Self-Improvement starts with YOU!
After my morning Cortadito (with no sugar), I sit and observe myself. I observe how my body feels, how my mind is doing, how I feel emotionally, and I check in on my family members. Doing this allows me to ground myself and not allow my thoughts to ping pong off one another. It also allows me to center myself, to be able to focus on what is important to me at this moment. I have noticed that if I don’t do my morning routine, then I am not checking in on myself. If I don’t check in on myself, I go through the day getting things done without being present.
My self-improvement relies on me being present. If I am absent from my day-to-day life, every day will seem redundant with no improvement. Something I have found helpful when I am checking in on myself is asking myself, ‘What do I need to get done today?’ This helps me organize my thoughts, needs, and wants for the day. I noticed that if I don’t ask myself this question, I end up doing more with no accomplishments, just unfinished tasks that start to build up over time. I have noticed that when I ask myself what I need to get done, the task I’m doing within one day, impacts my days moving forward because I am going in a direction.
You might wonder, how do my actions today impact tomorrow or even the year? We are creatures of habit; we live in patterns because it’s comfortable. When it is not uncomfortable, we don’t seem to grow as an individual. What self-improvement means to me is being in situations that are challenging, that brings insight, that brings knowledge, and that adds to who I am each day. That uncomfortability of change does bring anxiety, but that doesn’t mean it's bad anxiety either.
How I improve as an individual is motivated by how much energy I put into my vision. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
What is your vision of where you need to be financially?
What are the steps you need to take?
What is your vision of where you need to be within your employment?
What are the steps you need to take?
What is your vision of where you need to be within your relationships?
What are the steps you need to take?
What did you notice about these questions? Did anything stand out to you? How did these questions make you feel? Give yourself insight into how the questions make you feel. This is the most important step, to see how the questions you are asking yourself make you feel because that’s where your intentions come from.
I intentionally put “need” in each question. When replacing “need” with “want,” does that change your insight on the question or make you feel a certain type of way? This is how we stay present with our intentions, our needs, and the direction we are going in. What is something you want to accomplish or start today that will help you this week?
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” - Amelia Earhart
