Self-Growth: Definition, Examples, & Tips

By Zamfira Parincu, BA, Researcher
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
What is self-growth? Learn more about why self-growth is important for your professional and personal life and how to make a plan to achieve it.
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Self-growth, sometimes referred to as “personal growth” or “personal development,” is a process of developing new skills, attitudes, actions, or reactions that can have a positive impact on your life and increase your overall well-being. There are many aspects of life that people might want to improve on, and although they can be in different areas, the path to get there is very similar. In this article, we will talk about why self-growth is important, how to build a plan for self-growth, and then share some tips to help you on your path to self-growth.
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What Is Self-Growth? (A Definition)

Self-growth is an intrinsic process in which you develop and expand your abilities. Self-growth can have positive implications for your career and personal life, as it helps you achieve your full potential. For example, you might be interested in developing listening kills or skills to engage in radical acceptance because you realize the positive effects they could have on your life.

Self-growth can often involve an increase in personal resources, including self-esteem and coping skills, and changes in life and philosophies, such as deeper spirituality, redefined priorities, and a greater appreciation of life (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004; Taubman-Ben-Ari & Weintroub, 2008). For example, clinicians working with trauma survivors reported self-growth that involved a change in their personality, such as greater sensitivity, compassion, insight, tolerance, and empathy, and deepened their appreciation for the resilience of the human spirit (Arnold et al., 2005). 

Although not all self-growth needs to (or should) happen in response to trauma, it’s good to keep in mind that we all can grow and develop, no matter our circumstances.

Self-growth can look different for all of us. Some examples of self-growth may include:

Why Self-Growth Is Important

Self-growth can be directed toward intellectual, physical, or psychological development. This process might help you improve your relationships with your coworkers, managers, partner, friends, and also with yourself. Here are some reasons why self-growth is important:
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  • It forces you out of your comfort zone. When you leave your comfort zone (that space where you feel safe and in control) and work toward the growth zone (where you can set new goals and find your true purpose), you can reach your full potential. As the saying goes, “The best sailors aren’t born in smooth waters.”
  • Self-actualization. Abraham Maslow’s (1943) theory of human motivation argues that once we satisfy the “basic” and “psychological” needs, the next requirement is for personal growth and fulfillment. This is important because, for instance, not striving for growth might mean falling into a state of passivity later in life (Page, 2021). 
  • Developing a growth mindset. A growth mindset means that people believe their intelligence and talents can be developed over time, while a fixed mindset means that your intelligence and skills are fixed, so if you’re not good at something, you might believe you’ll never be good at it. Research shows that those with a growth mindset achieve more than those with a fixed mindset in school, jobs, and personal life (Dweck, 2008). Having a growth mindset goes hand in hand with self-growth, as it broadens the possibilities and inspires you to work on yourself.

Tips on Self-Growth

There are a few ways to practice and expand self-growth; some might require a long-term commitment or investment while others might be easier to access. Some tips to get started on self-growth include:
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  • Meditate. Meditation has numerous benefits for your mental and physical health. When you meditate, you practice and learn self-awareness, an important skill that can help you on this path of personal growth.  
  • Journaling. Writing in a journal not only has cathartic effects on your mental health—it can ease stress and anxiety—but also has important benefits for your personal growth. When you write down your thoughts and behaviors, you can start to notice patterns, which is a great way to increase your self-awareness.
  • Read. When you read books, you get invaluable insight into human nature, what makes us tick and why, and how others see and interact with the world. Whether that’s about love, the inevitable repetition of history, or a totalitarian regime in a dystopian world, reading is a good habit for self-growth. Fiction and nonfiction books are a great source of knowledge, inspiration, and wonder, and their lessons can be helpful on your self-growth journey.
  • Use positive affirmations and words. Positive affirmations and self-talk can be helpful for your overall well-being. They may also inspire you to start and get you motivated to pursue your self-growth journey.
  • Be curious and gentle. Self-growth doesn’t mean that you are not  “enough” or that you should pursue perfection. Rather it is about accepting yourself as you are and creating a safe space for you to dig deeper into what you could be. 
  • Less is more. When people solve problems, they tend to add things together rather than take things away, even when adding more goes against our best interests (Adams et al., 2021). When it comes to personal growth, some people tend to add new skills or certifications. Still, some coaches recommend stripping things away—for example, other people’s expectations, self-limiting beliefs, stereotypes, and other things that don’t serve you (Lee, 2019). As one of my professors would say, “Decolonize your mind, and you will grow.”

Video: 8 Simple Self Improvement Principles

Self-Growth Journal Prompts

Daily journaling can help you work through difficult negative emotions and experiences by offering a safe space for you to express the struggles you might have. For example, if you write to explore and make sense of a stressor or traumatic event, it can help you decrease distress and depression (Lepore, 1997) and even help you achieve positive growth from the event (Ulrich & Lutgendorf, 2002).

Here are some self-growth journal prompts organized into four categories that focus on different aspects of your life, including work and career, personal growth, emotions, and love and relationships (Raypole, 2021). You can use these self-growth questions to start the process of self-discovery and development.
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Work and career:
  • What would make what I am doing right now easier?
  • What would I focus on if I could only work 2 hours per day on income-producing activities?
  • What are the top positive qualities of the people I admire?
  • Who would be most upset if I tried this/moved/quit?
  • What is my biggest accomplishment in the last week? How about in the last month?

Personal growth:
  • Will I choose to make this a dead time or an alive time? 
  • What is my biggest weakness? How can I turn it into a strength?
  • When was the last time someone challenged a strong belief that I have?
  • When I had the opportunity, did I choose courage over comfort?
  • What is something that I lost and will never get back?
  • When did I learn a lesson the hard way?

Working through your emotions:
  • What difficult thoughts or emotions come up to me most frequently?
  • Which emotions do I find hardest to accept (guilt, anger, disappointment, sadness, etc.)?
  • How do I handle these difficult emotions?
  • What are some self-defeating thoughts I have?
  • How can I reframe my negative self-talk into positive self-talk and encourage myself?

​Love and relationships:
  • How do I express love and appreciation? How do I want others to do it? 
  • What healthy and positive boundaries can I set up to increase my well-being?
  • What does love mean to me?
  • What did my previous romantic relationship teach me?
  • When did I last perform a random act of kindness?

Video: How to Journal for Self-Growth

Self-Growth Plan

Planning is extremely helpful, as it directs your actions and keeps you on track to achieve your goals. Here are some tips on how to get started on your self-growth plan:
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  • Identify your objective. This might sound banal, but identifying what you want to change and how to change is the first step toward personal growth. It doesn’t matter if you have specific short-term goals or an abstract vision of what you ultimately want to accomplish. The goal behind identifying your objective is to become aware of where you are headed.
  • Figure out your ‘Why’. This step might require some soul-searching, but figuring out why you want to do something can actually help you through many challenging times. 
  • Make a plan and set goals. In your plan, you might include a timeframe and important dates to keep you on track. You might also use daily healthy habits, action steps, or even phone reminders. It can be helpful to set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and within a Timeframe. When you make a plan and define your goals within these key areas, you can increase your chances of achieving your life goals.
  • Celebrate your progress. As the saying goes, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” So keep in mind that it's essential to celebrate the small gains. Taking the time to recognize and celebrate how far you’ve come can motivate you to keep going.

Self-Growth Affirmations

Saying self-growth affirmations can be a positive way to keep yourself motivated and on track to success. Here are some self-growth affirmations you can use: 
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  • I will forgive myself when I make mistakes.
  • There is no point in fighting against the past.
  • I can accept myself the way I am.
  • As long as I put my mind to it, anything is possible.
  • I am letting go of these negative emotions.
  • I expect to succeed.
  • I commit myself to my personal growth.
  • I am proud of who I am becoming.
  • I am enough.
  • I can do all things that I commit myself to.
  • I have no control over other people, what they do or say. I can only control how I react.
  • I will keep making progress.
  • I choose to be happy today.

Self-Growth Quotes

  • “We should not judge people by their peak of excellence, but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.” ― Henry Ward Beecher 
  • “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” ― Nelson Mandela 
  • “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” ― Lao Tzu
  • “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” - Albert Einstein
  • “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” - Abraham Maslow
  • “An education is not so much about making a living as making a person.” ― Tara Westover
  • “My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.” ― Marcel Proust
  • “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but, I hope, into a better shape.” ― Charles Dickens
  • “Becoming is better than being. The fixed mindset does not allow people the luxury of becoming. They have to already be.” ― Carol Dweck
  • “Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.” ― Sigmund Freud 
  • “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ― Maya Angelou
  • “Don't go through life, grow through life.” ― Eric Butterworth

Articles Related to Self-Growth

Want to learn more about self-growth? Here are some related articles that might be helpful.​​​

Books Related to Self-Growth

Here are some books that may help you learn even more about self-growth​.​

Final Thoughts on Self-Growth

Self-growth can be directed toward intellectual, physical, or psychological development. Self-growth is an important step in our lives, and it can positively affect our careers, personal relationships, and overall well-being. Hopefully, these insights about self-growth will get you moving in the right direction.

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