Self-Help and Personal Growth Tips
Read these 52 Self-Help and Personal Growth Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Psychological tips and hundreds of other topics.
Reward Your Successes
If you're trying to make big changes, reward the little ones. Simple daily rewards for meeting your daily goals will help you to make big changes gradually. What can you use as rewards? Anything that you value. Perhaps a little quiet time to yourself? Time to read a good book (even 20 minutes!)? Look for ways to treat yourself well.
Creative Block
Suffering creative block? Can't get going on that new project? Look over your past successes and you'll realize that you have the ability to get back on track. Soon inspiration will come.
Be Happy
Want to be happy? Make a committment to it; it's all in the attiutde. When you wake each morning, make a conscious decision to be happy. Try getting up a little early to have some time to yourself. What do you with this little slice of time? Whatever makes you feel content. If you start out the day happy you're more likely to remain happy, so youself in a happy frame of mind for a good day.
Boost your Energy with Laughter
Take a break and have a laugh with some friends. Cruise a humorous website, and the comics. Laughing forces you to take in more oxygen, providing an energy boost. It also releases endorphins, which cause you to feel great.
Break Those Bad Habits
One of the best ways to break a bad habit is to imagine someone close to you behaving in the same manner. Make the image of the habit at its worst possible and imagine how you would feel and respond to a person close to you behaving this way.
Unsent Letter: A Journaling Technique
The unsent letter is a powerful journaling technique that allows you to express your experiences and feelings in a private and safe space. Begin as if writing a letter to someone, perhaps a person that you'd like to express your feelings towards. As you write, you may experience an emotional release. If you chose, share your writing with someone or keep it private; it has served its cathartic purpose.
Time for You
Take time for yourself each day. It may not be a lot of time, but even 20 minutes of time just for you can help. What do you do during this time? Anything that makes you feel good. Write in your journal, read a magazine, medidate. Some days you might find that you can spare hours and others only a few minutes, but it's important to make some time everyday for you.
Get back to Nature
Ever feel as if you were "living inside a bubble" a dulling of the senses, and sense of boredom. We have come to a place in our society where we are separated from Nature. We're in our house, then the car, then the office, and back again. To help feel more alive get out into nature as much as possible, take a walk, plant a garden, dig in the soil, sit under a tree. Enjoy the beauty and calm.
Avoiding the Winter Blues
- Carefully manage your sleep patterns. Get to bed and rise at set times every day.
- Get more light. Use full-spectrum light bulbs, which are brighter than our everyday lights. Keep your curtains open during the day.
- Eat plenty of complex carbohydrates such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Get plenty of exercise; it has been shown to be an effective antidote to bouts of depression. A daily walk outside will help.
- Learn ways to manage stress
- Get moving. Depression responds to exercise, period. Aerobic forms are best, or try some simple stretches in the morning light.
Avoid the Holiday Blues
When the holidays roll around, we often place great demands on ourselves and others around us. Set realistic expectations. When you feel like things are getting out of hand and the world is out of control, stop and ask yourself, "What do I expect? What do I really want to happen? Is my expectation reasonable?" Realize that we would all like to change people and situations; however, you should understand that we cannot. Take the time to accept others as they come. Also, recognize that acceptance doesn`t mean approval.
Water to Beat Cravings
Before you cave into a craving and over-indulge in a sweet treat, drink water and try to wait 20 minutes. Sometimes cravings are not as strong as they seem. Dehydration can also trigger a craving, so drinking water is a good idea.
Keep Your Resolution New
Look for ways to keep your goal or resolution new. Boredom will send your resolution spiraling, so make a conscious effort to stay new. For example, if you're trying to change your eaating habits, eating the same foods over and over can put a damper on things. Vary the ways in which you approach your resolution.
Easing Anger
Everyone gets angry. Learn how to deal with anger.
Get busy to release the emotions. Gor for a walk. Take a swim. Clean. Do anthing that gets you moving and keeps your body budy so you can deal with the physical response to anger (adrenaline) and clear you head.
Handle the Holidays: Expect Stress
Expect some stress. Recognize common signs of stress: headaches, excessive drinking, overeating, and difficulty sleeping. Take a close look at your calendar and decide if there are any gatherings or parties that you can excuse yourself from. Make time for yourself. Practice some relaxation techniques, meditate, or get some exercise to help you relax.
Power of Optimism
Optimists live longer, and tend to be happier and more successful than pessimists. Studies of college students show that optimists tend to attribute success to their own ability and effort and failure to causes outside of their control. For example, optimistic students might attribute a failure on a test to an unfair test, rather than a lack of ability. These studies also show that optimistic students will study harder the second time around and improve their scores more than pessimists.
What does this mean for you? Try to reconsider your successes and failures in a more positive and self-flattering lens. Give credit where credit is due.
Achieving Balance
To achieve total health you need to balance the mind, body, and spirit. Try to achieve balance in thought, feeling, and action.
Beat Cravings
Restrictive diets don't work. People tend to binge if they feel that their eating is being restricted.
Don't let yourself feel this way; don't sabotage your weight loss efforts. How can you prevent cravings?
Never go hungry. Eat breakfast and a small snack every 3-4 hours. Hunger can trigger intense cravings. Eating smaller meals every 3-4 hours helps you to control cravings and keeps you from overeating.
Don't deprive yourself of foods that you love, even if they're bad for you. Substituting fruit or veggies will not satisfy your craving. Eat a small portion of what you really want and savor every bite of it.
Avoid foods that you shouldn't eat. Don't buy the treats; if they're not in your cupboard, they're much less of a threat to your diet.
Banish the Negative
Did you know that fretting over the negative can make you sick? It's ok to acknowledge negative feelings, but don't dwell on them. Consider them, then move on and think about how to progress beyond them. Get busy. Distract your mind from negative thoughts and you'll feel better and banish your worries.
Get Support to Help you Change
If you're trying to make big changes or stick to your resolutions, you may find that not everyone is supportive. Others often perceive change as threatening. What can you do to get more support? -Join a support group; there are many resources and groups online.
-Learn how to manage comments and negativity from others. Move past comments as quickly as possible- if you encounter negativity, look past it.
-Remember that you can't change others, however much you'd like. You can change your own behavior, though. Don't allow yourself negative self talk. Its destructive.
Get Motivated for Change
The success of your resolution or desire to change lies in your own motivation. How do you get motivated? Carefully consider the benefits of achieving your resolution. On paper, list all the benefits you can think of. Now imagine each of these positive outcomes. This is your motivation for change.
Now consider the big picture, what it will feel like to have achieved your resolution. Remember that the change process is a journey and will take time. Try to keep the big picture in focus.
Avoid Holiday Blues: Practice Acceptance
Practice acceptance. Recognize that the holidays are not a time to cure all past problems; they don`t prevent sadness or loneliness. Accept the holiday season as it comes and understand that you don`t have to feel festive all of the time. Accept what you feel without forcing yourself to feel what you`re "supposed to."
Improve Athletic Performance
By using guided imagery an athlete can increase confidence, reduce stress, and increase focus to enhance athletic performance. Before competition an athlete should focus on previous experiences in which they felt they performed at their highest level. After establishing a vivid picture, they should remember the internal feelings they maintained while performing at that level and associate those feelings to an image of the upcoming event.
Deal with the Holiday Blues
If you're feeling a bit blue with the holidays, these tips may help:
-Limit your drinking. Generally the more we drink, the worse we begin to feel because drinking often exaggerates our natural feelings. If we're feeling down, with a bit of alcohol you might begin to focus on the negative and feel even worse.
-Recognize that you don't have to feel festive. Accept your feelings and own them.
Handling Anger
When you feel angry, take a ten minute zen break. Find a quiet spot and meditate, breathe deeply, or practice some other type of relaxation technique.
Journal for Health
Recent research suggests that writing about your deepest thoughts and feelings in a personal journal is an important tool for your emotional and physical health. Yes, physical health! In this study, participants who wrote in a journal regularly demonstrated fewer visits to the doctor, fewer sick days, improved immune functioning, and generally improved physical health.
Sleep: A Natural Energy Booster
Sounds simple, but be sure to get enough sleep. Skimping on sleep causes stress-related hormones, like cortisol, to increase, making you feel sluggish , forgetful, and generally lousy. Typically adults require 8 hours of sleep or more per night. It can be tough to get those needed hours, but they make a big difference in your daytime functioning.
Attention and You
It is important to get plenty of attention and love. If you don't have a primary partner find the attention and love you need thru friends, family, volunteering, mentoring, etc. The more you give the more you will receive.
Excitement
If you feel excitement, it is because you are on your way to something you want. Feel it completely. Enjoy.
Social Support for Weight-loss
Having a tough time losing weight? Get social support. Find a person to support your weight loss goals. Look for someone who is empathetic and can support you in a positive way.
How do you find support? Join a support group. Learning about others' success is highly motivating. If time or geographics are limited, try an online group.
Plan Your Goals
Planning is key to making resolutions and goals that you can keep. Set realistic goals. Keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed by breaking your resolution down into small steps or subgoals. Psychological research shows that gradual changes are more likely to be successful than are sudden changes. Make your list of subgoals as long as necessary.
What daily behaviors must change in order to make big changes? Think about how you can achieve each subgoal. Make your plans in writing; it will make you feel more committed to your plans. Consider setting dates for your subgoals.
Water as an Energy Boost
Feeling sluggish? You may be dehydrated. Dehydration makes you feel sluggish. On average we lose nearly 10 cups of water per day through sweat and urination. If you're feeling tired and irritated, try increasing your intake of water. It will help ward off fatigue and its great for your health. By the way, if you wait until you're thirsty, it's too late. Thirst is a sign that dehydration has set in.
Beat the Blues
Feeling down? Here's a tip on how to feel happy: fake it. Research shows that if we act out an emotion, we soon begin to feel that emotion. For example, research with college students shows that when they were instructed to smile, they found cartoons more humorous. When they were instructed to frown, they reported sad photos more depressing. When you're feeling down, force yourself to smile and believe it or not, you'll feel better soon. Sounds corny, but it's true.
Start a Journal
Even everyday frustrations can provide topics for your writing. Special tools or abilities aren't necessary. Any notebook, paper, or even computer file can be used for your writing. Although there are many blank books available in stationary and book stores, notebook paper or a class notebook will work just fine.
Have You Splurged? Ease Your Guilt
Don't waste your life feeling guilty about splurging once in a while. Splurges are sort of like ocean tides. They come in, they go out. If you splurge, overdo, or overspend in one area of your life, remember that it will even out. Take a breather and don't beat yourself up over it!
Increase your emotional intelligence
The first step to becoming more emotionally intelligent, or in tune with your emotions, is self-awareness. Ask yourself these questions to engage your brain and increase your emotional intelligence. These questions engage your brain, get you to think, and help you get in tune with yourself:
-What would it be like to have no feelings?
-How is shame different from remorse?
-How many emotions can you have at once?
-What color do you associate with each emotion: love, joy, fear, sorrow, grief?
Creativity: what is it and how do you increase it?
Creativity is the ability to think in new ways and to produce work that is unusual and novel. Creative minds roam freely, so to stimulate your creativity, forget the rules!
Be open to fooling around. Try something new and make yourself open to new experiences and new ideas. Take a different route to work. Listen to a different radio station. Break out of everyday habits and ruts and you'll find yourself thinking in new ways.
Choosing Resolutions
When making resolutions for the new year, take your time. Periodically set time aside to think about what you really want. Carefully consider each resolution. Close your eyes, relax, and imagine succeeding at your resolution. What does it feel like?
Take time to evaluate other choices. Imagine each of the other possibilities. Until you imagine the possible outcomes, you may not realize how badly you want to change. Before committing yourself to a resolution, consider why you`d like to make this change. This is your resolution, a change that you are making for yourself, not someone else. Be sure that this is what you want.
Decide on only one or two major resolutions. Your goal is to succeed, so you don't want to over-burden yourself with too many changes at once.
Cathartic Writing: A Journaling Technique
Use your journal as a safe place to let out everything you feel. Write about all of your feelings. Put your pain, fear, anger, frustrations, and grief down on paper. Remember that your journal won't judge or criticize you. Consider ripping up your writing, or burning it as a symbolic way of letting go of the event or feeling disrupting your life. Try it when you're feeling joy and gratitude, too.
The Purpose of Journaling
Journaling is for you. Therefore don't let spelling, handwriting, and grammar be major concerns. This form or writing is for you to get your feelings and experiences down on paper. No one else will review or grade it.
Maintain Weght Loss
It has been estimated that less than one-third of those who lose weight manage to keep it off. Long-term weight loss success requires that you change your habits for life. Maintain the good eating and exercise habits you developed while losing weight and it will never return.
As you make weight maintainance a part of your life, continue to analyze your emotions and behaviors:
- accept that you will be tempted by certain foods
- realize that you can eat tempting foods in moderation; don't let yourself feel deprived
- increase low-calorie and low-fat choices of food
- try new forms of exercise to make it fun and challenging for you.
- don't let temporary setbacks get you down
- stay motivated and keep focused on your goals.
Stop the Body Image Blasting Voices
Try to catch yourself thinking negative thoughts. Each time you find yourself thinking, “I'm too fat,” stop yourself. Pay attention to when these self defeating thoughts pop up and perhaps you can catch a pattern. Each time you catch yourself, replace that negative thought with a positive one – answer back to yourself, “I am beautiful and I'm healthy.” Remind yourself that you're eating healthily and exercising towards your desired shape.
Staying Motivated for Change
If you're trying to make big changes, work on your goal or resolution every day. Complete one small step each day, and review and update your plans frequently. Allow your plans for achieving your goal to be fluid and flexible. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Everyone slips up once in a while. Don't beat yourself up over it and move on. Learn from your mistakes; perhaps it means that you're being too strict with yourself. Analyze it and then take steps to avoid future setbacks.
Working Through Divorce
10 ways to help yourself
*eat, sleep, and exercise
*avoid isolation
*get your support team in place
*don't overload
*get help when needed
*journal or write about what you are experiencing
*avoid abusing alcohol
*get organized
*meditate/relax
*pamper yourself
The Power of Facial Expressions
Psychological research suggests that we often begin to feel as we behave. In several research studies, students who were instructed to make their faces smile (surreptitiously) found comics more humorous.
What does this mean for you? Act as you'd like to feel. If you want to feel happy, force yourself to smile. Research suggests that you'll soon feel the emotion that goes with the facial expression.
Happiness during the Holidays
Much of your happiness and well-being is within your control. During the holiday season, take care of yourself. Assess your expectations, and be honest with yourself about your feelings.
Reflective Writing: A Journaling Technique
Observe your life. Write about events that are happening to you or around you, from a third person perspective.
Begin writing with the phrase, "It was a time when...," then describe the event in detail, use as many of your senses as possible. What were the sounds, smells, sights, feelings, etc. that were present? Describe the events as an outside observer, using "he" and "she."
This technique may help to put things into perspective and is especially effective when writing about life changes, job or career, relationships or illness.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Jerry Mayo |
