Life

6 Personal Growth Challenges to Transform Your Life

Published

4 years ago

Feb 28, 2021

Diana Nadim

Image Credit: Unsplash

If you are looking to improve yourself, it is up to you to make changes that will change your everyday life. Putting in hard work is necessary if you wish to grow yourself and pave the way to a more successful future. This might be the sign you were waiting for in order to start challenging yourself in order to improve certain areas in your life. The personal growth challenges you choose to follow can be bigger or smaller. Regardless of that, they are always a great place to start and can help you discover a lot of things about yourself. If you need help finding the right challenges to get started, here are some ideas you can use.

1. Set a morning routine for yourself

One of the biggest challenges you can set for yourself is following a certain routine every single morning. Many people struggle to find a way to start their day that will make them feel awake and motivated. This might be a good chance for you to start such a routine and enjoy its benefits. A simple and measurable goal is to start eating a nourishing breakfast every single day.

The important thing to remember is to start slow. You do not need to start waking up earlier and doing more things immediately. Take it one step at a time and only add new things after you are able to easily keep up with each day’s schedule. This way, the morning routine won’t become a chore and you will enjoy every part of the process.

“If you win the morning, you win the day.” – Tim Ferriss

2. Make little notes with positive affirmations

A great way to challenge yourself to grow is connected to the way you talk to yourself on a daily basis. Change comes through positive situations and using positive affirmations can help you feel happier and more confident. You can start this challenge by putting your favorite affirmations on post-it notes and placing them around your house. Some great affirmations you can learn and challenge yourself to repeat daily are the following:

I am worthy.
I am enough.
I don’t sweat the small stuff
I am capable of change.
I can do anything I set my mind to.

Repeating these affirmations on a daily basis can help you remind yourself of how worthy you are of good things to come your way. Change might not happen overnight, but believing you are capable and worthy of it will make things a lot easier.

3. Declutter your house and working space

If you tend to let things clutter around your house and working space, this is the perfect challenge for you. Keeping your house clean and tidy surely requires energy and time but leaving it cluttered will impact your productivity. You can break this challenge into smaller goals and make it a lot easier for yourself to keep up.

For example, you can start by setting up a system to take out the trash every day. Along with that, you can try to always return things to their spot after using them. These simple steps can help you set up new habits and ace this challenge without any issue. At the end of the day, the more organized your personal space is, the more productive and positive you will be.

4. Read a book every month

Something that can truly change your life for the better is reading more books. Books have so much to give you and it is very sad that fewer people seem to devote time to reading. Books can help you find a productive way to spend your time, offer you the knowledge and help you expand your vocabulary and way of thinking.

Thankfully, technology has helped us make this challenge a lot easier. Services such as Scribd and Audible give us access to thousands of audiobooks. If you have a hectic schedule and can never seem to find the team to read, you can switch to audiobooks instead. By listening to a chapter while you drive to work or do the laundry you will be able to easily reach your goal every month.

5. Limit the time you spend on social media

While phones might be necessary for our day-to-day life they can also become quite addictive. Making sure to get enough off-screen time is essential and can help you change your life for the better. This challenge is an easy one on paper but can be rather challenging. You should start by turning your phone off an hour before you sleep.

Getting some time away from the screen will help you spend more time doing other things you enjoy. Along with that, it can help you improve the quality of your sleep and make you feel less nervous. Instead of spending time looking at what others are doing online, spend this time for yourself. Cook a meal you enjoy or practice some yoga before bed and spend your time doing something good for you.

6. Try to take a walk every single day

If you live a hectic lifestyle, you might find that you never have enough time to exercise on the daily. Going to the gym might not be an option for many reasons, but going on a daily walk can be the next best thing. Apart from exercising, walking can offer you more benefits than you can imagine.

Taking a walk can help you find some time with yourself and your thoughts. It can allow you to rethink certain situations and things that bother you and allow you to see them with a clear mind. Some fresh air and a change of scenery are necessary on a daily basis. Spending more time with yourself can prove very useful when it comes to your personal growth and walking can greatly contribute to that.

“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.” – Mary Davis

The point of the personal growth challenges is to motivate you to try new things and lead a better life. It is only normal that you will not be able to complete every challenge you set for yourself. Instead of being upset over that, try and find ways to make them work in your favor and unlock new skills. Which of these challenges are you looking forward to trying the most?

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Diana Nadim

Diana Nadim is a writer and editor who has a Master degree in Marketing. Besides working as a contributor writer for Subjecto, Diana also runs her own blog.

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Life

How Learning the Skill of Hope Can Change Everything

Hope isn’t wishful thinking. It’s a state of being and a skill that has profound evidence of helping people achieve success in life

Published

2 weeks ago

Jan 6, 2025

Daniel Bell

Image Credit: Midjourney

Hope isn’t wishful thinking. It’s a state of being and a skill that has profound evidence of helping people achieve success in life.

Wishful thinking, on the other hand, is like having dreams in the sky without a ladder to climb, having a destination without a map, or trying to operate a jet-engine airplane without instructions. It sounds nice but is impossible to realize. You don’t have what you need to make it happen!

What Real Hope Is

Real hope is actionable, practical, and realistic. Better yet, it’s feasible and can be learned.

One popular approach is Hope Theory. This concept is used by colleges to study how hope impacts students’ academic performance. Researchers found that students with high levels of hope achieve better grades and are more likely to graduate compared to those with less hope.

Hope can be broken down into two components:

Pathways – The “how to” of hope. This is where people think of and establish plans for achieving their goals.
Agency – The “I can” of hope. This is the belief that the person can accomplish their goals.

Does Hope Really Work?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, hope as a noun is defined as: “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.”

As humans, we are wired to crave fulfillment. We have the ability to envision it and, through hope, make it a reality.

My Experience with Hope

For 13 years, I was a hopeless human. During my time working at a luxury hotel as a front desk agent earning $11.42 per hour, I felt the sting of hopelessness the most.

The regret of feeling my time was being stolen from me lingered every time I clocked in. Eventually, I decided to do something about it.

I gave myself permission to hope for something better. I began establishing pathways to success and regained agency by learning from self-help books and seeking mentorship.

Because I took action toward something I desired, I now feel more hope and joy than I ever felt hopelessness. Hope changed me.

Hope Actually Improves Your Life

Wishful thinking doesn’t work, and false hope is equally ineffective. Real hope, however, is directly tied to success in all areas of life.

Studies show that hopeful people tend to:

Demonstrate better problem-solving skills
Cultivate healthier relationships
Maintain stronger motivation to achieve goals
Exhibit better work ethic
Have a positive outlook on life

These benefits can impact work life, family life, habit-building, mental health, physical health, and spiritual practice. Imagine how much better your life could be by applying real hope to all these areas.

How to Develop the Skill to Hope

As acclaimed French writer Jean Giono wrote in The Man Who Planted Trees:
“There are also times in life when a person has to rush off in pursuit of hopefulness.”

If you are at one of those times, here are ways to develop the skill to hope:

1. Dream Again

To cultivate hope, you need to believe in its possibility. Start by:

Reflecting on what you’re passionate about, your values, and what you want to achieve.
Writing your dreams down, sharing them with someone encouraging, or saying them out loud.
Creating a vision board to make your dreams feel more tangible.

Dreams are the foundation of hope—they give you something meaningful to aspire toward.

2. Create an Environment of Hope

Set Goals: Write down your goals and create a plan to achieve them.
Visualize Success: Use inspirational quotes, photos, or tools like dumbbells or canvases to remind yourself of your goals.
Build a Resource Library: Collect books, eBooks, or audiobooks about hope and success to inspire you.

An environment that fosters hope will keep you motivated, resilient, and focused.

3. Face the Challenges

Don’t avoid challenges—overcoming them builds confidence. Participating in challenging activities, like strategic games, can enhance your problem-solving skills and reinforce hope.

4. Commit to Wisdom

Seek wisdom from those who have achieved what you aspire to. Whether through books, blogs, or social media platforms, learn from their journeys. Wisdom provides the foundation for real, actionable hope.

5. Take Note of Small Wins

Reflecting on past victories can fuel your hope for the future. Ask yourself:

What challenges have I already overcome?
How did I feel when I succeeded?

By remembering those feelings of happiness, relief, or satisfaction, your brain will naturally adopt a more hopeful mindset.

Conclusion

Hope is more than wishful thinking—it’s a powerful skill that can transform your life. By dreaming again, creating a hopeful environment, facing challenges, seeking wisdom, and celebrating small wins, you can develop the real hope necessary for success in all aspects of life.

Let hope guide you toward a brighter, more fulfilling future.

Life

The 5 Stages of a Quarter-Life Crisis & What You Can Do

A quarter-life crisis isn’t a sign you’ve lost your way; it’s a sign you’re fighting for a life that’s truly yours.

Published

4 weeks ago

Dec 27, 2024

CT Dool

Image Credit: Midjourney

The quarter-life crisis is a well-defined set of stages—Trapped, Checking Out, Separation, Exploration, Rebuilding—one goes through in breaking free from feelings of meaninglessness, lack of fulfillment, and misalignment with purpose. I detail the stages and interweave my story below. (more…)

Life

Here’s The Thing About Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning

Stop hoarding and start sharing your knowledge and wealth for the benefit of humankind

Published

2 months ago

Nov 21, 2024

M.S. Rao

Image Credit: Midjourney

Few people have the habit of hoarding their wealth without spending. However, it limits their motivation as they tend to get into their comfort zones. When people start spending money, then there will be depletion in their coffers. (more…)