You can accelerate your personal growth or push your self to a new personal level with some simple methods and some dedication to yourself. After several decades studying personal achievement in a large variety of situations, these easy self improvement methods are my way of giving back and helping you achieve greater success in your own life.
Unclutter your mind
Being able to release the clutter in your mind is perhaps one of the most important elements of getting the clarity of thought you need to accelerate your own personal growth. One of the most successful methods of clearing out the clutter is to learn to meditate. Meditation will allow you to reduce stress and achieve the clarity of mind to improve concentration and make positive strides in your personal growth. Meditation provides a calming and centering effect that also helps regulate digestion and slow your heart rate.
Once you begin the practice of meditation, you will find your sleep is deeper and more restful and you body recovers faster from stress and injury. Simply put, meditation can also make other methods of personal growth more effective.
Meditation need not involve yoga postures or excessive ritual. In fact, one of the most cleansing meditation techniques I enjoy is a "waking meditation" while walking through a serene forest or other nature setting. It provides an incredible connection with nature, while still providing all of the calming benefits of conventional meditation. It is not particularly difficult to do once you know the basics of meditation.
Develop a habit of writing
Most of the great achievers of history were habitual writers. One method of developing a clarity of purpose and developing your goals and plans is by keeping daily journal. Journaling helps you clarify your thoughts and develop your self-awareness. It can provide an outlet for your inner voice and help you with efforts to improve your self-esteem. A journal can also provides a historical perspective if you ever decide to publish your memoirs. Journaling is best practiced with a pen and bound notebook, as the permanence helps the process. In my opinion, using a loose leaf notebook and pencil or a computer are not nearly as effective.
In association with journaling, you should make a habit of writing down clear and specific goals and plans of action for achieving those goals. Writing down your goals clarifies them and begins building an expectation in your mind. Also, a written plan gives you a specific set of actions to take each day towards the realization of your long-term goal. It is not important if you need to modify the plan as you go forth, more important is that you are making progress towards your goal. Sometimes knowing what hasn't worked is often as valuable as knowing what to do.
Become A Winner
High achieving people aren't typically more intelligent than you or me, but they are winners. They are winners because they expect to win. A common saying is "If you think you can't do something, then you are certainly right." The opposite is usually true, "If you think you can do something you probably can."
Positive affirmations are certainly a component of becoming a winner. They can change your personality, character, actions and your life through a change in your inner dialog. For the best results, write one positive affirmation for each of the key areas of your life (health, relationships, finances and career) and make a commitment to reading them out loud twice daily. When you start from a foundation of boldly expecting to win, the rest is just a matter of perseverance.
Every area of your life affects every other area in some manner. Balance between the areas of your life will help all of your life. If your health is poor, you may not have the energy to achieve your personal goals. If you have poor relationships, it may negatively affect your financial situation or health. No matter what you're trying to achieve, being well-rounded is the key to living a balanced life and for building the physical stamina, emotional fortitude, financial security and the social support system you need if you wish to achieve great things. This follows in education as well. A reasonable knowledge of a variety of topics is typically a more well rounded approach and will serve you better than becoming expert in one to the exclusion of all else. Looking back in history, you'll find that most winners were well rounded individuals.
Teaching to Learn
Perhaps the quickest way to learn a subject is to teach it. In the medical field there is a phrase of how doctors learn new techniques: "Watch one, Do one, Teach one." Teaching a subject requires you to examine it in a different light. To be an effective teacher, you need to be able to articulate it to others to pass on the key essences. This may be the most important of any of self improvement methods discussed here because it typically requires all of the others to be truly successful as a teacher. The more you teach other people a topic, the clearer you will understand it. This is particularly true with personal growth topics, as they affect your own life. Even if you don't teach to a live class, you can write about the principles of personal development and how they are helping you.
If you don't know how to start teaching, try this exercise: Write a short paragraph about each of these self improvement methods, as if teaching it to someone else. After this exercise, you will find your understanding of each of them will deepen.
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