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Embarking on a self-improvement journey is probably the best thing you will ever do, but itโs by no means a short road.
It takes time to see the fruition of your hard work. To complicate matters, often we donโt know where to start. We tend to get stuck at roadblock after roadblock, and what was once thought to be a linear journey becomes a labyrinth where all paths appear to lead in circles.
If youโre like most of us, you feel like you could be a lot further with your personal growth than currently are, but youโre not. Perhaps youโre doing everything in your power to improve, and perhaps youโre looking at personal development the wrong way.
Here weโre going to look at how you can speed up your self-improvement learning curve, and perceive this journey in a way that instills motivation, progress, and hope.
What Is the Self-Improvement Journey?
The self-improvement journey is the internal quest for self-understanding and actualization. When your hunger for a better life exceeds your desire to stay in the familiar, you set yourself on a path of inner and outer transformation.
We tend to live in confined boxes of patterns, programs, and systems. When we begin exploring our consciousness, we begin to understand the depth of our ignorance. Once you begin walking this path of self-exploration, there is no going back because self-improvement unlocks a drive within you that stays with you for the rest of your life.
Self-improvement doesnโt pertain to any certain area of your life. You might begin your journey from a specific path, but sooner or later, it will become indistinguishable from your life experience.
I set foot on my self-improvement journey when I was in my late teens.
My desperation to find a partner led me to it. When I started taking action about this problem, my first step was to look at what I was doing wrong. Then, after some research, I learned that dating skills could be learned.
Many things could be learned. I could become more charismatic, more interesting, and funnier. I could become an entirely different person by putting in some hard work.
But then I wondered, whatโs the point when I canโt be happy? So I began exploring happiness, and boy, did that lead me down a rabbit hole.
The moral of the story is that when we decide to explore our realities and make the most of our lives, we enter an entirely new dimension of consciousness โ one of infinite potential. This sets us on a path of self-improvement, to become the best people we can be, and live the happiest lives we can live.
The further you walk this path, the more challenging (but rewarding) it will become. You will confront your darkest demons and experience every emotion imaginable (and many that arenโt). You will step into the unknown, and nobody will be able to guide you anymore.
The journey will go up and down, you will get confused, you will be challenged, and you will hate life at times. But your reality will continuously transform as long as you stay on the path, despite how turbulent it becomes.
There is nothing more rewarding than dedicating your life to exploring your consciousness and becoming the best person you can be. If you truly commit, I can guarantee you that your reality will become a very different place.
Realize That Self-Improvement Is a Lifelong Journey
Self-improvement doesnโt pertain to any specific area of your life. Any aspect of your life that can be improved fits within the umbrella of personal growth. Whether it comes to your relationships, health, career, healing, or spiritual growth, you need knowledge and wisdom to excel.
Instead of looking at every area of your personal development as being isolated, all knowledge, skills, and abilities overlap.ย View yourself as an ecosystemย of information, knowledge, wisdom, and ideas rather than a person with individual skill sets and knowledge.
This means that the knowledge you gain for your career growth will also vicariously help you within your relationships. What you work on within the realm of spiritual growth will spill into other areas of your life, such as your mental health.
Itโs important to view the act of personal development not as isolated areas to work on, but as an entire ecosystem that youโre trying to revitalize. When you take this approach, the process of learning makes more sense, as you know that what you learn in one area will affect everything to some extent.
Treat Self-Improvement as a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Genuinely experiencing big changes in yourself can take a long time. If you try to cram everything in all at once, youโre going to burn out. Itโs better to tackle your personal growth journey by taking bite-sized chunks of knowledge that you consistently learn throughout your life, instead of stepping on the gas and quickly running out of it.
Realize that knowledge is in everything. If you make a consistent effort to learn and apply yourself, you will constantly be stepping in the right direction.
Treat your learning curve as a marathon where you want to do little, often. If you aim to learn a few new things every day, whether itโs reading an article on Google, listening to a piece of information, or talking about a current topic with someone, youโre on a much more stable path to facilitate more growth and learning.
Advice for Self-Improvement
We all have an amazing ability to learn, however, staying on track can be an obstacle.
If we just moved the needle a little every day, we would be very competent, knowledgeable, and wise people by now. But most of us donโt have that initial motivation to begin with, so letโs look at what you can do about that.
As long as self-improvement is one of your highest priorities in life, youโre going to be constantlyย looking for opportunities to grow.
If you donโt care about your self-improvement, or perhaps donโt believe itโs worth the investment of your time and energy, then naturally youโre not going to try very hard.
The quality of your life is directly associated with the effort you put into your growth. Thatโs because your growth offers the keys to everything you want, as you need to learn how to do things to be successful at them.
As long as you follow through with the growth journey, youโre on a good path. It doesnโt matter where you are right now. Whether your focus is on healing, being happier, or constructing healthier relationships, if your growth is a priority, youโll always circle back to it.
Keep the End Goal in Mind
Whenever Iโm working on this website, I often lose motivation or get discouraged when I see that the results donโt follow the effort Iโm putting in. But then Iโll think about where Iโm trying to go, how it feels to get there, and how practical it is if I just stick to the plan.
When I remind myself of the outcome, I suddenly get a burst of motivation because immersing myself in what Iโm working towards makes the effort I put in worth it. This is just one aspect of myself, being my avocation, but apply this mindset to personal growth in general.
When you feel unmotivated, picture the life you could have just by doing a little bit every day, then push yourself to follow through. Itโs okay to have breaks, but donโt turn those breaks into breaking the habit.
Of course, you wonโt know what that exactly looks like, as your self-improvement journey will take you on a ride of its own, but paint a picture of what you want your life to look like, and keep it in the back of your head.
When youโre making decisions or life choices, or perhaps sitting on your phone scrolling on TikTok, think about that picture, the portrait of your highest self you have been refining.
Keep Moving the Needle
Imagine that your mind is a library filled with books. These books contain every piece of knowledge you have, from learning to walk to every philosophy or spiritual doctrine you live by. Your goal should be to fill this library with as many books as you can throughout your life.
Instead of just letting things come to you when you need them, you should seek them out! Donโt just passively learn, but make sure youโre actively learning too. The truth is, most people donโt learn because they donโt try to learn. They donโt care to learn, and you donโt want to fall into this trap.
Active learning requires some curiosity because if you have no desire to find the answers to questions, youโre not going to seek them out. When you are curious, on the other hand, you might go to great lengths to learn something. The result? You end up learning about it!
Be Thankful for Your Setbacks
Setbacks are never fun because they make youย feel as though youโre regressing. You feel like youโve gotten far, then something happens and youโre back to square one.
But youโre not.
Self-improvement is a spiral. You might go back to a similar position to where you once were, but you have more wisdom than you had last time. You may have a different perspective on the situation too. So, even though it feels like youโre stuck, youโre always better off having been through that situation.
So donโt worry about the setbacks. Use them as opportunities to learn as much as you can from the experience and challenge yourself to take a different course of action next time.
Constantly Expose Yourself to New Things
Thereโs no wiser teacher than first-hand experience. The only way to get first-hand experience is to expose yourself to new situations in life, and residually, youโre going to gain the associated knowledge, skills, and competence. Thatโs why your desire to expose yourself to new situations is necessary to gain as much knowledge as you possibly can.
Make a habit of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and trying something new. Keep an eye out for new opportunities, and make sure you jump on them when they show up!
Open Your Mind to More Knowledge
Open-mindednessย accelerates the learning process because youโre allowing more information to enter your mind. Itโs easy to shut out conflicting information, but to be as knowledgeable as possible, never shoot down new information and ideas without first trying to understand them.
Your goal should be to try and understand everything presented to you and to see all sides of the story without forming a biased opinion. By taking everything into account, this willingness to learn is going to make a significant difference to your learning curve.
Continuously Learn From Other People
Treat every person who enters your life as a mentor in some sense. Every person has something to teach, even if those lessons are painful or unwanted.
People are gateways to information, and a conversation can provide valuable perspectives, insights, and ideas. Every person who walks this world knows something that you donโt, as everyone has lived a unique life experience.
Leverage your social skills to connect with a diverse range of people and talk to them about a diverse range of subjects. Have as many conversations as you can, especially with people who seem very different from you, and listen to what they say.
Utilize the Internet
Knowledge is power, and fortunately, thereโs an endless supply of it on the internet. As everyone is connected to technology these days, knowledge has never been easier to attain. You barely need to lift a finger.
There are many sites for essentially everything you want. Videos, documentaries, courses, infographics, you name it. Start leveraging the internet to learn about different things instead of mindlessly scrolling and getting nowhere in your life.
Getting Started On Your Self-Improvement Journey
Life can bring you to wonderful new places as long as you follow this calling to become a better, happier, more capable person.
By being here and reading this much, you’ve already made a great start, so now comes the journey of discovering it for yourself. There are no set rules, and everyone will take different paths into their self-exploration.
Just keep learning, growing, and stepping forward one foot at a time. Most importantly, enjoy the ride because the self-improvement journey can bring you to some incredible places. With some patience and persistence, your life will continue evolving, as will you.