Looking to step up your personal growth and become the best version of yourself? You’ve come to the right place.
Not only will I show you practical steps on how to grow as a person, but I’ll also share some important tips for creating a sense of accomplishment along your success journey. This way, you won’t beat yourself up for not moving as fast as you may want and inadvertently sabotage your progress.
Let’s get into it.
How to Grow as a Person and Smash Your Goals
1. Get Clear on Who You Want to Be
First, define what success means to you and determine the type of person you need to become to attract your desired success level.
Everyone wants success, but not many people are willing to put in the required effort and discipline to become successful.
You must get absolutely clear about what you’re looking to achieve if you want personal development growth. This step is what separates doers from mere wishers.
If you’re serious about moving from stagnancy to a dynamic individual, here’s your first assignment:
- Grab a pen and a personal growth journal (not a piece of paper that can be easily misplaced)
- Write down your definition of success in various areas of your life
- Describe the qualities you must possess to achieve that level of success
- Review this definition and qualities periodically to help you stay on track
2. Create Realistic Goals Aimed At Personal Growth
Next, create personal growth goals to help you become the person with all the qualities and successes you defined in your journal. It doesn’t matter whether any other person believes in your vision; just make sure your goals are realistic and you maintain a positive mindset.
But what exactly makes a goal realistic? A goal is realistic if it checks the following boxes:
- It is achievable: Grand goals are great, especially long-term ones. However, setting big goals that are way beyond your skills and abilities is a challenge but can lead to disappointments and frustration.
- It stretches you: Set goals that stretch you a little beyond your current comfort zone but not too far that they become unachievable. You will gain a sense of lasting satisfaction when you chase down and achieve something that once seemed out of your reach, and this can propel you to do more.
- It aligns with your values: Consider your overall life vision (who you want to be) when you set a realistic goal. You will be more motivated to work toward a realistic goal that aligns with your grand vision for your life than one irrelevant to your values.
3. Stick With Your Goals
When it comes to strategies for learning how to grow as a person, sticking with your goals is a crucial step. Once you set a goal, stick with it unless you face a major unexpected setback that makes it impossible to chase the goal.
Whatever you do, never give up on your goals because of a lack of motivation or self-discipline.
Here’s why.
Giving up on your goal can lead to negative psychological effects, especially if you’re emotionally invested. Besides the possibility of dealing a deadly blow to your self-worth and self growth, it can prevent you from pursuing other goals and may lead to anxiety and depression.
Remember what they say about quitters; they never win!
4. Develop Supportive Habits
After creating your grand vision and designing actionable steps (achievable goals) to help you achieve your vision, it’s time to cultivate supportive habits.
Achieving your dreams can be challenging without establishing routines that can help you progress. Besides, whatever goals you achieve will hardly be sustainable in the long term if you don’t have supportive habits in place.
Creating supportive habits calls for being dead honest with yourself. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What unhelpful habits must you let go of to achieve your goals?
- What changes (no matter how small) can you make to your daily routine to bring you closer to your goals?
- Are you doing your very best under the circumstances, or are you holding back a little?
Whatever insights you receive from honestly evaluating yourself, make sure to implement changes gradually. I suggest taking baby steps as you cultivate mini habits that can make major differences in your life.
5. Ask for Help
Nearly everyone knows the importance and benefits of self-accountability. Yet, not many people can stay true to their commitments without a support system.
And by a support system, I mean an accountability partner to keep you in check and ensure you do what you set out to do.
It is okay to ask for help if you lose your commitment to your goals. There is no shame in seeking help when you need it. After all, asking for help speaks volumes about your desire to grow and become a better version of yourself.
Asking for help means recognizing your shortcomings and being humble enough to ask someone else for help. That’s the hallmark of being a dynamic person ― constantly seeking ways to evolve and reinvent yourself, even if it means getting others to give you a hand.
6. Start and Close Each Day Strong
How you start and end your day says a lot about your willingness to keep chasing your goals. Establish a highly effective morning routine that helps you start the day on the right footing and follow an evening routine to wind down the day on a high note.
For example, wake up earlier than most average people if you want to be a high performer. Also, review your day and count your blessings before you hit the sack at night.
If you are serious about growing as a person (of course you are, or else you won’t keep reading up to this point), I strongly recommend implementing these morning habits of highly successful people.
7. Have Fun Along the Way
Lastly, don’t forget to enjoy the process and have a positive attitude. Often, people think of their goals as too tedious and approach them as if they were completing some dreadful chore. This attitude removes all the fun from goal chasing and can lead to a loss of motivation.
If your goals appear too big, break them down into smaller sub-goals. Doing this will increase your chances of enjoying all you need to learn to achieve your goals.
Indeed, giving your best shot is crucial for achieving your personal development goals. But you don’t want to get burned out, so avoid overworking yourself.
Tips for Developing a Sense of Accomplishment
Nothing threatens progress quite like failing to acknowledge your wins, no matter how small. Ignoring your small successes can make it feel like you’re not making any progress at all, which can discourage you and make you throw in the towel.
Here are some tips that can help speed up your progress as you learn how to grow as a person:
- Create measurable goals: It’s difficult to keep tabs on your progress if your goals aren’t measurable. As you strive to achieve your goals, make sure to review your progress periodically to see how far you’ve come.
- Celebrate your wins: True success is a series of small wins accumulated over time, so never ignore your wins, no matter how small. While you look forward to major milestones, remember to celebrate your tiny steps along your journey.
- Focus on your path (not other people’s journey): One of the biggest ways people sabotage their efforts is by comparing themselves with others. It is okay to seek inspiration from other people’s stories, but comparing your life’s journey to theirs is a sure path to frustration. Your circumstances, background, and aspirations are unique to you, so avoid pitting yourself against anyone, whether or not they appear to do better than you.
- Embrace failure: You will make mistakes more than once ― that’s a given. However, realize that you’re making an effort when you make mistakes. Embrace setbacks and find ways to bounce back instead of blaming yourself or wallowing in self-pity.
- Check-in with yourself daily: Every day, carve out a few minutes to gauge where you are emotionally and mentally. You can journal whatever you feel during the daily check-ins to offload worrisome thoughts and emotional burdens. This activity frees you up emotionally and increases your ability to manage the stress and anxiety that usually comes with chasing down personal goals.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that personal growth is a continuous journey. You’ll never get to a point where you no longer need to improve. Also, remember that achieving your goals takes time, effort, and commitment, so patience is key.
The good news is that these strategies on how to grow as a person can help you transform your professional and personal life from stagnant to dynamic and unlock your full potential.
Becoming the person you want takes a lot of effort, but your future self will thank you if you commit to moving toward your goals, one step at a time.
