When we take time to reflect, it often appears as if life is slipping by, but rest assured – there is still time. Through living authentically and deliberately, you can create a meaningful and impressive life. Your personal growth is the key to your success and ensuring that happens, is your responsibility. It’s not easy to make positive changes to your life, but it is doable. Dedicating time, interest, and maintaining consistency, anyone can improve and make living worthwhile.

Practice these techniques to take your life to the next level:

1. Eliminate distractions. We all might like to have the concentration powers of a monk, but most of us do not. We’re distracted by noise, our cell phones, the internet, TV, and many other things. Remove as many distractions from your workspace as possible. Focus on people when they talk to you.

2. Avoid comparison. When we evaluate our lives based on the opinions of others, it always feels difficult to hold onto our joy and to feel accomplished. One hard thing to accept with success is that few people are genuinely happy for you. A lot of people who are closest to you, have standards and expectations for how others should live their lives based on limitations they’ve set for themselves. Don’t allow another person’s limits to hold you back.

• • • You can expect to receive a lot of criticism and attempts to sabotage your efforts.
    • Why? Some people don’t like you. Some people may like you, but simply don’t want to see you do better than they are doing. Others are just jealous. A few people don’t want to face their own mediocrity and become aware of areas where they lack.
    • Your sense of accomplishment should be enough. If it’s not, change your perspective or choose a more meaningful goal.

3. Set priorities. Begin each day with a list of priorities and do your best to accomplish them before the day ends. You’ll need another list the following day. Start every morning knowing what needs to be done. Otherwise, where will you commence?

4. Start small. Focus on a set, limited number of improvements. You might want to start a business, learn to play the violin, lose 50 pounds, learn French, or even take flying lessons, but there’s only so much time in a day and the easiest way to make a change is to begin.

• • • Pick a couple of things that mean the most to you and focus your energy there. You’ll accomplish much more if you can avoid spreading yourself too thin.
    • What are the three things you’d most like to change about your life? Avoid the other things on your wish list until you’ve accomplished them.

5. Identify your values. Everything flows from your values. Knowing what’s most important to you will allow you to arrange your life in a way that makes sense for you. It will also allow you to set goals that are meaningful. If you don’t know your goals, how will you make these decisions?

6. Revisit your goals daily. Have you ever set a New Year’s resolution, only to find that you’ve completely forgotten it a few days or weeks later? The solution is to have a set time each day when you review your goals and keep them fresh in your mind. If you can find the time, twice a day can be even better!

7. Find role models. Find others who have achieved what you wish to accomplish. It’s also important that they started from the same point, or worse, that you’re starting from. Take advice from those who are worthy of your attention.

8. Check in with yourself. Evaluate yourself and your progress. It’s not enough to have a great plan and work hard. It’s also necessary to evaluate your results. Then, you can adjust and perfect your approach.

What changes would you like to make to your life? What areas of your life would you like to see the most growth? Choose a few growth strategies and try them out in your own life.

Be willing to experiment and run with those things that work for you. Take control and build the life of your dreams!