9 Powerful & Practical Self-Improvement Ideas

Simple Tips For Self- Improvement & Motivation

Ready to talk all about some self-improvement ideas?

Of course. That is why you’re here, right?

Talking about self-improvement in any capacity is one of my favorite topics.

Especially the older (and maybe wiser) I get.

As time goes on, I recognize the need and the importance of building a life I enjoy. The value of actually liking myself.

I don’t want to just be drifting along. I want to be a very active participant in my life.

Assuming is something I’m not a huge fan of. But I think assuming you want those things for yourself as well is a pretty safe assumption to make.

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Here Are 9 Must-Read Self-Improvement Ideas

1) Examine Your Habits

The habits we have in our lives are powerful.

Some could be holding us back. Some could be serving us well. And then there are the ones that land somewhere in between those two points.

Take a deep dive into the world of habits. Pick apart the habits that make up your life.

None of us will ever have perfect habits that we execute perfectly every single day. That is a completely unrealistic expectation. (more on unrealistic expectations later)

But it is realistic to work to make small changes or minor tweaks if we realize that certain habits are not adding to our lives.

2) Acknowledge and Accept The Past

Spoiler alert: We have all made mistakes. We all have things in our lives that maybe didn’t go exactly according to plan. Or things we are not particularly proud of.

Some parts of our past can be similar to a tick. It will dig right in there and get comfortable. While it may be comfortable, we are not.

This is not at all to say that anyone’s entire past is a bad thing. No way. My past (and I’m sure yours as well) holds some amazing memories and taught me some helpful lessons.

This is about not allowing the past to dictate your present life. Not letting that little voice or that little twinge in your stomach stop you from living the life you want to live now. Stop you from trying something new. Putting yourself out there.

The past becomes harmful when it starts to weigh us down. When it continuously haunts us.

Making peace with our past is crucial for us to move forward and be present in our lives.

3) Learn

Be curious about the world around you. About people around you. About everything around you.

Learning is fun. It’s good for us.

I love the feeling of knowing that there will always be something to learn. ALWAYS. For the rest of my life, there will be amazing and interesting and fascinating, and maybe even frightening things to learn.

How cool is that?

And this is not anything that has a deadline you need to meet. No rigid rules for learning X, Y, or Z by next month. This is learning for the joy of learning or to expand our minds or gain not only new information but new perspectives which will without a doubt add to our lives.

4) Read

Books are powerful. They aren’t magically going to change your life in a million positive ways.

But they are tools.

They provide you with information. And you take that information and do with it what you will.

Not a hardcore bookworm? No worries.

There is no shortage of podcasts out there. Oh, and audiobooks of course. I forgot about them because I am a book-in-the-hands kind of gal. But I know people who LOVE audiobooks.

Here are some of my favorite self-improvement books.

In the past month, I have read this one, this one, and this one. All of these are so worth the read.

5) Clear The Clutter

Now, I am all about developing a less is more mindset. And I do encourage you to see if there are ways you can declutter your physical living space.

But this is about something else.

Make sure there is space in your life for you. That might sound strange but stay with me.

If you were to make a list of the most important things in your life, where would you put yourself?

Here’s a better question. Would you even put yourself on that list?

We have to leave room in our lives for joy. Space for us to just be. To fill our own cups in whatever way that looks like for us.

Now, I know firsthand that some seasons of life make this idea a bit more daunting. Just keep going. Hard seasons don’t last forever. (I’m looking at you sleepless newborn phase)

5) Unrealistic Expectations

Think about your life and all the things that fill your plate. It’s a lot.

Are you setting yourself up for failure by expecting completely unrealistic things from yourself?

This is one of those things that I continuously struggle with. Where I am at in my life now, I am very aware of the issue.

While awareness is great, it obviously doesn’t completely eliminate the struggle.

So many of us struggle with expecting perfection from ourselves. Expecting ourselves to be able to do it all. And do it all well on top of it.

You are not a machine. You are not a robot. Your worth is not at all determined by how much you get done. That is not the metric to measure your life by.

A simple practice here is to think about what you would say to a friend if they were being hard on themselves. You most likely wouldn’t tell them that they just need to do better or do more.

One of the best things we can practice doing is showing ourselves the same kindness and grace we show others.

6) Take Care of Yourself

Are you taking care of yourself? Really think about that question.

This is all about the basics.

Do you prioritize sleep? Are you drinking water? (staying hydrated is no joke)

Do you make sure to feed your body? (forgetting to eat or just skipping meals due to being busy is a no-no)

How about moving your body? Are you getting out into nature?

This stuff is the bare bones of giving ourselves a good base to start from.

If we treat ourselves poorly, creating the life we want is going to be an uphill battle right from the start.

7) Hold Yourself Accountable

Choose a time each week to check in with yourself.

It’s great to have these plans that get you excited and ready to go. But that excitement is going to wear off.

Real life is going to pop back up.

If we want lasting change, we have to hold ourselves accountable. Also, we are human so a “one-and-done” approach is not the way we work.

Grab a journal and pick a time every single week to write in it. To go over how things are going.

There is just something about getting words or thoughts out on paper.

8) Put Your Phone Away

Go on. Put that thing away.

Well, not this exact second if you are using your phone to read these words.

But anytime after you finish reading is fine.

Seriously, though, how often are you looking at your phone? How often do you notice others on their phones?

People (myself included) spend so much time looking down.

Now, I know many of us use our phones for truly important things.

This is more about mindless scrolling. The rabbit hole dives into that one girl from 9th grade’s cousin’s ex-boyfriend that moved to California. (you know you’ve done some weird searches before)

This is about playing one of those addictive games for just one more minute when there are people in front of you.

This is about comparing every aspect of your life to something random you came across on social media.

While technology seems to get cooler and cooler by the day, it’s not cooler than your actual life. And while it sometimes feels like it, your life is not happening on that phone.

Here is your reminder to look up more.

9) Look at The People Around You

Who you spend time with will inevitably have an impact on you and your life.

Your time is valuable. You are valuable.

This means you are allowed to be picky about what or who gets to take up space in your life. Or at least how much space things or people take up in your life.

Never forget that you can say no. You get to set boundaries in your life. And those boundaries don’t require explanations.

This book on boundaries is a must-read. It breaks down anything you could think of when it comes to you, your life, and setting boundaries.

Self-improvement is a lifelong adventure. It’s a journey that does not have an end destination. Yes, you might meet certain milestones or goals at different points in your life.

But there is no finish line you are trying to get to. No test you are trying to ace.

Slow down. Take a breath. You’re right on track.

Which one of these self-improvement ideas speaks to you?

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