A full self improvement guide
Self-improvement is great, and anyone can start today. In this post, I will give you a full guide on how to improve your life and start self-improvement today!
What is self-improvement? Self-improvement is the improvement of one's mind, body or self. There are some main principles and behaviours for self-improvement, which I will outline in this post
Now, let's talk about instant and delayed gratification.
Delayed gratification activities are things you may not want to do at the moment, but will give you satisfaction in the long term. An example of this is going to the gym, while you may not want to go at the moment, later on in your life you will be happy you went because it helped you build a body you are proud of and are fit and healthy.
Instant gratification activities are the opposite. Things you like at the moment but have a negative impact on your life in the future. Eating junk food may feel great when you do it but it will lead to a negative impact on your body in the future if you become overweight for example.
A lot of self-improvement is simply stopping instant gratification activities and starting delayed gratification activities. So here are the main delayed gratification activities:
EXERCISE
Try and get at least 30-60 mins of physical activity each day. This could be anything, sports, running, cycling or working out. If you want a full guide to how to build muscle at home with just your body weight, then click the link here: https://selfimproveforteens.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-complete-guide-on-how-to-build-body.html
Meditation is a great way to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. It also leads to a calmer mind and being more present at the moment, however, there are so many other benefits to meditation. In my opinion it is one of the best ways to boost your mental health and you only need to do it for a few minutes a day. Start out with 3 minutes and gradually work your way up to 10-20 minutes. I recommend a free app called Medito, which is a great guided meditation app. If you don’t want to use an app you can just do it at home. Here is how to do it at home.
1. Sit down in a quiet, dark room with your eyes closed. Rest your back on a chair or pillow2. Take deep breaths and focus on your breathing3. If you get distracted by thoughts, just observe them, before returning to the breath.
READINGLearning is essential throughout your whole life, and that doesn’t mean that after school you don’t do anymore. Many people stop learning after finishing their education, but at that point, your education has only just started. Fiction or non-fiction, try to read at least 15-30 minutes a day. A great book I have read I have read is the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, which will definitely help you on your self-improvement journey to start delayed gratification habits and stop instant gratification ones.GRATITUDE JOURNALINGGratitude is an essential part of self-improvement. It greatly helps with your mental health so spend a few minutes a day writing down 3 things you are grateful for. I recommend keeping a book next to your bed and starting your day off by writing in a journal.COLD SHOWERSCold showers are another great habit to start. Doing something you don’t want to do every day will build discipline, improve your mental strength and willpower and can also help with mental health as a form of cold therapy. I recommend having it in the morning, as it will also help you wake up. To help build it into a habit, you could progressively do it for longer or gradually reduce the time you spend in the hot shower: Start with 15 seconds, and build up to 30 seconds, a minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes etc. Always remember to take deep breaths when inside. In my opinion, I would start with hot water to wash and then turn it cold at the end, but do it however you want.
NUTRITION
If you are a teenager I wouldn't focus on counting calories or macros. Instead, just try to make healthy lifestyle changes, such as having a healthy breakfast, my favourites are porridge, eggs and peanut butter toast instead of cereal. Instead of bringing crisps to school, bring toasted seeds, bring a healthy protein bar, or bring some fruit. I you want to build muscle and bulk up, then I would suggest eating more portions of lunch and dinner, but don't overdo it. Here are some of my favourite foods with lots of protein:
Nuts
Eggs
Meat
Tofu
Peanut butter
Legumes (lentils, chickpeas etc.)
The instant gratification activities which you should stop are TV, porn, social media and video games. These are the main bad habits people do and you must stop, or at least limit these habits. I cannot speak about stopping porn as I don't have any knowledge of it so look online, I recommend Hamza on youtube to help you with stopping it. For the other three, these are some of the ways you can stop them:
For social media, I would recommend putting on screen time and gradually lowering it. Get a friend or family member and give them the code so you can't cheat and bypass it. Another thing you can do is turn the device off and unplug it every time you use it, which will make it harder to use it as you have to turn it on every time you want to use it. Once again, read the book Atomic Habits if you're having a hard time stopping these habits.
MORNING ROUTINE
You see all those videos on youtube about the morning routine, everyone has their own unique habit but we can just simplify it. I would start by adding one habit at a time so you don't overdo it. The three habits I recommend doing in the morning are cold showers, gratitude journaling and meditation.
CONCLUSION
Self-improvement is amazing, and I wish you all the best on your journey, but remember, this doesn't happen overnight, don't put yourself down if you can't suddenly stop watching TV or miss a workout.
