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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois State chapter.

 

There is always room to grow, improve, and develop as people. Time is something we always feel like we don’t have enough of, but when it comes to self-growth you literally have your entire life. Becoming the best version of yourself is not something that happens overnight, it takes time and is something you continuously have to work towards.

 

What is that you want to improve?

In order to better ourselves, we need to identify the parts of ourselves that need improvement. When considering this, it’s essential to think beyond the surface level and evaluate the change you want to see in your life. Have goals that you want to accomplish and discipline yourself to work on them a little every day. If you want to live a healthier lifestyle, take strides every day to do so and remind yourself of the end goal to keep you motivated, because what motivates you, moves you. It’s so easy to lose track of the person you want to become which is why discipline is necessary because it’s hard to start a healthy habit, but even harder to maintain it. 

 

Stop being afraid to fail

When we are constantly thinking of what can go wrong that we aren’t capable of accomplishing what we want, we never truly allow ourselves to reach our full potential. The easiest way to fail is to have already decided you can’t succeed. I think about this concept almost every day because I’ve always been someone who puts themselves out there, sometimes I get the results I want and sometimes I don’t, that’s just how life goes. I know myself and if I didn’t put myself out there, a part of me would always wonder what would’ve happened. Rejection is discouraging, thus the fear of failing and being rejected cripples people from even trying to begin with. I’ve never truly been afraid of failure because I always understood that it was a part of the package and I was always able to take something positive out of a seemingly negative result. Each time, I’ve failed or was rejected the experience made me become a much stronger and resilient person. It’s so easy to give up, which is why a lot of people do, but if you maintain persistence and determination you will reach your goals, consequently becoming the best version of yourself.

 

Stop apologizing for who you are

In order to better ourselves, we have to be ourselves. I have to remind myself of this frequently because while I am unapologetically myself 90 percent of the time, there are times where I find myself apologizing for something that is just a part of who I am. It can be instinctive to feel the need to constantly explain your actions, but you should never make any apologies for being who you are. It’s important to self reflect and realize the parts of yourself you want to improve on, however, you should always do it for yourself and not because others want you to change. Throughout my whole life, I have been teased for the kind of music I like, the TV shows I watch, etc. There will always be people who don’t understand you and try to make you feel bad for being who you are, but you don’t owe anyone an explanation. Just live your life, and the people who accept you for who you are are the ones that are meant to be in your life.

 

Gratitude

Everyone always has something to complain about, but I hardly hear about people expressing the good parts of their life. I’m not saying we can never complain because that’s simply not feasible, with that said we should try to complain less about things that we can’t control or something very trivial. I can honestly say that I hardly ever get truly upset anymore, I do get irritated and annoyed but it’s never for long periods of time. I have been able to become a truly happier person because I don’t stress the small inconveniences anymore and I remind myself of all privileges I have on a regular basis. Try to look at the big picture more often because if it won’t matter in five years, you shouldn’t spend more than five minutes worrying about it.

 

Becoming the best version of yourself is very subjective towards every person. As long as you’re happy with yourself at the end of the day that is all that matters.

 

Thanks for reading, V

 

Hi, I'm Vanesa! I am currently a Communication major at Illinois State University. I'm so thrilled to be a part of the HerCampus team because writing has always been a huge passion for me and now I have an opportunity to showcase that and grow as a writer. Besides writing, I love horror movies, dramatic tv shows, and iced coffee. I hope you enjoy my articles as much as I enjoy writing them so stay tuned for more! xoxo, V
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