Difficult circumstances are often used as excuses for not investing in personal development. It may seem impossible to grow when going through a stressful event in your professional life or a romantic relationship, such as a breakup. However, these challenges present an opportunity to build resilience and self-awareness. One powerful tool for kickstarting growth in the face of adversity is the HIGH5 strengths assessment. By identifying your unique strengths, you gain the clarity and confidence needed to develop yourself, no matter the situation. Equipped with a deep understanding of your natural talents, you can take strategic steps to become your best self and thrive, even in tough times.
Luckily, everyone has the power to invest in their personal development, and the HIGH5 assessment is an accessible starting point for transformative growth. Personal growth lets you live a more fulfilling life as the best version of yourself by helping you develop healthy behaviors. This article specifies the many actionable steps you can use in your personal development journey.
Why do you need to grow up as a person?
There is a plethora of benefits to investing in yourself and your personal strengths. Firstly, you become more self-aware and in tune with your senses. You understand who you truly are, and you gain an understanding of your goals, desires, and emotions. Once you understand yourself, chasing after your goals becomes more natural. Additionally, those who invest in themselves become more focused and efficient. The clarity one receives from personal development allows one to prioritize tasks more accurately and effectively. Throughout your daily life, you begin to focus on your true goals instead of procrastinating, avoiding challenges, and failing to take the measures necessary to achieve them. Personal growth will also help you build resilience and spark your motivation.
Everyone encounters struggles and difficulties in their lives. While personal development cannot prevent these situations from arising, it can help you better deal with challenges in more productive ways. Engaging in personal development can help see the bigger picture and enable you make the right choices on your journey to pursue your goals. Self-improvement can also help improve your personal skills, allowing you to build stronger and more fulfilling personal relationships. Growth lets you identify the skills you need to improve to become more successful, such as communication and analytical thinking, which can help you become a charismatic public speaker, or, if you’re a leader, better at making decisions and delegating tasks. These skills will also help you deal with conflict by implementing more constructive communication patterns, enabling you to build stronger relationships, which is essential for success.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
As you consider areas for personal development, reflect on your HIGH5 strengths profile. Look for opportunities to build upon your existing strengths, rather than just shoring up weaknesses. Research shows that growth efforts focused on strengths are more energizing and effective. Identify one strength to leverage in a new way each week for accelerated growth.
What does it mean to grow as a person?
Growing as a person involves a continuous process of self-awareness, self-improvement, and self-transformation. It encompasses learning from experiences, expanding your knowledge and skills, improving your emotional intelligence, and developing healthier relationships with others and with yourself. Personal growth allows you to become more adaptable to changes, more resilient in the face of challenges, and more effective in achieving your goals. Ultimately, it means continuously striving to be a better version of yourself, not just for your own well-being but also to positively impact those around you.
15 tested ways & steps to grow as a person
Self-growth is a lifelong process and takes continuous practice. But dedicating some time every day makes the task far more manageable. Below are 10 strategies you can implement into your daily routine.
1. Try something new
The world has so much to offer. Experiencing new events can help you exit your comfort zone and explore new ways to apply your strengths. Challenge yourself by engaging in a new activity you’ve never tried before – sign up for a dance class or a cooking class, try a new sport, travel to a new country, and explore your local community to seek out engaging events. This also allows you to meet new, interesting people who can support you, motivate you, and boost your confidence. There is an abundance of activities available to explore, and avoiding new experiences holds you back from discovering new ways to enjoy life.
2. What can I do to make tomorrow better?
This is an incredibly important question to ask yourself in order to identify the areas you wish to improve. What part of your day do you enjoy the most? Which parts of your day do you enjoy the least? What do you wish you spent less time on? What activities would you like to make room for in your daily life? It could be as simple as “I want to spend less time in front of the TV.” “I wish I had more time for hobbies.” “I am tired of eating the same food every day.” Thinking in this way discourages bad habits and encourages far more productive habits. However, when answering this question, it is important not to think of yourself as inadequate. . Part of having a growth mindset is realizing there is always room for improvement, but still remaining confident in your strengths.
Once you determine how to improve, you can take actionable steps to reach your goal. Make a specific plan with specific actions. If you wish to spend more time on hobbies, put off time in your calendar to do exactly this – for instance, half an hour every night. If you are tired of eating frozen dinners every day, buy a cookbook and go shopping for ingredients to make your food from scratch. Perhaps you have to sacrifice another activity in order to make time for this, but in the end, the joy, satisfaction, and self-esteem you come to experience will be worth it.
3. Learn to really listen
Give a voice to others and help them bring out their inner strength. Even if you are uninterested in a conversation or disagree with someone, give them the respect they deserve and try to truly comprehend what they are saying rather than making assumptions. Listening can become more natural if you visualize what the other individual states, and confirm their feelings after they finish speaking. A good piece of advice that has been shown to be effective is to repeat back the last few words of your conversation partner [1]. Not only will it make the other person feel heard, but it will help you keep track of the conversation. Be aware of non-verbal cues such as body language and eye contact, but don’t overdo it – do what feels natural.
Similarly, pay attention to the other person’s non-verbal cues. Does their posture look tense? Do they struggle to make eye contact? Do they lean back indifferently? Learning to identify and interpret such cues can help you get better at acknowledging the other person’s emotions and reading between the lines so you can ask the right questions and guide the conversation in the right direction. Mirroring the other person’s tone, speech pattern, and body language – e.g. leaning back, crossing your legs, switching to a more informal tone – is a useful trick to subconsciously build rapport. Being a good listener improves your interpersonal relationships and builds upon your empathy. It is especially important for leaders and managers as a way to earn the trust and respect of their employees, making them feel heard.
4. Read more
Reading books is a fantastic way to discover new cultures, perspectives, ideas, and possible ways to improve yourself. It is arguably the best way to start intellectual growth, as it boosts your memory, increases your vocabulary, expands your knowledge, stimulates creativity, and can even help you better understand and connect with those around you [2,3]. Whether fiction or nonfiction, immersing yourself in a book can not only enhance your cognitive abilities, but make you feel a profound sense of enjoyment and connection with other people – fictional or not – by being put in their shoes and seeing the world from their perspective. Take some time to find the genre, the authors, and the type of books you enjoy, and make reading a hobby rather than a task.
5. Laugh
It is often said that laughter is the best medicine, and when it comes to the aspect of personal growth, this is true. Instead of fretting about your inadequacies, laugh at your mistakes. Acknowledge what you did wrong, but do so in a lighthearted way. An important aspect of the growth mindset is the ability to separate the negative feelings stemming from missteps from your sense of self-worth. This keeps your confidence high but allows you to be in tune with your strengths and weaknesses, which is highly beneficial to your development. Remember, you are not your mistakes – your mistakes are just a necessary part of the road.
6. Give back
Giving back to your community can be very rewarding, boost your mood, make you feel happier, and provide a sense of meaning and fulfillment. . Donating money, volunteering at charity organizations, helping out an elderly person, or simply buying more ethical products are all forms of giving back. Doing so aligns your actions with your beliefs and develops a sense of meaning.
7. Set SMART goals
To set meaningful goals that align with your unique potential, start by identifying your strengths. By highlighting your natural talents, the HIGH5 strengths assessment provides you with critical self-awareness you can utilize to craft goals that leverage your strengths, making them more achievable and fulfilling. Instead of vague aspirations, develop specific goals that allow you to harness your strengths and create a strategic roadmap to achieve them. Ensure your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. This means having deadlines, making goals achievable, and learning from any mistakes you make.
8. Set short-term and long-term goals
Goals give you a roadmap to success by breaking down your aspirations into achievable steps. Short-term goals provide immediate challenges and rewards, while long-term goals offer sustained direction and purpose. Make your goals realistic and achievable, but don’t take shortcuts and give in to impulses – always keep in mind the bigger perspective, and remember the ultimate end you are working towards.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
When setting goals, consider each of your top strengths, as identified by HIGH5, and how they can be applied. Aim to set “strengths-based goals” – objectives that specifically utilize your greatest natural talents. This strengths-focused approach makes goals more motivating, as they become an expression of your best self. It also increases your chances of success, as you’re harnessing your innate abilities.
9. Be grateful
It is easy to get lost in the routines of everyday life and take for granted the wonderful things that surround us, the people we appreciate, and the aspects of our world that we cherish. Create a habit of listing all the things and all the people you are thankful for having in your life, and let others know you appreciate them. Whether it’s a loved one, a friend, or a colleague, expressing appreciation and gratefulness helps build stronger bonds between you. Reminding ourselves of the things that bring us joy is a powerful way to introduce more positivity into our lives, which will help us on the road to self-growth.
10. Learn to stand up for yourself
Letting your desire to be liked to overtake your priorities can lead to uncomfortable situations. You must learn to prioritize your well-being and happiness as opposed to always pleasing others, even if the latter is instinctual. Do not assume that others understand your emotions. Let others know when you’re unsatisfied, when they’re too demanding, when they cross a boundary, or when you don’t have the energy or capability to do what they ask – and perhaps most importantly, learn to say no. This turns a possible conflict into an opportunity to express your thoughts and grow to reach a conclusion between both parties.
11. Forgive others, and yourself
You probably feel regret when recalling certain events from your past Perhaps you may have even thought of what you would do differently if given the opportunity to change the past. While that is unfortunately impossible, you can use your past experiences to learn and better prepare for future challenges. Ask yourself: which behaviors or actions led me to that situation, and how can I correct these behaviors in the future? It is important to recognize that you are only human and that a growth mindset does not demand perfection. Learn to keep your own humanity in mind when judging yourself or others. Of course, this is not an excuse to dismiss problematic bad behaviors, but it is simply a reminder not to be overly harsh.
12. Focus on your personal values
Identifying and living according to your personal values helps you to stay grounded and make decisions that align with your true self. Values are defined as the principles, ideals, or actions you believe are important in your life and in society, whether personal or work-related. They are often related to ethical, cultural, social, religious, or philosophical concepts – the notion of what you deem as right or wrong, moral or immoral, just or unjust, or simply guidelines you believe we should all strive to live by. Common personal values encompass aspects such as justice, kindness, self-respect, and loyalty. In the world of business, important values can include collaboration, problem-solving, timeliness, professionalism, and ethical leadership [4].
It is worth taking some time to reflect on your core values to define the things you deem as important and the principles you want to live by, to better connect with yourself and with others. Make a list of statements delineating the aspects of our world and our social lives you regard as substantial. For instance, “If I trust in myself and my abilities, I’m able to achieve anything I set my mind to,” “I believe all humans deserve equal rights, regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality,” or “As a leader, my responsibility is to create a positive work environment in which everyone can thrive.” Your values act as a compass that guides your actions and choices, ensuring they reflect who you are and who you aspire to be.
13. Meditate
Meditation is a powerful tool for mental clarity and emotional calm and has been found to have a significantly positive effect on mental health [5] It helps you develop a deeper understanding of your thoughts and emotions, improving focus and self-regulation, and fostering a greater sense of peace and well-being.
14. Focus on positive thoughts
Cultivating a positive mindset can transform the way you perceive and react to challenges. However, retaining a positive outlook is easier said than done. The famous adage “think happy thoughts” can in many cases be misleading. Implementing a positive mindset is not about dismissing your struggles and disregarding hardships – it’s about finding the most constructive solution. When faced with difficult challenges, instead of surrendering to thoughts like “This is too hard for me to handle,” or “I will never get through this,” try switching your perspective to something more productive.
Ask yourself questions like “What can I do to solve this problem?”, “What steps can I take to make my situation better?” Positive thinking is about seeing opportunities rather than obstacles and focusing on your potential instead of your mistakes. By focusing on positive outcomes and maintaining a hopeful attitude, you can increase your resilience and open up more opportunities for personal growth.
How to grow as a person FAQ
What does it mean to grow in life?
Growth is manifested differently in each individual, and there is more than one type of growth. Some people immediately think of physical growth; the human body maturing and releasing hormones brings changes to brain cells, which affect an individual’s mood. In this case, however, we are talking about growth as a mental process, which involves getting to know oneself and finding ways to maximize one’s full potential through building new habits and “rewiring” one’s brain to be more positive and strength-centered.
What does growing as a person mean?
Growing as a person means taking care of your own self-development, trying to advance your skills, and acquiring knowledge in different fields to realize personal growth. It’s a process in which people become aware of their own “self” and learn how to identify their values, attitudes, thoughts, actions, emotions, strengths, and weaknesses. Along the way, they make mistakes through which they learn what’s right and wrong, and how to become a better person for themselves and for society.
What is the best way to facilitate growth?
The best way to help yourself grow is to become mindful of your actions, thoughts, and emotions. Being aware of the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of your life will allow you to identify your strengths and weaknesses to help you grow as a person. Keep in mind that you need to find the proper method of self-growth on your own. What works for others might not work for you, because every individual is unique and, consequently, every situation differs from the others.
How long does it take to grow as a person?
Personal growth is a lifelong process that continues to evolve as you gain new experiences and insights.
Conclusion
Self-growth is a beautiful yet challenging journey that is worth taking if you wish to feel more satisfied in life, build upon your strengths, and address your weaknesses. Finding your strengths, putting in the hard work by quitting bad habits, and finding new ways to use your strengths definitely pays off in the long run. If you feel doubtful or unmotivated during your journey, remember the many benefits that come with self-development. Your best self and limitless opportunities await you at the end of the journey!
References:
- Spataro, SE, Bloch, J. “Can You Repeat That?” Teaching Active Listening in Management Education. Journal of Management Education, 2018;42(2):168-198.
- Stanovich KE. Does reading make you smarter? Literacy and the development of verbal intelligence? Advances in Child Development and Behavior. 1993:24:133-80
- Kidd DC, Castano E. Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind. Science. 2013;342:377-380.
- Logan Hailey. 300+ Core Values You’ll Ever Need For Work, Relationships, and Life. Science of people. 2024 June 4. https://www.scienceofpeople.com/core-values/
- Jamil A, Gutlapalli SD, Ali M, Oble MJP, Sonia SN, George S, Shahi SR, Ali Z, Abaza A, Mohammed L. Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023. Cureus. 2023;15(6):e40650
