A step by step guide to personal happiness!

Self-improvement is a gradual process. It starts with the recognition of the areas you want to work on, and ends with a happier you. Since it’s obvious why self-improvement is important and how it is beneficial, let’s directly get to how to actually go about it.

1. The first step is recognition. Recognition of the areas you want to work on is essential. You already know your strengths and have developed them over time, but now it’s time to work on your weaknesses. So find the areas you think you lack in, ask others for their opinions too but don’t get too carried away or take negative criticism too seriously. Choose the right people for advice and rely on your own instincts.
2. Form goals. This is very much important if you want to keep a track of your progress. Also, it gives you a clearer picture of what exactly you want to achieve. Goals keep reminding you of what it is that you’ve set out to do. Don’t form elaborate, impossible goals. Your goals should be to the point, time bound and achievable.
3. Set a date. No good deed is good enough if it actually doesn’t happen. Don’t procrastinate. And never say I will start right now. If it’s 12 am and you’re having an epiphany or a panic attack and you just have to do something right then and there, most probably, it won’t work and it will fade out by dawn. Your decision to work on yourself shouldn’t arise out of panic or hysteria. It should be a conscious, calculated choice with a start and an end point.
4. Baby steps. Your schedule shouldn’t be overachieving but should have enough room for you to be able to stretch your limits. If you try doing everything at once, it won’t work. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Make a timeline and set daily tasks for yourself. Remember to take baby steps. Don’t scare yourself and don’t exert so much that your body starts giving in after a few sessions. Just remember to take small steps at a time. Baby steps, my friends, is the key.
5. The next step is commitment. Once your goals are set and your timeline is ready, it is time to start working. But most efforts fizzle out midway and have no end result. We tend to get irregular with our schedule, laziness creeps in, and ultimately the dream remains just a dream. Commit to the regime you schedule for yourself. Don’t miss out on daily sessions and see it through. Stick to your timeline as much as you can and finish the task.
6. Hold yourself accountable for any missed sessions, follies or failures. If you keep telling yourself that today’s situation just did not let me get to my task, you will never be able to achieve your goals. Stop blaming others and hold yourself accountable. Be answerable to yourself every time something is amiss and make sure to find a way to cover up for it. It’s a personal task that you take up, your boss won’t understand why you need to go home early for it. So remember to fit it in your schedule in such a way that you don’t hamper your personal or professional life. It’s important to give time to your family, friends and work.
7. Allow yourself mistakes and don’t beat yourself up too much for small mistakes. Giving in to the temptation of slipping a little is okay sometimes. Just learn from your error and make sure you don’t repeat it again.

Finally, be sure to track your progress and celebrate if you reach a milestone. Reward yourself and rejoice.