Making small improvements on a regular basis may actually be better and more effective than trying to make a lot of big changes at once. Small changes will eventually turn into habits, while trying to make a large change could lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, and ultimately failure.
1. Keep a reading habit.
Reading will not only help you increase your knowledge base, but also expose you to new words constantly, which will keep your brain growing. Just like going for a run gives your heart and muscles some exercise, reading helps improve your memory function by giving your brain a proper workout. A good reading habit will help you reduce your daily stress, improve your memory, and even make you more creative. As it helps to ward off Alzheimer’s and dementia, reading will also keep your mind healthy.Whether you can read during breaks at work, on your commute, or even to your child at night, add in as much reading to your day as possible.
2. Have a growth mindset.
People who have a fixed mindset believe that you are born with your talents, and no matter how much you practice or try, you can only reach a certain level of achievement.
However, with a growth mindset, you believe that you can always continue to improve yourself. Never stop learning and educating yourself. Having a growth mindset will let you develop your abilities and intelligence with effort, learning, and persistence.
3. Meditate regularly.
People have been meditating for thousands of years to combat stress and anxiety. Meditation, and especially mindfulness meditation, allows you to have peace and clarity in the present moment of awareness.
There are many different ways to meditate, but all of the techniques revolve around cultivating awareness and expanding your consciousness. The purpose of meditation depends on who is meditating, but anyone who meditates on a regular basis will benefit from it in physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual ways. It relieves stress and anxiety, decreases blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, helps the body use oxygen more efficiently, and improves sleep.
4. Align your priorities with your goals and values.
Your priorities are the things that are the most important and meaningful in your life at the present moment. If you want to improve yourself, you must make it something that you are not willing to compromise.
Examine your values and goals, and make sure you are doing what you can today to ultimately reach those goals. You won’t get anywhere without setting a goal and making sure that you have a plan in place.
5. Visualize your success.
When you think about a big goal you have or an accomplishment that you want to pursue, it is normal to consider the obstacles that you will have to face.
The problem is, that we tend to let these obstacles overtake our dreams, and it ends up preventing us from making any progress. But instead of creating barriers, envision victory.
Literally, visualize what it would feel like to achieve your goals. What would it look like, who would be around, and what implications would it have for your future? If you can see yourself obtaining your goal, it will be easier to work toward that goal.
6. Measure your improvement.
Measuring your progress is a vital part of achieving any goal. It can help you stay on track and keep you motivated to move forward, even when you touch on a rough spot. Research has found that when a goal is coming from one’s own motivations rather than being put forth by another person, people are more likely to keep the necessary drive to achieve their goals.
The reason for doing process analysis and consistently looking at your improvement is to improve your performance in meaningful ways. Without keeping track of your progress, you may not even know if you are improving, and you won’t be able to tell which things are meaningful.
Are you delivering value to other people, both in your personal and professional life? The plethora of measures of internal achievement doesn’t say too much about the value that you are delivering. It is the process performance where you want to see constant improvements.
7. Make good use of your time.
It is important to use your time wisely. If you find yourself with the luxury of having some free time, don’t waste it in front of the television. Instead, manage your time effectively so you can make proper headway toward your goals.
It is imperative to develop effective strategies to balance any conflicting demands on your time. Take some time each morning to determine your most important tasks for the day, and create a plan to ensure they get accomplished.
8. Learn new skills.
When you stop to consider the things that you do each day, you probably don’t think about taking time to learn new skills. Living hectic lifestyles makes it seem daunting to learn new things, but you may be missing out personally and professionally.
Continuing to learn throughout our lives is essential for staying current in an ever-changing world. If you stop learning new skills, you may actually begin to move backward while the rest of the world is quickly moving forward. Those who consistently succeed are those who are best at learning new skills.
House of Brat 