7 Simple Steps to Start Your Self-Improvement Journey Today

Let’s start by acknowledging that you are fantastic just the way you are! Everything that you’ve accomplished and everything that you are that makes you unique is simply awesome. However, if you are being honest with yourself, you probably see areas of your life where you would like to grow. This desire is normal. The most amazing among us continues to grow and evolve. 

There is nothing wrong with acknowledging and being grateful for how far you’ve come while having hopes and dreams for a better life. If that’s you, self-improvement can be a great strategy for living your best life.

In this article I am going to break down self-improvement into 3 categories to provide a framework to simplify the process:

1. General
2. Physical and Mental
3. Goals Achievement

But first, let’s get clear on what self-improvement means.

Self-improvement is defined as the act or process of improving oneself through one’s actions. 

Duh, right? 

Wrong. Even though the definition of self-improvement is self-explanatory there still seems to be a bit of confusion and frustration around the topic. To begin your journey, understand that self-improvement needs to have a FOCUS. What exactly are you trying to improve? Is it your wellness, your finances, your career, your attitude, your relationships? Spend some time alone and begin to figure out the areas of your life that would like to see improvement.

Now let’s begin by taking a look at a general area that is an important place to start for all of us.

General Self Improvement:

1. Get to Know Yourself: People who are adept at knowing themselves tend to be particularly good at self-improvement. Becoming self-aware is a gradual process that takes a lifetime, but you can start right where you are. If you don’t know who you are it is very difficult to know what you truly want. With all the distractions of modern life, we have celebrities and influencers screaming from our smartphones telling us who to be and what to want. While a lot of this information can be helpful, it can also be destructive, especially if you are already confused because of all the different options and voices battling for your attention. So take the time to get curious about yourself;  focus some attention on understanding who you are. This way you won’t assume you know what you want. As you become more familiar with the layers, you can start to identify the areas of your life that could use improvement. Knowing yourself can help create a solid foundation for your self-improvement journey. Don’t be tempted to skip this step.

Physical and Mental Self Improvement:

1. Improve Your Sleep Quality: Sleeping well is a superpower. When you learn how to optimize your sleep, your life will improve across many areas. I’ve written many articles on the importance of quality sleep. I mention it here because your self-improvement journey will require: better decision-making capabilities, more willpower, better stress management, and coping skills, more creativity, clearer thinking, a greater ability to learn new concepts, a more positive attitude, a growth mindset, and far more energy than you are currently operating with. Better sleep will change your life. According to the Sleep Foundation, the average adult needs between 7–9 hours of sleep each night. Getting that quality sleep will help you wake up fresh, energized, and ready to embark on a new day. Aside from keeping you focused and alert, good sleep boosts your immune system, reduces stress, and helps you maintain your weight. In addition, sleep can lower the risk of chronic diseases. Ah, like I said: Better sleep, better life!

2. Move Your Body and Eat Some Good Food: Similar to sleep, moving your body had both physical and mental benefits and goes a long way in helping you reach your goals. Your physical well-being has a direct impact on your mental and emotional state. Therefore, being healthy is important to living a high-quality lifestyle and keeping fear and dread in check. Regular exercise and eating healthy foods fuels your body and mind. Your aches and pains will fall by the wayside and you will start feeling energized. Some side benefits include a brighter outlook and more confidence.
3. Adopt a Solid Stress Management Practice: It is virtually impossible to abolish stress from your life. In many ways it is inevitable. Creating a targeted routine to help manage stress will not add years to your life, but also give you the peace of mind that you need to stick to your personal goals. If you can’t seem to make time for yoga, Pilates, or Tai chi class, you can start to manage stress by developing a simple breathing routine. 

Now that we have laid a solid foundation, let’s talk about what we’ve all been waiting for: How to achieve your self-development goals.

Goal Achievement:

1. Set A Few Good Goals: While goals provide both structure and motivation that can make us feel alive and energized, be careful not to set too many goals at once. You might be thinking: “Nah, I got this!” I see you overachiever. But, many of us have fallen into this trap. You can be overzealous and set a bunch of goals across all areas of life, only to become overwhelmed and scattered and not move forward as fast as you first imagined. It’s largely because our brains aren’t good at multitasking. Productivity and busyness are not quite the same. Reaching your self-development goals will require productivity, not just busyness. When you set a few good intentional goals (goals that are going to move the needle forward in your life) you can get more clarity and focus along the way. You will find yourself nailing your goal and moving on to the next one instead becoming lost in the sauce and feeling scattered and defeated. I suggest starting with the power of three. Pick 1-3 goals that will improve your life.

2. Get A Mentor or Hire a Coach: The fastest way to achieve any goal is by getting the help you need from a seasoned professional. If you are not in a position to hire a coach or mentor, find someone that resonates with you and that has gotten the results you wish to achieve. This person can show up in a book or on Facebook. You may never have the honor of meeting them in person, but they can help you on your self-improvement journey. I would say pick 1-3 people that resonate with you. If you pick too many, you become confused when they start contradicting each other. If you pick just one you run the risk of becoming a “carbon copy” when you are meant to be an original. Be smart and humble by learning from the masters.

3. Be Aware that Challenges will Arise: If changing your life was easy peasy, trust me, everyone would do it. It’s not easy, but it is possible. More than likely the changes you want to make or the goals you want to achieve have already been successfully attained by someone before you. This means, that you can do it too. However, life is not always butterflies and unicorns. Although, at times I wish this was true. But there will be times when the road ahead will throw you a curveball. Understanding this ahead of time can go a long way. If you get knocked off your path, take a break, regain your strength and enthusiasm and get back in the game. After all, life is not an event, it is a journey!

During your journey, be sure to recognize your hard work and accomplishments and the sacrifices you made to get there. Be proud of your progress and how you feel about everything you’ve learned in the process.  As you look back and see what you’ve achieved, you get fresh insights into what to tweak for the next challenge. Then, you can make small changes to keep moving forward and improving day by day!

You got this! I am cheering you on!

Be well + prosper,

Elaine xx

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