10 Things Essential To Your Personal Growth Journey

We’re all trying to grow on a daily basis. One of the most important things in life is to become a better, more well-rounded, and generally more “you” version of yourself. From the first moment you nervously cross the school gate threshold through to your final few hours, you’re growing, and you don’t even realize it. This journey never ends, but there are things you can do to make it more successful each and every day. Here are 10 things that are essential to your personal growth journey.

1. Self-knowledge

The first thing you need if you want to grow is to know yourself. By understanding who you are - your goals, your desires, your weaknesses - you’re laying the groundwork for growing as a person. There are several methods you could use to achieve this. Long periods of self-reflection are good, and you could even seek out a psychic reading if you want some insights into yourself that wouldn’t occur to you naturally. However you achieve it, self-knowledge is vital.

2. Support from others

Being surrounded by a reliable support network means you’ll have plenty of good people around you to help you understand yourself better. Many of us are lucky enough to have supportive family and friends around us, and if you want to realize your personal growth journey, then utilizing that support is essential. Keep mementos of those you love around you at all times. Why not put up a personalized photo calendar in your office or bedroom to remind you of everyone that’s cheering you on?

3. Dedication

You’ll never be able to grow and evolve as a person if you’re not dedicated to your mission. Slipping up is completely natural; everyone does it from time to time, whether they’re dieting or trying out a New Year’s resolution. Dedication to your personal growth journey is no different, but if you slip up, you need to get back on the horse and keep trying. You won’t always be able to stick to the plan you create, so accept your limitations and work within them. Speaking of which…

4. A detailed plan

How exactly do you want to grow? Are you aiming for emotional growth, spiritual growth, or something altogether more personal? Whichever kind you’re aiming for, remember that in order to realize your growth journey, you need to create and actuate a plan. There’s no sense just waiting for it to happen because you have agency in this matter and you need to exercise it. You won’t grow until you craft a detailed plan of what you want to change in your life to achieve growth.

5. Ambition

Similarly, you’re never going to grow if you don’t truly, seriously want to. Ambition isn’t easy to come by; new things can feel scary and different, and it’s completely natural not to want to try novel concepts for fear of failure. In order to achieve personal growth, you’re going to need a healthy supply of ambition. There will be days when growing doesn’t feel easy. You could be faced with difficult situations and be tempted to revert to your old ways. Ambition will help you to overcome those times.

6. A schedule

While your personal growth journey is certainly an ongoing project, you’ll need to create and adhere to a schedule if you want to succeed. This works better for some growth projects than others; after all, a personal fitness plan is much easier to work on than a plan in which you promise yourself to respond better to emotional distress. Still, take some time out of each day to meditate, ruminate on what’s happened, and ask yourself how you can implement your schedule to the best of your ability.

7. An open mind

Confronting some of the ways in which you need to grow as a person may also involve having to face some uncomfortable truths or some concepts you aren’t familiar with. Going into your journey with an open mind is crucial if you want to make sure you come out of it as a better person. That includes exercising your open mind in your relationship, among your friends, and even at work. Don’t reject ideas or concepts simply because they don’t fit your idea of how the world works.

8. Wanderlust

One of the most effective ways to grow as a person is to travel and experience more of the world. Bear in mind here that there is a massive difference between a traveler and a tourist. Travelers drink in their environment, immerse themselves in the culture of the place they’re traveling to, and are always respectful. This can be an excellent aid to your growth journey; by experiencing how other people live, you’re adding to your own understanding of the world.

9. Health awareness

Whether it’s smoking, drinking or simply good old-fashioned fatty food, vices like these can have a detrimental effect on you and stop you from being able to grow as a person. If you want to improve yourself, you’ll need to stop the vices that are holding you back and preventing you from realizing your full potential. In the case of unhealthy food, that’s not necessarily to say you can’t have a treat every now and then; as with all things, moderation is the key.

10. Honesty

You won’t get very far into your personal transformation if you’re not a hundred percent honest with yourself at every juncture. If you’re lying to yourself - about your progress, what needs to be done, or the reasons why you’re not succeeding - then your progress will be stymied and you won’t be able to move further. It’s important to keep an open and honest dialogue with yourself at all times during your personal growth journey, whatever form it may take.