The importance of self-improvement is often neglected, we are either hiding our inadequacies under the carpet, or in denial refusing to face them or are just happy being unaware. The truth is, you can try hide but you cannot run away from yourself. The more you run, the bigger the grave you dig because there will come a time when all those unresolved emotions will surface, leaving you overwhelmed and confused.

What’s the answer then? Start small, unpack each issue separately. Move on to becoming more self-aware, observing your thoughts, emotions and responses. Deciding to make self-improvement an essential part of your daily life.

In the same way we keep moving and breathing, the same applies for self-improvement. Ideally you should focus on continuous self-improvement at every stage of your life and become better versions of yourselves.

Here’s 10 interesting reasons why self-improvement is imperative at all stages of life.

1. More Clarity: With all the distractions one is faced with, mental clarity is most important to gain. However, when you make self-improvement the primary goal of your life, you begin to start becoming more authentic and removing the clutter from your life. Gaining clarity lets you stay focused and not engage in anything that takes you away from your goal. There’ll be moments of confusion and indecisiveness but with experience, you will grow to become more confident in yourself while gaining clarity about your life.
2. Sense of Purpose: Deciding to walk the journey of self-improvement and personal development gives your life purpose and meaning. This is so important because it enables you to stay focused on your goals; create a feeling of being alive and keeps you inspired. It promotes mental and physical wellness by keeping you on the right track. With a sense of purpose, you learn to accept all the challenges that come your way because you’ll have your eyes set on what’s really important to you, you’ll be free to recognize your personal purpose.
3. Motivating Yourself: Imagine climbing up Table Mountain – every obstacle you cross, motivates you to go higher and higher. The same analogy is true when it comes to self-improvement. Every fear and weakness you overcome motivates you to keep moving forward on your path of self-improvement and develop even further. Self-improvement partners with motivation, when you recognise that you’re developing as a person, you are filled with happy achievement and a further drive to push yourself to do more. It is a continuous cycle that requires you to maintain your motivation levels and be committed to continuous growth.
4. Heal Relationships: When you work on improving yourself, you automatically improve your relationships with other people. For example, if your perfectionist attitude has frequently been a cause of concern in your relationships, by intentionally working on that aspect of your personality, you learn how to tame your expectations and become more realistic. This positive change reflects in your personal and professional relationships and enhances them. The key to facing conflicts and building meaningful relationships starts with looking inward and developing yourself first. When you strive to become a self-sufficient person and have a positive self-image, you are very likely to cultivate healthy relationships.
5. Improved Decision Making: You are required to make many decisions in your life and every decision has an impact. Additionally, it is not about making decisions as much as it is about being confident about the decision taken. Good decision-making skills come from a place of clarity, self-awareness and confidence which is a direct result of self-improvement. When you know your desired outcome you want to achieve out of a situation you can set your goals accordingly, you are then able to make improved, informed decisions.
6. Improve Mental Health: One of the most important accepts of self-improvement is the positive impact it has one’s mental health. When you work on yourself, you get to know yourself better which lets you deal with your thoughts and emotions more effectively. You begin to understand why you are experiencing certain emotions and learn how to overcome them with time. Someone who is not self-aware and not focused on improving themselves will have absolutely no control over their reactions which can lead to added stress and anxiety. Being in denial is never the answer. Face the truth and free yourself.
7. Increase Self-Awareness: Think about how much time you spend getting to know other people and giving them solutions to their issues. What if, you spent that much time exploring yourself, your likes, dislikes, strengths and passions. Don’t you think things would be different? The first step of self-improvement requires you to increase your self-awareness and get to know yourself well. Question yourself and face your fears, figure out who you are and who you want to be. Self-awareness is an ongoing journey – as life advances, you’ll face different experiences and challenges, which make you more aware of your personality, thoughts and feelings. So, in order to be on the path of self-improvement, it is important to never lose touch with yourself.
8. Enhance Strengths: Self-improvement allows you to identify your personal strengths and explore them. Starting with relationships to careers, by knowing your strengths you can growth in every area of your life. It gives you a deeper understanding of what you are searching for and where you are likely to thrive and shine. It enables you to see the direction to go in, so you can set life goals and make them happen. Remember, you can only achieve what you want when you KNOW what you want. By fostering growth, you are more likely to achieve success and move towards a spiritually fulfilled life.
9. Overcome Fears and Weaknesses: While identifying strengths are a vital part of self-improvement, the same is true for coming to terms with your fears and weaknesses. Don’t hide from them, look at them as areas of improvement. We all have strengths and weaknesses that shape our personality. It is these imperfections that make us unique. The goal of improving yourself should be to look past those fears and weaknesses and recognise that they are stopping you from achieving your potential. Admit your fears and weaknesses to yourself, identify where they come from and be determined to grow from them. It’s easier said than done but with help from a life coach it’s absolutely achievable. Let your beautiful journey of self-improvement turn your fears and weaknesses into strengths and passions.
10. Step out of your Comfort Zone: Your comfort zone is your worst enemy. When you sitting comfy it feels good, but you are wasting your own time and you’ll struggle to grow. Making the choice to work on improving yourself requires you to step out of your comfort zone. It lets you face your fears, try new things, take risks and challenge yourself. There will be times when you will discover a new side of your personality but there will also be times when you will fall. Stand up and keep walking forward. The point that you tried should motivate you to keep going and to get comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s when you feel scared and want to run and hide, that’s when you’re growing the most. I call it GROW MODE, so don’t be scared be brave – you are exactly where we’re meant to be.

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Recognizing “bad habits”…

Everyone does something that could be considered a bad habit. From poor communication to the way you eat, we all do things that may be viewed as uncommon or unusual. But what happens when your bad habits start to become more than just that? How do you know if what you’re dealing with? Or recognizing signs that negative behaviour is holding you back from life’s possibilities.

Let’s start with the definition of a bad habit, as it has many interpretations and is different for everyone.

Habits are considered a negative behaviour pattern when they consume your ability to complete regularly simple or basic tasks. Habits are believed to be ‘disorders’ when pre-occupation is so intense, that you start ignoring the things you enjoy, and you begin bargaining with your self-care.

Some common examples would include procrastination, overspending, nail-biting, self-neglect, out of control eating, watching too much television or excessive social media viewing.

If you’ve been questioning yourself on a few “bad habits” of yours or someone has commented on your ‘bad habits’, here’s a few examples that may be potentially harming your lifestyle, relationships and your mental health.

• Comfort eating or isolation
• Out of control spending
• Negative self-talk
• Saying ‘YES’ all the time
• Signs of low self-value
• Believing self-limiting beliefs

The importance of self-improvement is often neglected, we are either hiding our inadequacies under the carpet, or in denial refusing to face them or are just happy being unaware. The truth is, you can try hide but you cannot run away from yourself. The more you run, the bigger the grave you dig because there will come a time when all those unresolved emotions will surface, leaving you overwhelmed and confused.

What’s the answer then? Start small, unpack each issue separately. Move on to becoming more self-aware, observing your thoughts, emotions and responses. Deciding to make self-improvement an essential part of your daily life.

In the same way we keep moving and breathing, the same applies for self-improvement. Ideally you should focus on continuous self-improvement at every stage of your life and become better versions of yourselves.

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