42 Practical Ways To Start Working On Self-Improvement - Lifehack

Are you someone who likes to grow? Do you constantly seek to better yourself and find ways for self improvement?

There is always something about ourselves we can improve on. The human potential is limitless, so it’s impossible to reach a point of no growth.

Whenever we think we are good, we can be even better.

As a passionate advocate of growth, I’m continuously looking for ways to self-improve. I’ve compiled 42 of my best self development ideas, which might be helpful in your personal growth journey. Some of them are simple steps which you can engage in immediately. Some are bigger steps which takes conscious effort to act on. They’re organized into five key areas to help you better yourself in a structured way.

Table of Contents

1. Grow Your Mind
   • 1. Read Every Day
   • 2. Learn a New Language
   • 3. Pick up a New Hobby
   • 4. Take up a New Course
   • 5. Level up Your Skills
   • 6. Learn Chess (or Strategic Games)
   • 7. Learn Public Speaking
2. Strengthen Your Body and Energy
   • 8. Wake up Early
   • 9. Have a Weekly Exercise Routine
   • 10. Meditate
   • 11. Reduce the Time You Spend on Messaging Apps
   • 12. Stop Watching TV
   • 13. Take a Break
3. Build Your Character
   • 14. Overcome Your Fears
   • 15. Get out of Your Comfort Zone
   • 16. Identify Your Blind Spots
   • 17. Ask for Feedback
   • 18. Acknowledge Your Flaws
   • 19. Set Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals (BHAGs)
   • 20. Let Go of the Past
   • 21. Get Into Action
4. Deepen Your Relationships
   • 22. Show Kindness to Those Around You
   • 23. Avoid Negative People
   • 24. Learn to Deal With Difficult People
   • 25. Learn From Your Friends
   • 26. Put Someone up to a Challenge
   • 27. Learn From People Who Inspire You
   • 28. Network With Experts
   • 29. Get a Mentor or Coach
   • 30. Reach out to People Who Dislike You
5. Master Your Habits and Systems
   • 31. Quit a Bad Habit
   • 32. Cultivate a New Habit
   • 33. Start a Journal
   • 34. Stay Focused With To-Do Lists
   • 35. Create an Inspirational Environment
   • 36. Start a 30-Day Challenge
   • 37. Write a Letter to Your Future Self
   • 38. Start Your Life Handbook
   • 39. Read 1 Personal Development Article a Day
6. Go Further
   • 40. Start a Blog About Personal Development
   • 41. Start a Business Venture
   • 42. Commit to Your Personal Growth
7. Frequently Asked Questions
   • What does it mean to better myself?
   • How can I better myself every day?
   • What are the 5 steps to improve yourself?
   • How do I become my best self?
   • What are the 3 C's of self-esteem?
8. Start Your Self-Improvement Journey Today

Grow Your Mind

The foundation of self-improvement starts with expanding your knowledge. These tips will help you sharpen your focus and grow intellectually.

1. Read Every Day

Books are concentrated sources of wisdom. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to.

When you’re reading a book every day, you will feed your brain with more and more knowledge.

Here’re 5 great books to read for self-improvement:

2. Learn a New Language

As a Singaporean Chinese, my main languages are English, Mandarin, and Hokkien (a Chinese dialect). Out of interest, I took up language courses in the past few years, such as Japanese and Bahasa Indonesian.

I realized learning a language is a whole new skill altogether, and the process of opening yourself up to a new language and culture is one of the best tips for self improvement.

3. Pick up a New Hobby

Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up? Is there a new sport you can learn?

Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby. For example, you can try pottery, Italian cooking, dancing, wine appreciation, web design, etc.

Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.

Here’re 20 hobbies to get you some new ideas: 20 Productive Hobbies That Will Make You Smarter and Happier

4. Take up a New Course

Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills for self growth. It doesn’t have to be a long-term course; seminars, workshops, and online courses serve their purpose, too.

5. Level up Your Skills

If you have played video games before, you’ll know the concept of leveling up – gaining experience so you can be better and stronger.

As a blogger, I’m constantly leveling up my writing skills. As a speaker, I’m constantly leveling up my public engagement abilities. What skills can you level up?

6. Learn Chess (or Strategic Games)

Chess is a terrific game to learn strategy and hone your brainpower. Not only do you have fun, but you also get to exercise your analytical skills.

7. Learn Public Speaking

Interestingly, public speaking is the #1 fear in the world, with #2 being death.

Public speaking can help you learn how to communicate better, present yourself, and engage people. These skills are helpful both personally and professionally, as you’ll do better in meetings and presentations.

Strengthen Your Body and Energy

You can’t better yourself if you’re running on empty. Physical health and energy management form the backbone of every other improvement you make.

8. Wake up Early

Waking up early has been acknowledged by many to improve your productivity and your quality of life.

When you wake up early, you’ll have time to dedicate to self development before everyone else is up. You’ll add extra time to your day, soak up the morning tranquility, and absorb the early-morning sunlight that will help your brain switch into its active mode.

Not sure how to wake up early and feel energetic? These ideas will help: How to Get Motivated and Be Happy Every Day When You Wake Up

9. Have a Weekly Exercise Routine

A better you starts with being in better shape through physical activity. I personally make it a point to jog at least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time.

Try to mix it up by doing different exercises each day to prevent boredom and muscle strain.

10. Meditate

Meditation helps to calm you and be more conscious while improving your overall mental health. Meditation can also help you sleep better, be more productive, and be kinder to those around you.

Have a go with this 5-minute Guide to Meditation: Anywhere, Anytime.

11. Reduce the Time You Spend on Messaging Apps

Having messaging apps open as a default results in a lot of wasted time. This time can be much better spent on other self-improvement activities.

The days when I don’t get on chat, I get a lot more done. I usually disable the auto start-up option in the chat programs and launch them when I do want to chat and really have the time for it.

12. Stop Watching TV

Many programs and advertisements on TV are meant to distract you instead of empowering or educating you. This time is better spent elsewhere, such as with close friends, doing a hobby you enjoy, or exercising.

13. Take a Break

Have you been working too hard? Self-improvement is also about recognizing our need to take a break to walk the longer mile ahead. You can’t be driving a car if it has no fuel.

Scheduling downtime for yourself is important. Take some time off for yourself every week. Relax, rejuvenate, and charge yourself up for what’s up ahead.

Build Your Character

Mindset is what separates people who grow from people who stay stuck. These tips focus on developing the inner qualities that drive lasting self-improvement.

14. Overcome Your Fears

Whether it’s the fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, or fear of risk, all your fears keep you in the same position and prevent you from improving your life.

Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow as they act as a compass pointing at areas that need attention.

15. Get out of Your Comfort Zone

Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. Being too comfortable doesn’t help us grow; it makes us stagnate.

Identify where your comfort zone lines are and how you can begin to step out of them little by little. Go hiking on a trail you’ve never been to, make a dish you’ve never tried, or say yes next time a friend asks you to go out when you’d normally say no.

16. Identify Your Blind Spots

Scientifically, blind spots refer to areas our eyes are not capable of seeing. In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots helps us discover our areas of improvement.

One exercise I use to discover my blind spots is to identify all the things/events/people that trigger me in a day – trigger meaning making me feel annoyed, frustrated, or angry. These represent my blind spots.

Once I know these triggers, I can identify ways to improve them or overcome them.

17. Ask for Feedback

As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives you an additional perspective as you learn how to improve yourself.

Some people to approach are friends, family, colleagues, a boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.

Learn more about how to ask for feedback and become a fast learner here!

18. Acknowledge Your Flaws

Everyone has flaws, but what’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them through self-improvement practices.

What do you think are your flaws? What are the flaws you can work on now? How do you want to address them?

Remember to do this with a sense of self-love. Do not look at your flaws through a self-critical or mean-spirited light. This is about finding areas you feel you can improve upon, not finding things that are wrong with you.

19. Set Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals (BHAGs)

I’m a big fan of setting BHAGs. BHAGs stretch you beyond your normal capacity since they are big and audacious – you wouldn’t think of attempting them normally.

What are BHAGs you can embark on that will make you feel good about yourself once you complete them? Set them, and start working on them. Tools like The Full Life Planner can help you map out your journey and track progress along the way. Learn more about achieving your goals effectively.

20. Let Go of the Past

Is there any grievance or unhappiness from the past which you have been holding onto? If so, it’s time to let it go as part of your self-improvement.

Holding on to it prevents you from moving on and becoming a better person. Break away from the past, forgive yourself, and move on.

21. Get Into Action

The best way to learn and improve is to take action. What is something you have been meaning to do? How can you take action on it immediately?

Deepen Your Relationships

The people around you shape who you become. These tips will help you build stronger connections and learn from others as you work to better yourself.

22. Show Kindness to Those Around You

You can never be too kind to someone. Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love.

As you get back to your day after reading this article later on, start exuding more kindness to the people around you, and see how they react.

Also, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others. Chances are you will feel more optimistic and grateful.

23. Avoid Negative People

As Jim Rohn says,

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”

Wherever we go, there are bound to be negative people. Don’t spend too much of your time around them if you feel they drag you down.

24. Learn to Deal With Difficult People

There are times when there are difficult people you can’t avoid, such as at your workplace, or when the person is part of your inner circle of contacts.

Learn how to deal with them as you’re learning how to improve yourself. These people management skills will go a long way in working with people in the future.

25. Learn From Your Friends

Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to us how we want to tap into them.

With all the friends who surround you, they are going to have things you can learn from.

Try thinking of a good friend right now. Think about just one quality they have that you want to adopt. How can you learn from them and adopt this skill for yourself?

26. Put Someone up to a Challenge

Competition is one of the best ways to grow and aid in self-improvement. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc.) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first.

Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.

27. Learn From People Who Inspire You

Think about people you admire, people who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you want to have for yourself as you learn how to improve yourself.

What are the qualities in them you want to have for yourself? How can you acquire these qualities?

28. Network With Experts

These people have achieved their results because they have the right attitude, skill set, and know-how. How better to learn than from the people who have been there and done that as you learn how to improve yourself?

Gain new insights from them on how you can improve and achieve the same results for yourself.

29. Get a Mentor or Coach

There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone help you achieve your goals.

Many of my clients approach me to coach them in their goals, and they achieve significantly more results than if they had worked alone.

If you’re looking for a mentor, don’t miss these tips: What to Look for in a Good Mentor

30. Reach out to People Who Dislike You

If you ever stand for something, you are going to get haters.

It’s easy to dislike the people who dislike us; it’s much more challenging to love them back. Being able to forgive, let go, and show love to these people requires magnanimity and an open heart.

Seek a resolution and get closure on past grievances. Even if they refuse to reciprocate, love them all the same. It’s much more liberating than to hate them back.

Master Your Habits and Systems

Lasting self-improvement comes from building the right systems. These tips help you create routines and beat procrastination so that growth becomes automatic.

31. Quit a Bad Habit

Are there any bad habits you can work on eliminating? This can include oversleeping, smoking, drinking, or procrastinating.

Here’s some great advice from Lifehack’s CEO on hacking your habit loop to break bad habits and build good ones: How to Break a Habit and Hack the Habit Loop

32. Cultivate a New Habit

Some good habits to cultivate include reading books, waking up early, exercising, reading a new personal development article a day, and meditating.

Are there any other new habits you can cultivate for more self-improvement?

33. Start a Journal

Journaling is a great way to gain more self-awareness. As you write, clarify your thought process and read what you wrote from an outsider’s perspective. This will help you gain more personal insight.

34. Stay Focused With To-Do Lists

Starting your day with a list of tasks you want to complete will help you stay focused. In comparison, the days when you don’t do this can end up being chaotic or unproductive. You may forget certain tasks or end up running out of time since you haven’t created a plan to tackle each item.

35. Create an Inspirational Environment

Your environment sets the mood and tone for you. If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day.

If there’s a room in your house that looks messy or dull, take it to the next level by putting on a new coat of paint, buying a few nice paintings for the walls, or investing in some comfortable furniture to make it a space that will always feel welcoming and inspiring.

36. Start a 30-Day Challenge

Set a goal and give yourself 30 days to achieve this. Your goal can be to stick with a new habit or develop a new hobby.

30 days is just enough time to strategize, plan, get into action, review, and nail the goal.

37. Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What kind of person will you be after you learn how to improve yourself?

Write a letter to your future self and seal it. Make a date in your calendar to open it 1-5 years from now. Then, start working to become the person you want to open that letter.

38. Start Your Life Handbook

A life handbook is a book that contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values, and your goals. You can think of it as a manual for how to live your best life through consistent self-improvement.

I started my life handbook in 2007, and it’s been a crucial enabler in my personal development. If you’re looking for a structured system to organize your goals and track your progress, The Full Life Planner provides a comprehensive framework designed to help you create and maintain your personal development system.

39. Read 1 Personal Development Article a Day

Some of my readers make it a point to read at least one personal development article every day, which I think is a great habit. Check out more useful articles on LifeHack.

Go Further

These final tips are for when you’re ready to take your self-improvement journey to the next level.

40. Start a Blog About Personal Development

To help others grow, you need to first be walking the talk of self-improvement. There are expectations of you, both from yourself and from others, which you have to uphold.

41. Start a Business Venture

Is there anything you have an interest in? Why not turn it into a venture and make money while learning at the same time?

Starting a new venture requires you to learn business management skills, develop business acumen, and have a competitive edge.

The process of starting and developing my personal development business has equipped me with many skills, such as self-discipline, leadership, organization, and management.

42. Commit to Your Personal Growth

I can be writing list articles with 10 ways, 25 ways, 42 ways, or even 1,000 ways to improve yourself, but if you have no intention to commit to your personal growth, it doesn’t matter what I write.

You are responsible for your personal growth as you learn how to improve yourself. Make the decision to commit to your personal growth and embrace a lifelong journey of growth and change. Kick off your growth by picking a few of the steps above and working on them.

The results may not be immediate, but I promise that as long as you keep to it, you’ll start seeing positive changes in yourself and your life.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to better myself?

To better yourself means to consciously invest in your own growth – whether that’s improving your knowledge, health, mindset, relationships, or daily habits. It’s not about being dissatisfied with who you are, but about recognizing that you can always grow further. Psychologist Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset shows that people who believe they can improve tend to achieve more than those who think their abilities are fixed. [1]

How can I better myself every day?

Start small. Pick one or two habits from this list and practice them daily. The key is consistency over intensity – as James Clear explains, getting just 1% better each day compounds to being 37 times better over a year. [2] Reading for 20 minutes, exercising for 30 minutes, or journaling before bed are all simple daily practices that add up.

What are the 5 steps to improve yourself?

The NHS recommends five evidence-based steps for wellbeing: (1) Connect with people around you, (2) Be physically active, (3) Learn new skills, (4) Give to others, and (5) Pay attention to the present moment through mindfulness. [3] The five pillars in this article – mind, body, character, relationships, and habits – align closely with this framework.

How do I become my best self?

Start by identifying the gap between who you are now and who you want to become. Then work on closing that gap one small action at a time. Get a mentor or accountability partner, track your progress in a journal, and be patient with yourself. Lasting personal change comes from building sustainable habits, not from dramatic overnight transformations.

What are the 3 C’s of self-esteem?

The 3 C’s are Confidence (believing in your ability to handle challenges), Competence (developing real skills through practice and learning), and Connection (building meaningful relationships that support your growth). As Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore explains, real self-esteem comes from strengthening all three – not just feeling good about yourself, but actually building skills and nurturing relationships. [4]

Start Your Self-Improvement Journey Today

Sometimes, it’s difficult to know where you should start with self improvement. The tips shared here will help you better yourself across every area of life. You need to take baby steps and build momentum gradually to keep on keeping on in the long term.

If you’re looking for a structured approach to making the most of your time and energy, explore the Time Flow System to get started. What will you start doing today?