Jump to content

42 Practical Ways to Improve Yourself

From Alpha Up Wiki

A checklist of 42 concrete ways to grow, grouped by theme. You don't need all of them: pick a few and commit.

Learn

  1. Read a book a day, or at least read daily. Books are concentrated wisdom. (The author's picks: Think and Grow Rich, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Who Moved My Cheese?, Outliers.)
  2. Learn a new language. It's a new skill and a window into a new culture.
  3. Pick up a new hobby: a sport (fencing, climbing, skating) or a craft (pottery, cooking, dancing).
  4. Take a course, even a one-day workshop.
  5. Level up your skills, like a character in a role-playing game. What skill could you push to the next level?
  6. Learn chess or another strategy game to sharpen your thinking.
  7. Read one personal-development article a day.
  8. Join Toastmasters or otherwise learn public speaking, the fear many people rank above death.

Habits and routine

  1. Wake up early (5–6 a.m.) to start the day with momentum.
  2. Exercise weekly, for example running three times a week for 30+ minutes.
  3. Use a daily to-do list to stay focused.
  4. Quit a bad habit: oversleeping, lateness, smoking, nail-biting.
  5. Build a new habit: reading, exercise, early rising, meditation.
  6. Meditate to calm your mind and clear the clutter.
  7. Cut back on chat apps and other distractions that eat your time.
  8. Stop watching TV. The author freed up hours for friends, work and exercise.
  9. Run a 30-day challenge: long enough to plan, act, review and succeed.
  10. Take breaks. You can't drive on an empty tank.

Know yourself

  1. Write a "life handbook": your purpose, values and goals, a manual for your life.
  2. Write a letter to your future self, seal it, and open it in a year.
  3. Find your blind spots. Notice what irritates or unsettles you during the day; those triggers point to things you can't yet see about yourself.
  4. Ask for feedback from friends, family, colleagues, even acquaintances.
  5. Acknowledge your flaws and decide how to address them.
  6. Keep a journal to reflect and gain self-awareness.
  7. Let go of the past: grudges, regrets, old heartbreak.

Stretch yourself

  1. Create an inspiring space. Your surroundings set your mood.
  2. Face your fears. Treat them as a compass pointing to where you can grow.
  3. Leave your comfort zone. Shake up your routine.
  4. Challenge a friend to a goal (fitness, savings) and race to it.
  5. Set big, audacious goals that stretch you beyond your normal limits.
  6. Take action now on something you've been putting off.
  7. Start a business around an interest, and learn as you go.
  8. Start a personal-development blog. Teaching others keeps you accountable.

People

  1. Learn from people who inspire you. What qualities do they have that you want?
  2. Avoid negative people. Jim Rohn's line: you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
  3. Learn to handle difficult people you can't avoid.
  4. Learn from your friends: pick one quality in a friend and adopt it.
  5. Get a mentor or coach.
  6. Befriend people at the top of their field.
  7. Be kind to the people around you, and notice how it makes you feel.
  8. Reach out to people who dislike you; seek resolution and let it go.

The most important one

Commit to your own growth. Nobody else (parents, friends, writers) can do it for you. Pick a few items above and start today.

See also

Summary of an article by Celestine Chua for LifeHack.org.

Retrieved from "https://impalapua.com/wiki/index.php?title=42_Practical_Ways_to_Improve_Yourself&oldid=377"