistic path to personal growth. Use each day as a learning experience. Learn from any mistakes you make and reflect on the positives. As you continue, you’ll notice a change.
Learn to Listen
So many people listen to respond instead of listening to understand and then responding accordingly. Practising your listening skills will give you the ability to understand others much better, enabling you to navigate how to respond to them and how to deal with them. So practice your listening skills, you’ll appreciate the outcome and so will others.
Build Strong Boundaries
Learning to say no can be difficult, but you can’t please everyone. Try to set strong boundaries with friends and families so they know where your limits are. The more established your boundaries are, the easier it will be to say no and the easier it will be to accept.
Don’t Be Afraid of Failure
We learn by failing. It’s how learning has been done since we were children. But failing also sucks, which is understandable.
Having a good understanding of failure as part of the journey to success is a healthy outlook to have. So, when you fail, look at what you can learn from the situation and how you can improve. That way, the next time, you’ll most likely do better.
Set Goals
Setting goals has probably been in every self-help or self-development program ever created, and there’s a good reason why. Goals help you stay driven; they give you something to strive towards. So, set appropriate goals that are achievable and have a decent timeline. You can set short-term and long-term goals and the actions you need to achieve them. Either way, setting goals will help you grow and develop.
Tackle New Challenges
In Weightlifting, there’s a concept called progressive overload. It involves overloading yourself with just a little bit more than your body can handle so that you can adapt and improve to that level. Tackling new challenges does a similar thing. When we try new things that we used to struggle with or are completely new to us, we’re improving, growing, and adding to our abilities.
Learn to Rest
Some people are not good at this at all, but we need to learn to rest. When you burn the candle at both ends, you can eventually burn out, which could have a negative impact on your health and overall productivity. Learning to rest could be done in different ways. You could read a book, go away for a weekend, or take a nap. However, it works for you, just try to prioritise it.
Final Thoughts
You need to picture yourself as your most important asset, because, if you’re down, it’ll ripple effect into every part of your life. So take these life hacks and start applying them to your life today. They don’t have to look the same as we’ve stated them here, change them to suit your lifestyle. But just ensure that they’re constantly building positive growth.
Meet Sally, the health blogger who believes that laughter really is the best medicine, except when it comes to treating a hangnail. Sally’s approach to wellness involves a healthy dose of humor, mixed with practical advice that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Whether she’s discussing the virtues of kale smoothies or her latest attempt at meditating without falling asleep, Sally’s blog is your go-to for a giggle and genuine health tips.