Personal growth is a process. You can always continue on your path of this kind of development and self-understanding. During this difficult times, let’s make sure you’re on a good path.
Here are five positive goals to have for yourself, and five things to avoid.
1.Create a plan/map out your goals
- Create something like the picture below. In the bigger boxes place keywords, or something you want to really focus on. Then the branches off the keywords are going to be something similar that relate to that topic. Create a map that looks like the ones below.
2. Learn from your failures and mistakes
- If you fail at something, don’t automatically give up. Try again until you succeed.
- Learning from your past and what you did wrong will only strengthen your relationship and with others.
3. Self-awareness and self-reflection
- In order to grow as a person, you need to understand the things you do that make you unhappy. Identify your bad habits and reflect on them.
- Why do they make you unhappy? How can you change this or fix this? This can include how you treat others, how you act, your routines, and your habits.
4. Change your mindset
- If you find yourself thinking negatively, you may need to change your mentality. There is no room to grow when you have a negative view of something including yourself.
- Change can be very healthy and can open up your mind to many new things. Wake up every morning thinking positive, leave positive notes around your house, etc.
5. Try something new today
- Wake up and get out of your comfort zone. On a day to day basis we tend to do the same things, so try something different and don’t restrict yourself to certain things.
Different things you could do–from home–include
- Try new foods
- Go on a hike
- Read something different
- Write a letter
- Listen to a new artist
And now, here are five things to avoid
- Don’t Say “I can’t” or “I won’t”
- By saying you can’t do something you are already doubting yourself. You are accepting defeat. Your attitude is everything. If you walk into something positive, then you will succeed. If you’re automatically negative, it will not get you anywhere.
- With the right mindset and positive attitude towards your goal, you can accomplish a lot. The only thing that is holding you back is yourself.
2. Don’t fall into a habit of not accepting yourself for who you are
- When you are self accepting, you’re able to embrace all facts about yourself. You can recognize your weaknesses or limitations. This awareness does not interfere with your ability to fully accept yourself.
- Not accepting yourself can affect your life negatively, constantly judging or comparing yourself to others can tear you down as a person.
4. Don’t fear that you’re not “good enough”
- Let’s admit it, being “good enough” is hard. One of the reasons is that there are no true standards for being good enough, only those that we make up in our own mind.
- The next time you fear of not being “good enough,” remind yourself that the term itself is made up. Do not let this meaningless phrase stop you from growing.
5. Don’t expect to “complete” personal grown
- Personal growth plays a really important role in growing up. It is the ongoing process of understanding who you are and who you want to be, and helping yourself be that person.
By Madison Baker, Devon Lambing, Kristen Kuntz, and Alexis Taylor