The 5 Areas of Personal Growth (And How to Improve Them)

One thing we humans love is control—to be in control. Or, at least, we love the idea of being in control. We tend to link control with safety.

The important thing is what we focus on. What is it we want to be in control of? What are we in control of?

Answer is, ourselves. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, external factors are important in our lives, but what’s most important is how we respond to them, how we perceive them, and how much of our power we give to them. All this important work is done inside.

If you want to be in control, focus on your thoughts, your beliefs, and your values.

When we allow something that “happens” to disturb our peace, we give away our power. If you let it trigger you negatively, your emotions are like a ship at sea with no engine power.

Recognize your emotion—frustration, disappointment, blame, self-pity, or whatever—and focus on it for ten seconds.

Acknowledge it, respect it, and let it go.

Release it into the ether, and keep your emotional channels clean. 

Acceptance is the friend of peace. So, if you aspire to improve areas of your personal growth, don’t say “no” to things, say “yes,” accept, and get on with your life.

How well do you know yourself?

The quote “what other people think of me is none of my business” has been attributed to countless famous people.

It can be tempting to compromise who we are for the sake of being accepted by others. 

If you want to know yourself, you need to dig deep and find your authentic self—the real “you.”

Listing your core values is a useful way to start.

Consciously knowing your values will ground you, empower you, and enhance your self-confidence.

By knowing yourself, you can establish where you are, where you want to be, and how to get there.

Part of the personal growth process of acceptance is to accept what you don’t know.

Humans tend to seek solace in knowledge. Indeed, a significant amount of “knowledge” and “certainty” is, in reality, just opinions.

To be able to accept what we do not know is a significant step; it allows you to let go and trust, which can remove stress and anxiety.

Simply surrendering yourself to whatever is happening and may happen in the future is a liberating experience and when you stop investing energy in futile efforts to “control”, you’ll be amazed at how your physical energy levels will increase.

Awareness, inner control, acceptance, and true knowledge will enhance your journey to improving different areas of your personal growth.

Only by knowing yourself can you grow yourself.