18 Paths to Fuel Personal Growth

Starting a journey of personal growth can be both exciting and challenging. Whether you want to improve your relationships, career, or overall well-being, there are many paths you can take to fuel your growth.

However, with so many different options, settling on just a few can be challenging. Here, we list some ways to fuel your personal growth. Exploring them will allow you to cultivate a fulfilling life and unlock your potential.

1. Set Clear Goals

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To have any level of success, you need to set proper goals. For example, saying you want to lose weight isn’t enough. You should set specific goals with deadlines or SMART goals. The result is a goal you can track and achieve. For example, a specific weight-loss goal looks like “losing 5 pounds within the next 60 days.”

2. Read Widely and Often

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If you don’t enjoy reading, attempt to do so with books you’re interested in. Often in school, students are forced to read books on topics they don’t enjoy. However, if you can read for at least 30 minutes daily, you’ll constantly learn new things. Additionally, make it a habit to read the newspaper online or physically. There are countless stories of people who claim books have changed their lives for the better. The same can happen for you if you consistently learn from reading.

3. Seek Feedback

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It’s not easy to receive constructive criticism, but this is a great way to improve yourself. In most jobs, you’ll get quarterly or annual performance reviews, which are a great way to gauge your progress. However, you don’t need to wait to get feedback. Start by asking people you trust for honest feedback on a particular task.

Additionally, social media has created opportunities for individuals and businesses to capture attention. The best part is that most social media platforms are tuning their algorithms to be merit-based. For example, if a video or article goes viral, it’s most likely because it’s great content. 

4. Embrace Challenges

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Challenges are challenging, but you’re often better because of them. When tasked with a problem at work, try your best and learn when to ask for help. After the problem is solved, you’ll have better insight into how to solve similar problems and be better at it. The same applies to challenges in your personal life. If you pay attention, you can learn from your mistakes and victories. 

5. Practice Mindfulness

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You may feel like your busy schedule doesn’t permit you to take a few minutes during the day to practice mindfulness, but think again. If you have a busy schedule, you need mindfulness even more. This doesn’t have to mean traditional meditation, either. 

Make it a habit to pause and take deep breaths for a minute or two during your lunch break, in the morning, or at night. Use apps like Headspace to guide you through a mind-clearing process or watch free YouTube videos.

6. Learn a New Skill

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You don’t need to go to school to learn new skills. You can do so by reading or taking online courses. Additionally, you can listen to podcasts or watch free YouTube videos. Maybe you’re curious about how to shoot and edit videos or want to learn copywriting.

Whatever topic you’re interested in, take the first steps to learn this skill. After a few months, you may discover a new passion and may be able to leverage this skill in other parts of your life.

7. Teach Others

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After mastering a skill, it feels good to teach others what you know. This is your chance to see how well you know a subject, and you’ll help someone gain this knowledge quickly. However, you’ll also develop better communication skills because knowing a topic isn’t the same as simplifying it in a manner someone new would understand.

8. Network Regularly

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Networking is evolving from what we understood a decade ago. For example, attending conferences or local events was once the primary method of networking. Nowadays, there’s little excuse not to network. Social media has given us the opportunity to connect with people around the world who share similar interests.

9. Maintain a Journal

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If you hate writing or think journals are only for a subset of people, think again. Journals are a great way to release your thoughts and be in tune with your emotions. All this is to say that journaling can help you live a happier life.

Here’s a quick hack: If you have a smartphone, use a note app and transcribe using your phone’s built-in feature. Typically, this will be accessible from your main keyboard. To journal, all you’d have to do is spend a few minutes daily speaking your thoughts. The best part is being able to look back and keep track of your thoughts and feelings.

10. Prioritize Health

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Health is wealth—literally. Those without health would spend millions to be healthy again. It might not seem like much, but waking up daily without pain is a reason to feel happy. No matter how busy you are, make time to go for a walk or to the gym.

If you work from home and are crunched for time, buy a walking pad to put under your desk. This way, you can easily get steps in while you’re thinking. It might not seem like much, but you’ll be able to easily get 5,000 or even 10,000 steps in before your workday is over.

11. Educate Yourself Online

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Affordable quality education is finally here. You don’t need to go to a prestigious college to learn. For most topics, YouTube offers many videos on different subjects. The quality will vary, but by using the filter and spending some time browsing, you’ll eventually find what you’re looking for. Additionally, you can use places like Coursera, EdX, and Udemy to find more free or affordable courses.

12. Volunteer

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On the surface, volunteering appears to benefit only other people or companies. But until you volunteer, you won’t experience the positive feelings you get afterward. There’s something about helping others that makes you feel good. You can volunteer by physically going somewhere or potentially even virtually.

13. Travel

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If you don’t do much traveling, consider taking a trip annually. You don’t need to explore the entire world, but visiting other countries is a learning experience in itself. It helps you gain perspective and realize that no matter what language or cultural differences people have, we’re all still very similar.

14. Start a Lucrative Hobby

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If you’re falling into a routine at work or need extra cash, a side hustle can be your hobby and means to earn extra money. Some people get paid to play video games, work with LEGOs, and more. Additionally, you can go to garage sales during the weekend and flip rare items you find. 

15. Listen to Podcasts

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Listen to a podcast instead of listening to the same music on your way to work. There are plenty of topics to choose from nowadays. From real estate to your favorite TV show, we guarantee that, whatever your main interest, there’s a podcast about it. Be sure to set this up before you drive so you’re not struggling to tune in while driving.

16. Attend Workshops

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You don’t need to spend a dime to attend meaningful workshops. The internet has enabled you to attend them virtually and often at no cost to you. Businesses or content creators typically list workshop events on social media and prompt you to enter your email to attend. 

17. Reflect Daily

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If you’re journaling daily, you’re in tune with your thoughts. However, take a moment to recap your day briefly. This doesn’t have to be anything formal, but reflecting every day will help you grow. Maybe you were busy but didn’t enjoy the day. Reflecting will give you the opportunity to change this in the future.

18. Stay Curious

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Many attribute their success to staying curious. If you’re curious, you will seek answers and ultimately learn new things. You’ll constantly learn by feeding your curiosity through reading books and watching videos. With this knowledge, you may land a high-paying career or start your own business.