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50 Self Improvement Tips for Success

Self improvement tips

You can stop searching for self improvement tips and articles on blogs spread across the web. We’ve collated the best tips so you can focus your energy on executing them rather than hunting for them. It’s a long list that’ll also test whether you believe in tip number 29. Over to Rohit.
 

50 Self Improvement Tips for Success at Work and in Life

by Rohit Gupta

While the term self-improvement has been associated with some sleazy and pushy literature of late, it is indeed a vital weapon that you should have in your arsenal to avoid obsolescence and being in-sync with the changing times. As you mature you tend to realize that learning is not restricted to the walls of academia after all.

Instead, the real learning and opportunities of improvement to become more well-rounded individuals exist outside academia in the halls of life; often it is the most important study area which you get to design and structure on your own. The more self-improvement and leisure bleed into each other in your real life, the better it is.

Self-improvement seems lofty and inherently logical to begin with, yet the spectrum of improvement that is possible for an average individual is intrinsically huge and complex. And when one also considers the fact that it is a continuous process by definition, it makes the whole thing baffling and often degenerates into a well-trodden excuse-zone. While I am no expert in bringing my shit together, I strive for self-improvement and adhere to some basic tenets given below to make this process easier, defined and repeatable.
 

Self improvement tip 1: Cultivate an attitude of learning

The holy grail of self-improvement, this attitude ensures that you are open to the idea of learning without the false barriers of age, remain in tune with the changing times and do not get fossilized under the false assumption that learning is not for you, owing to a list of unique constraints (because everybody feels their problems are unique!)
 

Self improvement tip 2: Appreciate the difference between important and urgent tasks

The two are synchronous and often used interchangeably, but are vastly different when it comes down to viewing life with a slightly long-term perspective. For instance, while being financially secure is important, shipping that deliverable by 7 PM is urgent.
 

Self improvement tip 3: Master the art of changing habits

Usually the most important thing that distinguishes the successful/unsuccessful or the dreamers/doers is the set of habits they follow. We overestimate the influence of willpower, it being a very finite resource. Instead, it makes far more sense to establish rituals and systems to get some serious work done. It just so happens that getting started itself is more often than not more difficult than executing the task itself.
 

Self improvement tip 4: Learn a new language

It is easier said than done, but the reward seems to be worth it. You get to learn about a new culture, it makes your world smaller and not to mention your increased employability (okay, it might be the most important). Besides, languages shape the way we think and learning a new one will surely fire up some of your dormant neurons.
 

Self improvement tip 5: Meditate

Because in a fast-paced life, this can often be your only source of inner sanity. It helps to disengage completely once in a while to adjust your rudder in an endless ocean you get to traverse only once (not just once if you are a Hindu/Buddhist, of course!)
 

Self improvement tip 6: Exercise

A good exercise regime lifts your mood, releases happy chemicals and keeps you prepared for the daily challenges in life.Our bodies are habitual to physical labor due to many millennia of conditioning/evolution while living as nomads or hunter gatherers. Sadly, the importance of health is often recognized only after some damage is done.
 

Self improvement tip 7: Keep a journal

While it is considered a bit out-of-fashion in our times (YOLO kids may even yawn at the thought it), it actually serves as a personal repository to relive your journey in a way that is impossible in any other way, also because the memories are malleable.
 

Self improvement tip 8: Create a life mission

Most of us unconsciously walk down the path set forward by the society without being overly concerned about our peculiarities until something finally happens in life which drives home the absurdity of society and its foolishness. The Greek philosophers spent their whole lives debating about the pros & cons of living life in a certain way. Show some respect and create a set of beliefs to live by.
 

Self improvement tip 9: Jump out of the comfort zone

The openness of a person to new experiences is a likely indicator of the future growth trajectory, and a few studies have shown that slightly higher stress levels associated with a little discomfort result in an optimal anxiety that is best for our performance. If it is way out-out-of the comfort zone, it leads to anxiety and breakdown. Always in the comfort-zone, you have been a proverbial frog in the well.
 

Self improvement tip 10: Learn the art of small talk

If you have finally decided to not be an ascetic and live a material life after all, you might as well be a master in navigating the societal patterns. Small talk can take you places, literally.
 

Self improvement tip 11: Help whenever you can

Because even if we think along minutely selfish lines, it pays dividends. Team work is not just a corporate buzzword, the concept of help and exchange has been prevalent right from the time of barter. (Game of Thrones fan alert: Lannisters are not the only ones who pay their debts!)
 

Self improvement tip 12: Excel at what you do

It is perfectly fine that you have a whole range of passions and interest areas (and it is a sign of well-rounded persona), but pick up one of these and get progressively better at it so that you don’t end up boiling the ocean while going unnoticed. Malcolm Gladwell expounded the unglamorous process of the making of a genius through the 10,000 hour rule.
 

Self improvement tip 13: Practice gratitude

Because life is unfair by design.

“I once cried because I had no shoes to play football with my friends, but one day I saw a man who had no feet and I realized how rich I am” ~ Zinedine Zidane
 

Self improvement tip 14: Be mindful

In this age of interconnectedness, fast-food and high-speed Internet, the simple pleasures of life often get overlooked. Walk on the grass. Look at the stars. Plan a family get-together. Try to live, not just exist.
 

Self improvement tip 15: Don’t fit in

The pressure to get molded by societal norms is high, yet you need to trudge with extreme diligence to know the rules which are ridiculous enough for you. When you start noticing a pattern that peer acceptance is increasingly gaining more importance in your life decisions, it is a good time to step back and put things back in perspective.
 

Self improvement tip 16: Learn from the mistakes of others

Because life is too short to learn only from your own.
 

Self improvement tip 17: Be comfortable with change

An excerpt from Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book Antifragile sums it up beautifully-

“Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better”.

In a world which is changing so fast, it pays to grow better with change.
 

Self improvement tip 18: Manage the pangs of regret, guilt and fear

The complex trio-of-emotions has roots in the time continuum, and the downsides of letting the past/future meddle with your present is one of the most recycled sagas in human history that should be avoided through discipline and acceptance.
 

Self improvement tip 19: Don’t reinvent the wheel

When you look for inspiration in disparate sources, you often realize that so many problems that concern us in our day-to-day lives have already been solved. Beg, borrow or steal but don’t reinvent the wheel! (The rhyming is purely coincidental). The collective human intelligence places high hopes on you!
 

Self improvement tip 20: Find a mentor

Because it is the most sure-shot way to avoid silly mistakes, suppress the pangs of youthful arrogance and break the vicious chain of blind leading the blind. Google can only take you so far (at least for now).
 

Self improvement tip 21: Listen to your thoughts

There is an old saying that there are three kinds of people in the world:

  1. Those who talk about themselves and others
  2. Those who talk about the things happening around
  3. Those who talk about ideas

You need to aggressively gravitate towards the third-kind.
 

Self improvement tip 22: Try minimalism

Cluttered surroundings overwhelm the senses and give a nagging sense of incompletion and restlessness. Cut back on the things you rely on and live light (no, you seriously don’t need that latest iPhone). Don’t let your possessions own you.
 

Self improvement tip 23: Learn the ancient art of rhetoric

Put simply, rhetoric is the art of persuasion through effective speaking and writing. You become good at negotiation, craft speeches which touch hearts and instill confidence. It is also a guard against the wicked ones who argue for their own selfish motives to convolute the truth.
 

Self improvement tip 24: Surround yourself with good souls

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. I don’t remember the source, but the saying rings so true. Brutally get rid of the leeches that suck on your life energy. They are usually uniform and fairly easy to identify: classic cases of victim mentality, pessimistic whiny little bastards who leave a stinking air of negativity wherever they go.
 

Self improvement tip 25: Don’t compete

Because life is not a race, and it’s not a zero sum game after all. The only meaningful competition possible is with oneself.
 

Self improvement tip 26: Get rid of the TV

Period.
 

Self improvement tip 27: Travel

Because your existence takes on new shapes as you start viewing this world through different lenses, soaking in diverse cultures and understanding that there is another way. Solo travelling experiences to non-touristy locations especially can give unusually fresh perspectives.
Along the space-time continuum of experiences, you can traversespace by travelling extensively. Reading does the trick for traversing time. So there you have it, a couple of essential elements to forge you into a well-rounded individual.
 

Self improvement tip 28: Let the ideas mingle

Discovering passion is over-rated. It’s not a sweet fruit which drops down from the mighty skies if you try hard enough/wait patiently/are lucky enough or any of that shite. An average individual has a variety of interest areas which can potentially give rise to some really fresh innovations, if only you let the ideas in your mind mingle and play with each other.

You like to watch soccer and you are a great foodie as well, what about a soccer–themed bakery?




 

Self improvement tip 29: Be a finisher

The world is replete with starters, but their creations seldom see the light of day just because they keep telling themselves bullshit reasons which stop them from shipping (procrastination is a better term for this). Once again, habits can come to the rescue as people who crawl their way out of boredom are the ones who get to start and finish things.
 

Self improvement tip 30: Pessimism sucks

I won’t regurgitate the usual- glass half-full or half-empty anecdote, but there is a very real cost associated with pessimism in terms of unrealized potential. Yes, that new freelancing gig can break your bank if the stream of work dries up sometime in the future and aliens can abduct you as you sleep.
 

Self improvement tip 31: Build a personal brand

In an age where having multiple careers is not unusual and the employers search you on social media to get to know you, building your personal brand can reap rich dividends.
 

Self improvement tip 32: Don’t be too harsh on yourself

It is OK to fuck-up once in a while; rather I would say it is necessary. Yet if you tend to make the same mistakes again-and-again, well, you are a loser.
 

Self improvement tip 33: Make a stunning first impression

Human evolution has resulted in a very interesting by-product; you make effective snap judgments based on your reservoir of untapped subconscious instincts to guide you in decision making. These judgments helped our ancestors survive by sensing threat in seconds, the situations are far less threatening now but the instinct stuck. Your first impression is so indelible that it makes sense to get it right.
 

Self improvement tip 34: Savor the food

In a fast-paced life of luxuries and ambitions, we are prone to misalign our priorities— earning to live or living to earn?
 

Self improvement tip 35: Let go the incessant chatter

While being socially connected has opened up a wealth of opportunities, it has also contributed to a lot of noise inour daily lives. It is rare that you actually do something worthwhile amidst the barrage of messages. You may also try going off-the-grid once in a while to feel how free one can actually be.
 

Self improvement tip 36: Try freelancing

If you are someone who is perennially afflicted from Monday-morning blues,you can try your luck in freelancing. Personal brand and good habits go a long way in ensuring a smooth sailing as a freelancer and it might be a welcome respite from the usual corporate stress. It also gives you the freedom to travel at your own pace and work from the location of your choice, if your mode of operation is online.
 

Self improvement tip 37: Be a connector

Malcolm Gladwell talks about three core personality types— Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. In a small world, being a connector is increasingly important as a life skill and is great for personal and professional growth. Keith Ferrazzi has written a wonderful book about the importance of having meaningful connections, Never Eat Alone.
 

Self improvement tip 38: Take risks

Because life is too short to play safe all the time. Because betterment in the past can be attributed to the risks taken by our ancestors. Because you’ll regret things you didn’t do rather than what you did.
 

Self improvement tip 39: Master the art of public speaking

It is an art which is intrinsically connected to wit, humor, confidence, story-telling and what-not. Study stand-up comedians to learn the tricks of the trade; they are the ones who fine-tune their strategy as their bread-and-butter (and brand) depends on mastering the art of delivering right content at the right time.
 

Self improvement tip 40: Learn to write well

In an age of emails and social media, less-than-average writing skills can be a bottleneck for the delivery of your creation/message and you don’t want to make it a last-mile problem for an otherwise illustrious effort.
 

Self improvement tip 41: Don’t aim for absolute perfection

It goes against intuition but the ideal of perfection is responsible for non-shipment of work more than anything else and is usually the degenerate substitute for procrastination. The Pareto principle can be your guiding light in all such endeavors. The imperfect painting which gets shipped is immeasurably luckier than the painting which yearns to get out in the world but has perfection as its nemesis.
 

Self improvement tip 42: Money is not that important

If you invest in yourself and focus on development across all fronts—physical, mental and spiritual, money is a natural by-product. The false sense of security (is your corporate job that secure, really?) is an artificial mind construct to resist change (law of inertia!) and you would not want to spend your whole life waiting for the wonder-land where you will suddenly have plenty of time, money and energy to do things you have always wanted. It is the means, not the end.
 

Self improvement tip 43: Money can break you

As an ironic yet natural extension to the previous point, you have to acknowledge that money is indeed important for living a materialistic life and can solve most of your day-to-day problems while significantly impacting your general happiness quotient.

Hence, having a plan for taking care of your personal finances is a good first step. I loved reading Economic Times Wealth, and recommend it as a good starting point. And yes, buying stocks is not akin to gambling contrary to widespread perceptions.
 

Self improvement tip 44: You can’t plan it all

Life is unpredictable and you can’t ever hope to make a contingency plan for everything possible under the sun, by a natural extension of reason and human constraints. The next best alternative, regularly push yourself out of your comfort zone so as to be able enough to face any black swans!
 

Self improvement tip 45: Be like a lotus

“He, who does actions, offering them to Brahman and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin as a lotus leaf by water.” – Gita, 5-10

The ancient text of wisdom presents clear logical arguments for both mundane and spiritual enquiries and expounds that one is capable of spiritual attainment even while living a life of material pursuits by abandoning attachment.
 

Self improvement tip 46: Quit early

While quitting has a certain stigma attached to it, there are many instances when quitting early can work in your favor. Especially in your 20’s, it makes far more sense to quit early once you know that a career does not fit.

Life is too short to do shitty work and experimentation such as this gets progressively more difficult in general as one starts to age.

Prof Deepak Malhotra made a convincing argument for quitting early and quitting often in a speech to graduating Harvard MBA students.




 

Self improvement tip 47: Be fiercely independent

While your parents have always been there to take care of you, your friends true enough to support you and your colleagues generous enough to help you; realize that they don’t owe you anything. If you constantly need external validation/support, you are actually banking on an external source for motivation/survival which is an inappropriate way at best and life-threatening at worst. Because in the end, you really are on your own.
 

Self improvement tip 48: Learn a strategy game

It will open up your mind regarding the importance of timing, difference between battles and war;will let you enjoy the rush of having a strategic advantage and make you realize the importance of having a bird’s eye view of the whole picture.
 

Self improvement tip 49: Establish a feedback mechanism

The education industry is based on feedback mechanisms implemented in the form of tests; it’s important as it lets you know the direction of your efforts. Having a personal development plan, the onus lies on you to track your own progress. Minor improvements made through this feedback loop can lead to landslide changes in the long term.
 

Self improvement tip 50: Be a linchpin

Being such a great fan of Seth Godin, I had to shamelessly steal at least one of his ideas while creating a list such as this.In a nutshell, it is about making yourself indispensable and unique in a way that you cannot be easily replaced— the system isn’t as important as your contribution to it.

While this is one of the lengthiest articles I have ever written, I suppose it sums up the important things for me and will serve as a useful reminder in days to come whenever I slack too much. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions for self-improvement. How do you plan to grow and take over the world, eh?
 
Author Bio: I am Rohit, an engineer by education, a data analyst by profession and a reader by inclination. Since 2012, I’ve been writing about self-improvement, productivity, coping with life as it comes and just being plain happy. I blog at http://urbangallivant.wordpress.com/

Image Credit: Entrepreneur Magazine


Are you already following any of the self improvement tips listed here? How effective have they been? Or are there other ideas that you’ve read in articles featured on self improvement blogs that you’d like to share?

Also read:
Are you really happy?
Why I left the corporate world: My career change story


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Sameer Kamat
About Sameer Kamat
Founder of MBA Crystal Ball. Author of Beyond The MBA Hype & Business Doctors. Here's more about me. Follow me on: Instagram | Linkedin | Youtube

14 thoughts on “50 Self Improvement Tips for Success”

  1. Not disagreeing to anything said above. Of course, these are good “50 Self Improvement Tips” (not sure about the “success” part though).

    For that matter, no one can plan success for himself. There just one mantra: Do well whatever one thing you do as your profession. By doing so, most often in day-to-day life, success will not seem to be coming your way anytime soon — obviously, most don’t follow this path — but will be eventually yours. Working single mindedly on any one field for years together is the only way to excel in any field you chose to pursue. True for any successful people if you look around. No shortcut here.

    Otherwise, someone has to plan your success, such as your parents. For example, Tiger Woods’ father used to practice golf for hours in front of Woods when he was just 1 year old. His father “planned” his success. Dhirubhai Ambani must have planned success for Anil Ambani. Same with Hungarian sisters, who became grand-masters at early age and case study of “success” for the rest of the world.

    Reply
  2. Thanks Sameer. Now that you have got me started, let me tie few more lose ends.

    WARNING: Some more Gyan to follow. Read further at your own risk.

    So, what exactly is success? Definitions vary. Different for each one us. And, Rightly so!!!

    Now, keeping in mind the purpose we visit this site, let’s narrow our definition down to “Professional Success” only.

    To me, success is when you push the boundaries of a field. For example, if you can push the boundaries of medicine and discover drug for cancer, that’s success. Similarly, if you can push the boundaries of material science and discover a bio-degradable substitute for plastic. If you can bring a law that reduces corruption in this country (this one is the toughest), that’s success . These are Long lasting successes; lasts long after you are gone.

    Now imagine, hundreds of scientists every day after breakfast plunge themselves into finding such successes …and they work till late everyday, long after you have fallen asleep. They work tirelessly, days-after-days. Considering that every field has grown exceedingly complex, obviously, finding something new to push the boundaries of that field is not easy; One needs to work single mindedly for years together to smell that coveted success…

    But, what about those Zuckerberg’s, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs ……. they seem to have got it effortlessly and almost over night? Media wants us to believe so…… most of the people believe so. Everyone seems to be looking for exactly this kind of successes… Aren’t they?

    Well, Bill Gates and Jobs worked tirelessly for years to reach where they ultimately reached. And about Zuckerberg, he too is no exception….No one will ever be …

    Reply
    • Very Inspiringing these Self improvement tips ! I hope it will take make a long way in my life journey as am still in my 20s… Thanks Sir Sameer i love yr Works…

      Reply
  3. Oracle,

    On your first point, it depends on what you define by success. I am run a small company but have a great time doing so. I don’t need to be an Ambani to qualify my success. We all remember Usain Bolt but what about the person who came 4th or 5th or 15th? Isn’t the 15th fastest man on this planet successful?

    On the next point of effort, the parents can “set it up” but its upto the children to perform. I know someone who I grew up with. His father used to take him to the cricket practice everyday. We loved his admiration as our dads wouldn’t have done the same. He eventually never grew beyond the “state” level.

    Just having a healthy debate – hope you take it in the right spirit 🙂

    Arun

    Reply
  4. Hello Sameer,

    I am sure these are very useful self improvement tips. But I am not sure if these are really tips for success. If you were more specific about success, I am sure it was more pleasing for all. Well, I appreciate your effort. Because your article is somekind of great research paper for self improvement.

    Reply
  5. Hi Junaid, thanks for sharing your views.

    As Arun mentions, success is a pretty open-ended term. It could mean different things to a student, employee, boss, spouse, MBA applicants.

    While writing a general post on success, we felt it was best to focus on self-improvement, which in turn can contribute to personal and career success.

    We hope to write other (hopefully more focussed) posts on other facets that might be relevant to our blog visitors.

    Do keep coming back and sharing your feedback. It’ll help us improve.

    Reply
  6. Hi Sameer….Lengthy but absolutely Pretty…That’s what this post is for me…..I have also used some of your tips….very helpful and thought through. Thank you.

    Reply
  7. Great Post, I also want to share some points:-
    See yourself from the perception of those who love you and love them back
    Stop being scared to be the loser
    Believe in the power of healing
    Try to learn something new every day
    Remove the clutter from work desk and from home

    Reply
  8. I am grateful that roughly 40 of these are already in play in my life… and still I do my fare share of floundering at times and do not pretend to have The Answer…only some tools to create some semblance of peace in a world that doesn’t encourage that.

    Decluttering is one of the most difficult of the aforementioned tips for this creative polymath AND likely one I believe in most.

    Little would be accomplished by me without the tools of meditation and exercise.

    I would have to STRONGLY advise and suggest the addition of… INVESTIGATING YOUR BLOCKS. I hit a fairly low (for me) seemingly self-imposed “success ceiling.” PTSD work, EMDR… modalities outside the realm of “intelligencia” were the only means by which I could get unstuck. Simply “knowing your issues” is not enough. Subconscious self-sabotage is powerful and subtle enough to undermine the most diligent conscious commitment to The List O’ Improvements. #beentheresurvivedthat

    This is a great great “go to” list of reminders for the times we may forget… and we all do.

    Reply
  9. Thanks for sharing the post, Rohit.

    I think Pareto principle is alone enough for anyone to achieve his highest self. Being busy is not being productive and here pareto formula works… 🙂 🙂

    Reply
  10. These self improvement tips are very rewarding as you’ll discover a whole new realm that allows you to be happy in your life, be confident about yourself and achieve results that you never would have thought of achieving.

    Reply
  11. A lot of great ideas, but I would have liked to learn the “How” to do each one. Also I do not understand # 33 and a few others; consider your audience may not be as knowlegable as you and a clearer with “How to” and easire to understand wording would have been more to my liking. Other ideas were clear. To me all changes take one basic action and that is self-talk; what we tell ourselves in thoughts greatly influcence, motivate or not, complete or not, etc. and I feel indepth explantion of how this works with self-change would have made a great improvement in this article. Additionally, correting by analyizing one’s inner-critic is important in riding damaging thinking.

    Reply

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