Personal growth is a slow process

Self improvement or personal growth is a slow and steady process to be followed. The speed of that depends on you: do you treat self-improvement as an extracurricular activity, a hobby, something to do at the end of the day? Because if you do, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s not optional. It’s what you do, consistently, every minute of the day. Ultimately, self-improvement is a lifestyle. Of course, you have to start by building some new habits. Preferably small ones that are not too time-consuming (or else, let’s be honest, you’ll never keep them!).

Why not start with some of these habits? Self-improvement habit # 1. Boost your focus each morning with one question: What is the one thing I am committed to learning today? Time needed: 5 minutes. This habit keeps things simple, helps your brain focus better, makes you prioritize your goals, and streamlines your work so you don’t feel overwhelmed by a thousand things you “have” to do. Write the question in big bold letters on a sheet of paper and hang it on your bedroom or bathroom wall. Read it out loud and come up with an answer on the spot as you’re brushing your teeth or getting dressed. Then, keep it top of mind as you go about your day, as a reminder of what you’ve committed to do.

Self-improvement habit #2. Do your “deep work” early. Time needed: 2 hours. Deep work can be any kind of analytical thinking that requires the most concentration such as reading, writing, analyzing or problem solving. It requires a different kind of focus from other more tactical things we do on a regular basis, from washing dishes to setting our alarm clock in the evening before going to sleep. Dedicate the first two hours after you wake up to maximize your brain’s peak performance time. If for example you wake up at 7, your peak times are between 9 and 11 a.m.

Self-improvement habit #3. Calm your busy thoughts with meditation. Time needed: 10 minutes. If you find yourself often feeling overwhelmed and stressed, you can quiet your mind from all those busy thoughts with a simple 10-minute meditation practice. Download the Headspace app, which even makes it simple for beginners to do. Practice 10 minutes consistently for 10 days. Experiment to find out which time works better for you, mornings after you wake up or right before going to sleep. After that you can opt to increase the time to 15 and later 20 minutes, or you can keep it to 10 if that amount of time works for you.

Self-improvement habit #4. Feed your brain better. Time needed: 30 minutes - 1 hour. We’ve all indulged in entertainment like TV channel surfing, listening to radio shows with commercial interruptions, browsing magazines or newspapers without a specific idea of why we’re reading them. What if you incorporated a few smart hobbies into your day? Pick better brain food like documentaries on politics, history or nature. Listen to podcasts while you’re preparing dinner or tidying up your apartment. Read books to learn about human nature, boost your critical thinking skills, and give yourself the space and time to dream.

Self-improvement habit #5. Express gratitude for what you have in your life this very minute. Time needed: 5 minutes. Do you find yourself often feeling like life is unfair, you are a victim of unfortunate circumstances, and other people seem to have it easier in life? If you do, no wonder you feel miserable! Want to change that mindset? Practice gratitude. It rewires your brain to focus on positive things, which can directly impact the way you perceive your life. For five minutes each morning, write down or say out loud 3 things you are grateful for today: a roof over your head, food in the fridge, a warm bed to sleep in, a positive relationship with someone close to you, or a recent and pleasant event you shared with friends.

I have asked myself the same thing. It’s no secret that I am something of a personal development junkie. I like to read about self improvement. More than that, I like to put what I read into practice. I recognize that there is a lot of useless information. Also, people like me tend to spend money on self-help materials and then never act on it. I know from experience that it is tempting to tackle a lot of self-improvement at once. This is a recipe for disaster. The more I try to change at a time, the less I change and the more I spend. Instead, I have learned to limit my ambitions. Just as I only strive for one resolution each year, I try to improve only one or two aspects of my life at a time. Otherwise, I spend a lot of money doing nothing.

Many self-improvement expenses are based on wishful thinking. We join a gym and promise to go every day. So we only go once, but we keep paying. This is a bullshit. Know yourself. If you join a gym, you won’t get in shape. Paying for a computer class doesn’t teach you to code. You still have to put in the time and effort. If you see that you are not doing this, throw them away. Take a Cold Shower Every Morning. I know the cold showers suck. Forcing yourself to endure the icy blast of a cold shower first thing in the morning requires discipline and a high threshold for pain. They’re not easy, they’re not fun, and they’re not comfortable.

So do them. Even if it’s just for 30 seconds. Start your day off by forcing yourself to endure acute stress and overcome the desire for a warm and easy shower. It will be hard. But it will build discipline like nothing else. Meditate for 10 Minutes a Day. Meditation might seem like an odd way to build discipline. After all, you just have to sit on your butt and think about nothing right? Well, not exactly…Meditation requires you to discipline your thoughts.To clear your mind, center your body, and reconnect with your breath. Meditation helps you clear out the mental clutter and allows you to reconnect with yourself. And it’s harder than you think.

Sitting and thinking about nothing but your breath requires tremendous discipline and focus.I promise you that if you are willing to give this a go for 30 days, you will increase your discipline and will power in surprising ways. Begin Your Day with 100 Push-ups or a 1-mile Run as 100 push-ups should only take you 5 minutes. A one mile run takes 6–10 minutes. But they are powerful tools for building discipline. By starting your day with some form of physical activity, you will jump start your success throughout the day and force yourself to do something uncomfortable and difficult first thing in the morning. Do this before your morning cold shower and you will have shown more discipline before 8 a.m. than most people do all day.

Make Your Bed yourself. Making your bed takes just 2 minutes. But it’s a small activity that requires discipline because, there’s no real reason to do it. Sure, it allows you to accomplish one task before you get your day started. But it’s not like making your bed will increase your income, make you more productive, or increase your sex appeal. It’s the ultimate exercise in futility. But you should still do it. Making your bed first thing in the morning puts you into a disciplined and productive state immediately when you start your day. It’s also a powerful motivation to stay awake instead of crawling into the warm sheet.

Eliminate Distractions. Distractions kill discipline. If you want to be more disciplined throughout the day, eradicate all distractions. Turn off your phone or turn off all notifications which keep disturbing you all the time. Install a Facebook news feed blocker. Turn off notifications on your computer. Focus only on the task at hand. This will allow you to be more focused and productive and will require tremendous amounts of daily discipline. Avoiding the dopamine inducing social media notifications and text messages isn’t easy, but it’s well worth it. Quit Complaining about anything. Complaining is like cancer in your soul.

You have a lot to be thankful for. But every time you complain, you tell yourself that your life sucks and that things aren’t the way that they should be (even when they’re great). So quit complaining. It’s like a poison. It distracts you from the good and makes you focus on everything that is wrong. It makes other people like you less, makes you miss opportunities, and distracts you from living an amazing life. Buy a rubber band and put it on your right wrist. If you find yourself complaining throughout the day, move it to your left wrist. Your goal is to make it 30 days with that rubber band staying on your right hand. If you can do this, your discipline, happiness, and motivation will skyrocket. Cheers!