Personal Growth

The best thing you can do in your life is strive for personal growth.

That means it is okay to make mistakes as long as you are learning and growing from them. It means that you are constantly trying to be better tomorrow than you are today. You are improving your life one step at a time, and hey, you are worth it!

Learning to love yourself and revel in how wonderful you are takes a lot of time, a lot of mistakes, and a lot of chocolate. You have to be willing to say I am not perfect and I can be wrong, but I am me and I am okay with that.

Some ways to get started:

-Makes goals for yourself and actively pursue them. Don't make huge unachievable lists and don't say you want to do something that you know you can't right now. It's like the weight loss goals. Everyone says "I'm going to drop 15 pounds" and in reality they may lose 5. Be happy with 5, strive for 5, and when you make that, make a new goal to lose 5 more.

-GO OUT!I don't mean go out partying and drinking, but go out somewhere public, and enjoy the atmosphere. Take a break from your own chaos. Do something fun you love. Go to a coffee shop, shut off your phone, and read a good book. You'd be surprised how great you'll feel after an hour.

-Spruce up your wardrobe, get a new hairstyle, buy those shoes you keep eying. I know it seems cliche to tell women to shop, but on those rare occasions when you feel down on yourself and nothing is going your way, decking yourself out just for you can have a very positive affect.

So how do these create personal growth? They don't. They are stepping stones to making you feel a bit better about yourself. And when you start to feel better about yourself, then you are ready to start growing as a person. When you are down on yourself, you don't care how your life is going because nothing looks bright.

Love yourself! Enjoy being you. But also realize that there is always room for improvement in your life. Personal growth begins with little steps that will, eventually, make a big change.

-CAC