12 Crucial Self Growth Techniques For a New You

Transformation requires a dedicated mindset and the proper direction. Self-growth is a process of discovery and positive change that hinges on recognizing your own flaws and weak areas, and making the appropriate life adjustments. 

Sometimes, it can be difficult to spur this level of self-reflection on without a little outside guidance. You may know that you need to grow, but where do you start?

The following growth techniques can help guide you on this Path of discovery and transformation, so that you can realize a “new you” and start getting more out of life.

Self-Growth Techniques That Can Help You Build a Better Life

There are hundreds of different ways you can better your Self or grow as a person, but in order to make real progress and feel confident on the Path, it helps to have a little guidance.

While no one can make these changes for you, because it requires conscious effort on your part, the catalyst for self-transformation often comes from the wisdom and help of others.

Before you even begin reading over these techniques, open your Self up to the idea of change and be willing to follow through if you want to see results. 

1. Cultivate a Mindset of Abundance

The first technique that you will want to utilize is thinking abundantly. You might be wondering how this could be considered a growth tactic, but holding such a mindset can be extremely effective.

We are very much driven by our mindsets, which can determine everything from our habits to our beliefs.

A limited mindset based on scarcity will literally sabotage you. Whether you know it or not, having such a mentality will “trick” your subconscious into believing certain lies, taking certain negative actions, filling you with doubt, and can even hinder your ability to manifest.

There’s a reason why so many entrepreneurs, wellness experts, and sages emphasize the importance of an abundant mindset. When you open your Self up to greater possibilities and success, you allow these states of being into your life. 

Fundamental teaching of Hermetics: what you hold in your mind reflects in the waking world.

Tend to the garden with care and plant the right seeds.

— Digital Sages (@DigitalSages) November 9, 2020

Can you grow as a person without thinking abundantly? Sure, it’s possible. However, you are only hindering your Self by doing so.

It’s important to get out of the mindset that you can’t achieve your goals or don’t have what you want out of life. At any given time, you only have what you have given your Self.

Think abundantly and you will build a strong foundation for self-growth.

2. Stop Consuming Negative Media

Guides like this often point out the negative effects of “the news,” and recommend not to watch it.

This is a silly and juvenile take that infers that the news is somehow wrong, not worth our time, or is specifically “negative” because that’s what gets ratings or helps to control people or whatever.

Let’s all be adults for a second and recognize that the reason there is so much negativity in the media is because there is a ton of negative events happening in this country and all over the world at any one time, and that it is only natural that a majority of the news would reflect this.

The truth is, being aware of these negative events going on around us is an important part of being an educated, aware individual that understands what’s at stake and why it’s so important to undergo self-transformation in the first place.

By “negative media,” I’m actually referring to the sea of nonsense programming out there that can be considered “cheap entertainment.”

Poorly made “reality tv” shows make up the bulk of this kind of media, but it can also include vanilla history programming, daytime TV that focuses on manufactured drama, and propaganda / hate infotainment, “round table” talk shows, and celebrity gossip shows.

This kind of programming is what paints a picture of life that is far from reality, and can be damaging to your ability to see the world in a proper light. It also can limit your growth because it’s a waste of time. Entertainment is one thing, but this kind of programming can detract from your quality of life by actively influencing your view of the world into something that it is not.

3. Learn to Outgrow Negative Self-Talk

Stop putting your Self down. This is a common behavioral trait shared by unsuccessful and stagnant people.

Regardless of your actual capabilities or vices are, you gain literally nothing by engaging in negative self-talk, and more often than not, you actually reinforce the likelihood that these negative issues will perpetuate themselves.

Your mind shapes your reality, mentally, emotionally, and physically. If you are constantly giving your Self negative reinforcement, personal growth and progress will be difficult.

4. Perform a 5-Minute Breathwork Meditation Every Day

Understanding the rhythms of your own body and strengthening your mind-body connection is an important part of self-growth.

Simple breathwork exercises have been used for thousands of years to help people connect with themselves and become more mindful.

Carve out at least five minutes every day to practice the four-fold breath. All you need to do is find a comfortable place to sit where you won’t be disturbed, and work on mindfully breathing.

Inhale for four seconds, pause for four seconds, then exhale and hold for the same amount of time. Breath deeply and evenly over the course of five minutes.

Why does this basic meditation promote self-transformation? Like all meditation techniques, learning to live in the moment with a clear and calm mind is one clear benefit. 

This form of meditation in particular helps to establish a greater union between your mind and body, which has a direct impact on our ability to make sound decisions, appreciate the moment, cultivate gratitude, and evolve.

5. Start Eating a More Alkaline Diet

I’m not advocating that you suddenly ditch all processed foods and live in the wilderness eating berries and nuts.

However, we thrive on an alkaline diet. The more water-dense fruits and nutritious vegetables that you include in your diet, the better.

Physical health is one of the cornerstones of holistic wellness, and you give your Self a much greater shot at staying healthy if you eat a diet that contains all-natural, high vibration foods.

6. Develop a Yoga Routine

You probably already know how important exercise is so I won’t belabor the point here, but if you aren’t already, you need to be working some yoga into your daily routine.

Ordinary exercise is wonderful and highly recommended, as physical body mastery is a key to general wellness, but yoga offers so much more.

Even a basic yoga routine will help you stretch and work your muscles in ways that ordinary exercises don’t. This helps properly support your bones, promotes joint flexibility, and helps to tone your core.

Yoga is a more holistic form of exercise that seeks to not only strengthen the body, but improve how you perceive and relate to your Self.

Ask anyone who has practiced yoga at length, it can be a deeply transformative activity that helps you grow in so many ways.

You don’t need to start off being a yoga master – these are unrealistic and fruitless expectations.

Simply adopt a basic yoga practice and work with your body to undergo transformation.

7. Cut Out Negative People

Self-growth helps you learn the meaning of value. Once you learn how important your own peace is, you will realize how critical it is to cut out certain toxic people from your life.

Removing negative individuals from your space is an act of self-love and deep healing.

To rebuke a negative person is to affirm that you don’t align with these vibrations, which is in itself liberating.

If someone is blatantly negative or destructive toward you, it is in your best interest to remove them from your life as soon as possible.

8. Be Grateful For Everything

Practicing radical gratitude is a form of deep awareness and self-care.

It’s important not to be selective with gratitude, because doing so detracts from the rest of your lived experience.

Everything has value because it happened and you helped co-create it. The good and the bad, the right and the wrong.

Being ungrateful toward certain aspects of your life is unhealthy, because it programs the subconscious to doubt its own ability to manifest correctly.

While this kind of thinking may seem counter-intuitive from a purely materialistic standpoint, you will note the great sages of the past always carried with them a deep sense of gratitude. 

Taking that conscious leap to be grateful for your life and everything in it is a huge sign of spiritual maturity and can help your growth immensely.

9. Treat Yourself Fairly

You also don’t want to be too hard on your Self.

Much like with negative self-talk, don’t be afraid of perceived “failure” on the Path and don’t resort to beating your Self up when things “don’t go as planned.”

There is no “as planned,” only what is.

In that sense, you must live with the choices you make and live to make more choices down the road.

What’s more, the whole point of your Path is to learn and grow.

Attacking your own decisions and beating your Self up are unnatural behaviors that clash with the natural order of things. If you want to experience growth, you have to get out of the mindset that you can make progress by being your own enemy.

That is ego-based behavior and is self-defeating.

You can’t be expected to thrive if you are your own worst enemy, criticizing, belittling, and downplaying.

10. Keep a Dream Journal

Embracing and exploring your dreams can unlock a part of your life you may not have even realized existed.

While it’s all too easy to write dreams off if all you care about is the physical world, we are interested in much more comprehensive forms of personal growth here.

Not only does keeping track of your dreams make you more mindful, but it can help with decision-making and memory retention.

Dreams are a doorway into other aspects of Self. As you record your dreams, you will become more lucid during dream states, and will be able to get more out of the experiences.

11. Grow Closer to Nature

Nature is not only the Great Healer, it holds many fundamental keys to our growth.

The healing affects of plants and the natural world in general has been detailed in great length by researchers and metaphysicians alike.

Nature can be a wonderful catalyst for self-growth because it is there where the Path opens up.

We exist in a symbiotic relationship with nature. Simply being within the aura of a large tree can help mend parts of your Being and help you heal on a deep level.

By growing closer to the natural world, you can learn to move slower and walk with greater purpose. Appreciating the small things and the grand interplay of life, coexisting and experiencing co-evolution together, second by second.

After all, we are a part of this beautiful system, and understanding this fact can put your own Path toward growth in perspective.

There is no real growth apart from nature.

Once you progress on the Path long enough, you will notice how the natural world speaks to you. Gifts will be offered, signs will be shown, and the Way will be opened to you.

12. Become a Light For Others

The final technique you can use to encourage your own personal growth is to become a light for others.

Open your Self up to people and spread knowledge and healing wherever you go.

Even if you feel as though you only have a limited understanding of your own Path, that doesn’t mean you can’t be helpful for others who are struggling.

On the contrary, it is through this kind of deep and compassionate work do we learn to move past our own egos and grow.

Practicing kindness and compassion, teaching others how to grow, being present for others. This is how you process your own karma and evolve as an individual.

Helping others is also a conscious act of bettering the tapestry of your own world.