Let’s Commit to Get Better in September!

September is International Self Improvement Month, so it’s time to start on the road to a better you. Throughout the month we’ll be sharing tips on how to make real progress on your personal development goals, but we’re getting you started with some general tips for easy and successful self-improvement.

Awareness

What’s holding you back? What do you want to improve? You won’t make progress without a plan, so make a list of areas that you would like to improve, and then rank them in order of importance and desire to change. This will give you a list of items you work on in September and beyond.

Reflection

Generally people know what they want to change, but they may struggle with actually changing. It’s important to understand what has held you back in the past so you can develop a plan to ensure success this time. For example, if you feel that you chronically overanalyze things, consider why you are doing this. Is there a root issue that may be worth exploring? Are you overanalyzing because you are afraid of taking action? By getting past service goals to root issues, you’ll begin to understand what you really need to change to improve.

Goal-Setting

Once you have a better understanding of what you want to improve, it’s time to plot out how you are going to go about working on it. Instead of looking at your path to self-improvement as one long road, split it up into specific goals that will help you measure your progress. Saying that you are going to learn a new language might seem daunting, but setting goals along the way to say certain phrases will allow you to make it more manageable. This planning will help you better structure your journey and give you little benchmarks to celebrate along the way.

Action

You can identify, reflect, and plan all you want, but unless you put it all into action you aren’t going to reach your goals. One of the biggest keys to self-improvement is to be realistic about what type of action you are looking to take and when you are going to take it. Don’t try and fit three months’ worth of work into a one month, as burnout is one of the main reasons why people don’t reach their goals. Have fun with your improvement and relish in what you are learning along the way!