Tips for Improving Any Aspect of your Life

improvement

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man;

true nobility is being superior to your former self.

Ernest Hemingway

Do you often spend some time thinking about how your life could be a little better? Get out your writing utensils, and let’s try an experiment. Try rating each aspect that you are concerned about on a one-to-ten scale? Then you will be able to focus on the parts that you feel need the most attention.

But maybe, as a self-improvement aficionado, you have already tried rating the different areas of your life. And even when the lower-rated areas of your life were improved, maybe you felt that you only raised them to a level of six or a seven at best. The good news is you don’t have to keep feeling stuck there forever!

Investigate your approach

When parts of your life get stuck, the issue is often in the approach. Any strategy that you choose will have a maximum expected result, and the techniques that draw most people will never raise them above a five-to-seven range. For example, if you adhere to a strict regimen of marginal or minimal exercise, it is unlikely that you will start looking like a body builder, if that’s your ultimate goal.

You see, no matter how perfectly the strategy you go about implementing a strategy, that strategy can only take you to a certain level. Sort of like an old adage that says if you are climbing the ladder to success, make sure its leaning against the right wall.

In many instances, as much as you will hate this, starting back at the beginning is what you will need to do. Look at Tiger Woods for example. And, no, I don’t want to talk about whether you are a fan or not, that’s not the point. Professional golfers occasionally get stuck in their progress and have to completely redo their swing. For a while, they will stay stuck at what they will consider to be a two-three level, but frequently they are then able to push through and finally reach a ten by using a whole new strategy.

Even with a more effective strategy, you might feel that it will take you too long to get from 6 to 10. Yes, this is probably going to take you some time. But what better place to spend your coin of time than in becoming more of what you want to be. And, the time is going to pass anyway, so it may as well be spent working on improvement. Spend that time growing and seeing what you are capable of becoming.

Here are a few points to consider as you investigate your approach to growing any area of your life.

1. What is a ten to you?

The first step is to consider what a ten actually means to you, personally. What does a ten look like to you? If you are talking about income, is it $200,000 a year? Is it $1 million a year with less than 20 hours of work a week? You can only reach your destination by knowing where it is you want to go.

2. Set goals to moving toward that perfect ten

Now that you know where you are heading, get started on the journey. Be aggressive but focused. Failure is not one of the options you choose. Keep moving forward, even if its only with baby steps.

3. Check your progress

If your path isn’t working well, figure out why. If it still isn’t working, do something else. Look for a different strategy, alter your perspective and change your approach. When things are working, keep moving.

So, what happens when you reach your perfect 10?

Once you reach your ten, your perspective has changed. Now, suddenly, you realize that your original six was actually a three or a four, based on your new perspective, your new way of seeing things, including yourself. The truth now, is that a true ten is way, way out there somewhere. Realizing how big a ten really is shows you how much higher you can go as you reach, and celebrate, each milestone! You’re far more capable than you give yourself credit for. You are much more capable that you may have imagined!

As you grow and mature, you find that being fixed in one spot isn’t satisfying for very long. The pleasure is in the progress and experience, not in staying at some milestone.