Self Growth: How To Achieve Your Own Success Story

Change is hard for anyone and everyone. You may be at the point where you feel stunted in your life, held back by bad habits or negative thoughts. It may seem like you should be able to make these changes independently. 

Using what you’ll learn in this article can give you the confidence to push past those comfortable barriers you have. Personal success is just that, personal. Remember that this is your journey; don’t compare it to others. 

If you’re ready for personal growth, keep reading! After all, knowledge is power. 

What Are You Seeking?

What are you seeking from working on your self-growth? What parts of your life need self-development? Has your self-esteem or self-confidence taken a beating? 

Do you want to learn new skills? Would you like to step out of your comfort zone, and maybe find a new sense of community? Do you want to change your mindset? Or improve your quality of life? 

Get those gears in your brain going and ask yourself these things. Some self-awareness is needed to begin this self-growth journey. 

Breaking It Down 

As you evaluate what you’d like to work on, it’s best to be honest with yourself. What are some aspects of your life that need improvement? 

Jot it down, and write it out in front of you. Becoming self-aware is the stepping stone to self-growth. Sometimes things like behaviors or a way of thinking become second nature after you have done them for so long. 

Bringing awareness can help you see how those things affect your current life. For example, you may have difficulty controlling your anger, which comes out onto your partner after a long day at work. Or you’ve been asked to work another shift even though you had dinner plans, so you canceled them. These are good indicators of where you stand with your boundaries and frame of mind. 

Once you can see what things you’d like to change, you can be proactive. Self-analysis is a way to figure out where and how your personal growth journey starts. 

Most people struggle with their mindset; leaning towards a negative mindset is natural. The world is stressful and chaotic. Having a negative mindset is a giant hurdle to self-improvement. This kind of thinking keeps you in the same bad habits and pessimistic thoughts and can prevent a true sense of happiness in your life.

A major goal of self-growth will be to change your mindset. A growth or abundance mindset is a frame of mind that clings to positivity. Learning how to change your thinking is vital to changing your mindset for personal growth.

Little Steps

Small changes add up. We tend to put much pressure on ourselves, especially if we have been pushing for new growth and change. It’s important to start small so this pressure isn’t overwhelming. 

When we expect results ASAP, we can never meet our own standards; these changes take practice, which is detrimental to our personal development when we make it impossible for ourselves. 

You may not meet all of your goals for the day, and then you may feel guilt or shame, leading to a spiral of falling off track. Then you end up not making any new habits you had been working on or procrastinating things that you previously weren’t. 

That’s why taking baby steps, working small, and building habits are crucial rather than going full force in. 

Change one thing at a time, master it, then add another. This process can be stressful and hard work — don’t forget that perfection isn’t expected. You are just working towards the best version of yourself, including giving yourself grace. 

How Do I Have a Success Story?

Having your own success story can be profound. Here are a few ideas to get you started!

Books

There is an overabundance of information available, especially on the Internet. It can be overwhelming when figuring out what resources to seek. While on this self-development journey, books are among the best places to start. 

Some self-help books can help you learn more about changing your habits or mindset. One of the highly-rated books recommended is Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book is incredibly helpful when forming new habits and breaking bad behaviors. 

But books don’t have to be limited to self-help books; adding reading, in general, is beneficial to all areas of your life. You could read an impactful memoir that you relate to that gives you motivation. Picking up a book about finance and accounting is something you can utilize to improve your financial goals. 

Reading is a useful tool that can help with destressing and focusing. Reading teaches you new ways of thinking and can open your eyes to situations you’ve never experienced. All of this can increase your emotional intelligence and help with self-improvement. 

Getting Uncomfortable 

Another practice that can help you grow is getting out of your comfort zone. You could take a new public speaking course to help you learn new beneficial skills while pushing you out of your comfort zone. This is also a great way to connect with new people. 

Finding a new community is another way to improve yourself. New people and communities can help you learn more about others, the world, and yourself. 

Experiencing different personalities and cultures can open you up to better communication and understanding of different perspectives. This is also a great way to meet new people who could become friends and a support system. 

Many of us going through self-development may feel lonely, not fitting in with an old toxic friend group. Or maybe you changed jobs during this process and don’t know your coworkers yet. Having this support system is an asset while undertaking this metamorphosis.

Mind-Shift

Another way to work on personal growth and success and your mindset is through affirmations. Positive affirmations work by rewriting your thoughts. For example, if you tend to think, “I’m never going to get that promotion. I’m not good enough.” 

Try spinning it. “I am good at my job and work hard. I haven’t gotten the promotion yet”. It’s important to highlight your positive attributes and that you haven’t achieved your goals yet but will soon.

Meditation is another way to use affirmations while destressing; couple that with journaling, and you have a great combo. Journaling is useful in many different ways. You can map out your goals in one section and write out what good things are happening and what you are grateful for in another. 

Then you could have a brain dump section. This is helpful to get all those thoughts out: things troubling you or ideas you don’t know what to do with. 

Even with a positive mindset, there will be stressful things in life. You are more likely to keep that mindset by utilizing a good and appropriate outlet. Some journals have journal prompts that can help you reflect if you are new to journaling. 

Self-Care

Self-care is essential for your well-being and mental health. If you are struggling with your mental health, it can be more difficult to stick to these new habits you are trying to accomplish. You can practice self-care through exercises like yoga or doing art like painting, reading, or writing.

Self-care is also doing things that you want and for you. This can be declining extra work or a dinner date you don’t have the energy for. By putting yourself first and practicing self-care through various methods, you are giving yourself the best chance at achieving your self-development goals. 

End Goal

Achieving self-actualization is the end goal. Abraham Maslow popularized the idea of self-actualization in modern psychology, where you realize all of the amazing parts of you. 

Generally, those who have reached self-actualization accept themselves and others, lack judgment, have strong feelings of purpose, have meaningful relationships, and do things that bring them joy. The hope is that you will be able to achieve this by improving yourself. 

Your Success Story

The process of self-improvement can feel intimidating. Hopefully, with all these new skills and information, you will feel ready to start setting goals to reach your full potential. 

There is no timeframe, so start your journey whenever you’re ready! Soon you will be in a better place and can say that your success is all thanks to you and the love you had for yourself to push for a more fulfilled life.

Sources:

Self-Development | South African College of Applied Psychology

Self-development | National Library of Medicine

Personal Growth | Mind Valley

Self-Actualization | GoodTherapy