As some of you guys know, we are all about personal growth and lifestyle design; how to become a master of life and create the life that you imagine for yourself. That is why today’s blog post is focused on taking time for yourself so that you can level up, grow and develop the best version of yourself.
Making time for your personal improvement is crucial - it’s a process of both understanding yourself and pushing yourself to reach your highest potential. It means always asking who you are becoming and how you plan to get there.
You may already know this, but I worked with a life coach a few years ago. I lost track of my life and through this journey, I learned so much. Even though it might not seem necessary or urgent to work on yourself right now - believe me, it is. I know that most of you probably have a very busy schedule with studying, working, or taking care of your family. Most of us just live our lives according to some form of daily habits and it’s hard to make time for ourselves.
Personal development is an ongoing process of self-improvement, either in your career, your education, your personal life, or in all of these areas. It is about setting goals for yourself and putting plans in place to reach those goals. It is a lifelong process but it doesn’t have to take more than a few minutes each day to get started.
It is all about having a routine!
For me, personal growth is both inner and outer work. A great way to start inner work, or as I like to call it mindset work, is through meditation, journaling, and s. Get to know yourself, your inner voice, and strengthen your intuition.
I believe that having a morning routine is incredibly important, as it sets the tone for the rest of your day. If you start your day right, everything else will feel better and easier. That’s why Jake and I started meditating for 10 minutes every morning and it has helped us in so many ways. We feel less anxious, less stressed, and just more prepared for the day. It has become an important part of our day and I can only recommend that you spend some time with your thoughts and emotions.
Personally, I really enjoy having this “me-time” early in the morning. There are little to no distractions, no one messaging or calling you and it’s just a great feeling to start your day in a productive way and still have so much time to do other things. But if you’re not a morning person you can also spend some time with yourself in the evening.
Spend time with your thoughts and emotions
Now, if you are more of a writer, you should definitely start a journal. Journaling is a great way to gain more self-awareness.
I have to admit, I have never been big on journaling. I couldn’t get myself to write down everything or even describe my thoughts and feelings. But once I started, I saw how much it actually helps me. I am using the Five Minute Journal that my life coach recommended to me, and it truly helps me to set my intentions for the day and raise my happiness-level by appreciating all that I have in my life.
As you write, make sure to clarify your thought process.
- What thoughts are you currently having?
- What are you grateful for?
- Is there something you’d like to change?
- What do your dreams look like?
Your thoughts will always drive your results, so you need to be thinking thoughts that support your dreams.
If you want to combine meditation and journaling into one app, then I really recommend you check out Stoic. It is a journaling app with a focus on understanding your feelings plus has some cool extra features like meditation sounds, breathing exercises, confronting your fears or setting goals.
One last thing that has helped me a lot to deal with my stress are night walks. Just before going to bed Jake and I try to go on a walk outside - no phones, no distractions. Only the two of us talking about our feelings, plans and goals. It helps me straighten out my thoughts before bed and calms me down before going to sleep.
Now, as I mentioned in the beginning there are two parts to your personal growth. First, we went over the inner work, so let’s move on to the second part of your personal improvement - the outer work. It’s about going out and learning new things, reading books, having experiences and gaining knowledge.
By reading for 10-20 minutes a day, you can really make a difference and improve your life. Some of my favorite books (and podcasts if you prefer to just listen) for self development are:
- Traction by Gino Wickman - learn the secrets of strengthening the six key components of your business
- Principles by Ray Dalio - discover unconventional principles to create unique results in both life and business
- The 7 Habits of highly effective people by Stephen R Covey - improve your businesses and career path and learn to live with integrity, service, dignity, and success in all areas of life
- Linchpin by Seth Godin - make remarkable products, spread powerful ideas and learn how to make a significant impact within your business
- Tim Ferriss - Business/interview podcast (Entrepreneurship & self development)
- Lewis Howes - Inspiring interviews with the most successful people (Inspiration, business & entrepreneurship)
- Peter Attia - A deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health (health, wellness & longevity)
- The Ikonns - Podcast about creating and living your dream life (relationships, communication & entrepreneurship)
Lastly, my favorite way to learn new things is by meeting new people and hearing about their point of view and experiences. I know I told you at the beginning that it’s important to spend time with yourself. However, meeting new people and listening to their stories is a great way to broaden your mind and to learn new things; an ultimate goal of personal growth.
The goal is to build a consistent habit
At the end of the day, you need to find what works best for you. I suggest you find something for your inner core and something else for your outer core. Implement one activity at a time, but mix it up to see what you enjoy the most. Try to cultivate new habits, these can be super simple but when done consistently, I guarantee you will see positive change in your life.
To keep track of your daily habits and make sure that you plan some time for yourself every day! It will help you to achieve your best lives! It has everything you need to manage all aspects of both your personal life and your work life!
Don’t rush things
Starting your journey of self-improvement is never simple and getting started is often the most difficult part. But the most important thing is to just take that first step. Make the time for your personal growth, even if it’s only 15 minutes a day.
The last advice I want to give you is to take your time. You may not feel the benefits right away, but they will eventually appear. If you stay consistent and on track, you will have amazing results.
I’d love to hear about your favorite activities for personal improvement so let me know in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!!
Lots of love,
