How to focus more on yourself: 10 steps to self-growth

Do you feel like you need to focus more on yourself than you have been recently?

For starters, it’s a great thing that you recognize this! 

The good news is that there are steps you can take to focus on your self-growth. 

Here are 10 that I know work! 

1) Keep a daily journal 

Journaling is such a simple practice that can often be overlooked.

You see, because it’s super simple people tend to think that it doesn’t have a significant effect. 

But it’s the opposite!

Truth is, simple things can have a big knock-on effect. 

Journaling is one of these practices. 

In my experience, journaling has allowed me to get clarity on parts of myself and what I’m really thinking. 

For the maximum benefit, I suggest keeping a daily journal where you can note down your routine, conversations and thoughts you’ve been having…

…In other words, you can write down anything that comes to mind!

One day you might feel like journaling the different thoughts you’ve been having about work, the next you might feel like talking about what qualities you’d like in a partner. 

Now, not only does journaling help with clarity, but it allows you to get thoughts out that might otherwise turn into frustrations or snappy comments towards others!

2) Do things you love

Be honest with yourself: how much time do you spend doing things that you really love?

It’s likely that the answer is: not enough!

If this is the case, you’re not alone.

You see, we all have so many responsibilities and things that demand our time, which makes it hard to do things we really love. 

For you, it might be working on a side project or a creative skill like painting. 

It might be both!

Whatever it is for you, make time to do more of the things you love if you want to work on your self-growth.

As you spend more time doing things that really light you up and excite you, you’ll strengthen your understanding of yourself and discover what really matters to you.

3) Learn something new 

Even though school stops at some point, learning doesn’t have to ever stop.

Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever want to stop learning.

If you’re curious about something in particular and you have the time, commit to learning something new. 

This could be a class on psychology, a creative skill like pottery or a practical business administration course. 

Simply put, learning always encourages more focus on yourself and it supercharges personal growth.

Whatever you choose to pursue, learning a new skill will open up new doors and perspectives! 

What’s more, through learning a new skill, you might discover you’re really good at something… 

…And it might even mean you can change your career and pursue a different path.

4) Spend time by yourself

This one won’t come as a shock:

A definite step to self-growth is by spending more time with yourself.

In my experience, it’s easy to slip into codependent habits through spending a lot of time in another person’s space. 

At times, I’ve felt as though I’ve lost myself to relationships because I’ve been entirely in their world and in their space.

If you’re found that the same has happened to you, don’t beat yourself up!

We’re only human and it’s natural to want to spend a lot of time with people we love…

…But there is such a thing as spending too much time with others, and not enough time with ourselves!

I suggest starting with blocking out entire evenings just for yourself, where you can do exactly what you want to do.

Next, I suggest spending an entire weekend of ‘you time’ to really spend time focusing on yourself.

5) Connect with your past and present

If you’re anything like me, you might have tried visualizing in order to feel like you are in control of your self-growth.

Maybe you’ve tried to think about your future in your mind’s-eye, including the sort of house you’d like to live in and work you’d like to be doing.

I’ll be honest: I have!

You see, we live in a culture that places an emphasis on visualizing our futures and fixating on what we want.

But if you want to really focus on yourself: connect with what has been and what is.

This allows you to be truly connected to yourself, and not caught up in an imaginary fantasy of a future state.

This free masterclass by Ideapod co-founder Justin Brown captures what I’m talking about. 

He explains that most people actually believe that visualizing future states will help them find their purpose.

However, it just isn’t the way you’re going to actually achieve self-growth. 

Instead, you need to come back to the present moment – the only moment we have!

6) Make time for meditation

Meditation is another one of those things that we often overlook.

It’s such a simple practice, which is sometimes why people can think it isn’t helping them achieve much…

…But it couldn’t be further from the truth!

Meditation allows you to check-in with where you’re really at and to see how you’re feeling about things.

In other words, it’s a sure way to focus more on yourself!

The best part about meditation is that it doesn’t have to take up loads of time. 

You can start with just five minutes a day or you could spend a whole hour sitting in silence!

These days, there are loads of meditation apps that are designed to help beginners get into meditation, plus there are various styles of meditation to keep you engaged!

7) Up your self-care

Self-care can look like and be many different things.

Simply put, what self-care looks like for you will be unique to you.

It could be:

• Writing affirmations and sticking them around your room
• Taking an evening to have a long bath
• Going for a walk by yourself 
• Dancing to your favorite music

Bringing in more self-care to your life will help you exponentially on your growth journey.

You see, when we lack a sense of self-care, we can find ourselves feeling out of touch with ourselves.

But when we bring in more acts of self-care, we reconnect with ourselves. 

I personally find that blocking out time for myself allows me to ensure I am giving myself the self-care I need. 

Just one evening of spending time by myself and dancing around to music is often what I need to come back to myself.

8) Exercise

Exercise does so many amazing things for our minds, as well as our bodies. 

Many researchers talk about the benefits of daily movement for our general wellbeing…

…And it shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to your personal growth either. 

As you push yourself through exercise, you’ll begin to realize what your potential is and it will strengthen your belief in yourself. 

Maybe you thought you could only hold a plank for 10 seconds, but turns out it’s closer to a minute. 

Truth is, we can do more than we think we can; we are far more capable than we realize.

Exercising regularly will help you realize this!

The best thing to do is to create a schedule that you’re likely to stick to and to keep up with it regularly for the maximum benefits.

9) Spend more time in nature

Nature also does incredible things for our wellbeing. 

The science supports this!

Just as Heathline explains:  

“Researchers found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature saw a boost in their mental and physical health.” 

That’s under 20 minutes a day.

You see, if you really think about it, it’s pretty unnatural to be spending so much time indoors, staring at televisions and in high-rise buildings. 

It’s totally man-made and constructed. 

On the other hand, it’s actually more normal to be outside and amongst the trees… Although we’re not conditioned to think like this.

So, if you really want to get back to yourself and to focus more on you: 

Prioritize more time in the tranquility of nature and less time surrounded by city lights.

In my experience, my entire relationship with myself shifted as I spent more time out in nature, after years living in the city.

I won’t lie: I took a while to reconnect with nature… But when you do: it’s amazing!

10) Get comfortable saying ‘no’

A big part of self-growth is knowing that it’s OK to say ‘no’.

Let’s be honest:

You’re not going to want to say ‘yes’ to everything… But you might find yourself saying ‘yes’ because you struggle saying ‘no’.

In my experience, it takes a lot of courage to say ‘no’ to things.

I used to always find myself saying ‘yes’ to keep other people happy… But I realized this wasn’t making me happy!

You see, every time you say ‘yes’ to something that you’d rather say ‘no’ to, you deny yourself of what it is you really want.

Not only might it cause you a lot of stress you could avoid, but it will mean that you’re not focusing on yourself!

Flip this if you really want to focus more on yourself, and what you want and need.