16 Examples of Personal Development Goals to Become Your Best Self -

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I think it’s safe to say that most people would like to improve in some area of their life. Whether it’s their personal relationships, time management skills, or self-confidence.

What is it that makes us want to improve?

In general, most people feel like they aren’t living up to their full potential. I know I’ve had that feeling on more than one occasion.

So, what can we do about it?

This brings us to one of my life’s passions and something that I have spent most of my adult life studying, personal development.

What are personal development goals?

Personal development goals are objectives that you establish for yourself in order to develop your talents, enhance the quality of your life, and reach your full potential.

Many areas of personal develop surround personal relationships, career growth, personal finance, fitness, health, and more.

If you have a desire to better yourself and your current situation—then personal development can be a powerful vehicle for change.

However, in order to effectively execute your personal development goals, you must first learn how to set them.

Here are the steps you should follow to begin creating your goals:

Create a vision

Take an honest assessment of yourself and your current strengths and weaknesses. Then write out a list of what you would like to improve. Once you have your list, create a vision of what your ideal self would look like. Don’t be afraid to be specific. You want your vision to invoke an emotional response.

Develop a plan

Next, you’ll need to develop a plan of action. In this step we want to take the overall objective and break it down into actionable steps. To start, try working backwards. In other words, picture your end goal and work backwards step-by-step. This will allow you to see your overall objective broken down into manageable steps.

Track your progress

As you begin to work towards your goals, make sure to track your progress. This will allow you to see what is working and what isn’t. Also, measuring progress is one of the fundamentals to achieving growth. As Peter Drucker famously stated: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

Review your plan often

Finally, it’s important to review your plan regularly. You’ll want to make sure that your goals are still relevant to your overall vision. If not, don’t be afraid to change them. Goal setting is a dynamic process. Your goals will most likely change over time—and that’s ok. Just make sure that your goals are inline with your values and overall vision.

1. Build Healthy Relationships

Healthy relationships play a crucial role in our happiness, success, and overall well-being. Without having the solid support system that relationships provide, you’re less likely to reach your true potential.

In fact, having healthy relationships has been shown to reduce the risk of depression, increase life expectancy, increase self-esteem, and much more.

So, what constitutes a healthy relationship?

Well, you can have a healthy relationship we just about anyone. In fact, anyone that you see or speak with on a regular basis can be considered a relationship.

Here are the most common forms of relationships:

Romantic Relationships
Close Friendships
Platonic Relationship (Just friends)
Family Relationships
Professional Relationships (co-workers, clients)

Having healthy relationships can increase all aspects of your life, however, like anything they don’t come without putting in the effort.

In order to foster healthy relationships, you must be willing to put in the time and energy. This might require setting aside time for loved ones, practicing active listening, communicating candidly and honestly, and showing gratitude.

Once you have a tribe of people who lift you up and add value to your life, make sure you take the time to nurture those relationships.

If you surround yourself with people who care about you and want to see you succeed, they will stand by your side through thick and thin.

2. Develop a Growth Mindset

It’s often said that “mindset is the key to success”. While, this is most certainly true—a more accurate statement might be “a growth mindset is the key to success”.

The term “growth mindset” was made famous by Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University.

The growth mindset is described by Dr. Dweck as:

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment,”.

Unfortunately, most people have what Carol Dweck refers to as a “fixed mindset. Which is a mind set where people believe that their talents or intelligence are fixed traits that cannot be modified or improved.

This kind of a mindset obviously leads to underperformance and mediocrity. In order to achieve growth in your life and business you must shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

How do you create a growth mindset?

In order to cultivate a growth mindset, you must first recognize that your talents are not immutable. In other words, they are not fixed, you can grow and expand your skillsets at any time in your life.

Furthermore, you must learn to:

Embrace challenges.
Persist in the face of setbacks.
See effort as the path to mastery.
View failures as opportunities to learn.
Find inspiration and lessons in the success of others.

Once you learn to cultivate a growth mindset—there isn’t anything that you can’t pursue and achieve, just as long as you’re willing to put in the work.

3. Seek Out New Challenges

We all face challenges in life. Challenges are one of life’s many certainties, like paying taxes. However, unlike taxes, one should seek out and embrace new challenges.

Challenges have the power to stimulate growth and alter our limiting beliefs. Challenges can also reveal the inner strength and resilience that is innate in all of us.

Once you learn to embrace challenges—you will start to see challenges and obstacles as opportunities for growth.

Here are some ways to seek out new challenges:

Get out of your comfort zone.
Do more networking.
Strive for growth.
Make your own change.
Create stretch goals.

So, next time you face a challenge—be grateful for it. Don’t push it away. See it as an opportunity to better yourself.

And don’t sit around waiting for challenges and obstacles to come your way—go and seek them out.

If you find yourself feeling comfortable and complacent—this is a sign that you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.

Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from seeking out new challenges and opportunities. We mustn’t try to overcome the feeling of fear—we must learn to move forward despite of it.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
—Albert Einstein

4. Work on Your Weaknesses

Let’s face it, none of us are good at everything. We all have our own unique strengths and weaknesses.

However, very few people are willing to admit their weaknesses, and even fewer are willing to acknowledge their weaknesses and then work on improving them.

This is largely due to our overly sensitive egos. Many people view their weaknesses as personal flaws, and this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. This is part of what makes us unique. Having said that, weaknesses are not something we have to tolerate for the rest of our lives.

In fact, part of what makes life fun and exciting is getting better at stuff.

Here are some ways to work on your weaknesses:

Ditch your perfectionism
Find a mentor
Practice positive self-talk
Track your progress
Seek out constructive feedback,

One of the most common weaknesses that we all share is the fear of failure. Don’t let your fear of failure stand in your way of improving on your weaknesses.

Working on your weaknesses can be a humbling experience and it’s important to keep your self-criticism in check during this process.

Over time, you will see that any area of your life can be improved with enough hard work and dedication.

5. Increase Your Emotional Intelligence

While just about everyone has heard of IQ—very few are familiar with EQ. Emotional intelligence (EQ) refers to the awareness one has of their emotions and the impact that their emotions have on themselves and others.

Emotional intelligence is said to be one of the most important determinants of success in life and business.

In fact, many propose that EQ is a more important determinant of success over one’s life than IQ.

Daniel Goleman, who wrote a best-selling book on the topic, which was aptly titled Emotional Intelligence, has said that EQ is accounted for 67% of the abilities deemed necessary for superior performance in leaders, and mattered twice as much as technical expertise or IQ.

That number is significant, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, many companies now offer emotional intelligence training for their employees.

If your employer doesn’t offer EQ training, don’t worry. There are several strategies that you can use to start increasing your EQ today.

Here are some ways to increase emotional intelligence:

Practice active listening.
Be empathetic towards others.
Practice self-awareness.
Acknowledge your emotions.
Be more assertive.

Emotional intelligence can have a profound impact on all areas of your life. Whether it’s in your career, with your significant other, or your friends and family.

Strengthening your EQ will allow you to communicate more effectively with others, have better control over your emotions, and have a better understanding of other people’s emotions and intentions.

Start by practicing some of the tips listed above—and watch how your life and relationships can improve from increasing your EQ.

6. Eliminate Limiting Beliefs

Everyone has goals and aspirations that they would like to achieve in life—but most people don’t take the necessary steps to make them happen.

Why is this?

Unfortunately, in most cases it can be traced back to limiting beliefs. Many people suffer from limiting, self-defeating, and fearful beliefs surrounding their goals.

They may think that they’re not smart enough, good looking enough, or just not talented enough to achieve their dreams.

This is a tragic mind virus that is almost always untrue. In fact, some of the most successful people on earth had the deck stacked against them and they still went on to achieve massive success.

The key to overcoming limiting beliefs starts with self-awareness. You must bring your limiting beliefs to the surface so you can start to address them.

Here are some ways to overcome limiting beliefs:

Identify your limiting beliefs and write them down.
Take steps to disprove your limiting beliefs daily.
Take full ownership of your life.
Understand that your thoughts are just thoughts.
Share your limiting beliefs with someone you trust.

Once you have your list of limiting beliefs written down, start implementing the steps mentioned above.

It will take some time before you start to notice significant changes, but if you stay consistent, you’ll be amazed at the positive changes you will see in your life.

“You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights.” ―Brian Tracy

7. Practice Self-Care

In our hectic modern world—self care often takes a back seat to other obligations, such as, work, family, friends, and other social engagements.

However, self care is perhaps one of the most important responsibilities of all. Because without self-care—it’s impossible to give your best to the one’s you love.

Furthermore, self-care is critical for your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. We are all bombarded with stressors on a daily basis—and without taking the time for self-care those stressors can build up and have negative effects on our minds and bodies.

There are many ways to practice self-care and everyone will have their own unique methods and routines that they prefer.

Here are some ways to practice self-care:

Set aside time to relax every day. Ex: meditation, yoga, prayer, etc.
Read inspirational books.
Do some form of exercise every day.
Be mindful of what you put in your body.
Start a gratitude journal and write in it daily.

The most important aspect to self-care—is making the time for it. It might not be possible for you to squeeze in meditation, yoga, and exercise into your daily schedule.

Fortunately, with self-care, a little can go along way. Start by setting aside 30 minutes every day. You can even split those 30 minutes into two 15 minutes blocks.

Dedicate this time to your personal self-care routine. Whether that includes meditation, reading, or walking in nature, make sure that you take this time for yourself.

Remember, consistency is key. Once you find a self-care routine that you like—make time for it every day. Over time, it will turn into a habit and it will become an effortless part of your daily routine.

8. Wake Up Early

Many people are familiar with the famous Benjamin Franklin quote, “”Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.

But, is this really true?

Yes, it is. In fact, research published by the Journal of Sleep Medicine showed that early risers felt less depressed and stressed than their snooze button friendly counterparts [1].

Furthermore, Amerisleep conducted a study and found that early risers make on average $15,000 more per year than late risers [2].

See, old Benjamin Franklin was right. Early risers really do live happier, healthier, and more abundant lives.

So, how do you become an early riser?

To start, go to bed earlier. I know this seems obvious, but this is the first and most important step to waking up early.

It’s not a good idea to try and cut down on your overall sleep volume. This could have negative effects on your physical and psychological health.

Instead, try going to bed an hour earlier than usual. It might take a little while for your body to adjust—but once it does you should wake up an hour earlier than you used to.

Here are some tricks to become an early riser:

Cut out caffeine 7 hours before bed.
Stick to a sleep schedule.
Cut out screen time 2 hours before bed.
Don’t eat any food 2 hours before bed.
Reward yourself for waking up early.

There’s no doubt that waking up early can have a profound impact on your life, but don’t stress out if you’re not waking up every morning at 5am.

Like I mentioned earlier, you don’t want to sacrifice sleep quality for sleep quantity. If you start by dialing back the time you go to bed—you will slowing adjust your sleep schedule over time.

This is will ensure that you don’t disrupt your sleep your sleep quality.

“Take excellent care of the front end of your day, and the rest of your day will pretty much take care of itself. Own your morning. Elevate your life.”
– Robin Sharma

9. Improve Time Management Skills

Do you ever feel like you have more tasks then time in the day to complete them? Chances are you’re nodding your head right now.

Not to worry, most people feel this way. In fact, many people treat busyness as a badge of honor. They think as long as they are busy, they are being productive.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Being busy is not the same as being productive. Hence, the importance of time management skills.

Time management refers to the way that you schedule and prioritize your tasks—and how long it will take you to complete them.

The goal is to organize your tasks in a way that optimizes your productivity. For instance, one example of good time management is to complete your most important tasks at the start of your day.

This way, you will always finish the most important tasks of the day—even if the rest of your day is completely chaotic.

Here are some ways to improve your time management skills:

Create a to-do list every morning before work.
Delegate or outsource busy work.
Avoid multitasking.
Set deadlines for yourself and others.
Take frequent breaks.

Once you start writing out and prioritizing your tasks and objectives—you will be able to focus your efforts on achieving more.

Good time management requires consistent planning and action. In order to become effective at time management you must make it a top priority.

Once you do, you will be able to focus your time and efforts at achieving what matters most to you.

10. Get Rid of Toxic People

Most people wouldn’t think twice about removing a toxic substance from their home. Whether it’s mold, chemicals, or asbestosis, if it’s toxic—it’s got to go.

But what about removing toxic people?

Well, like any toxic substance, toxic people can be very harmful to your health. In fact, one study showed that toxic relationships put people at greater risk of developing heart problems, including fatal heart attack. https://cvti.keckmedicine.org/

When it comes to removing toxic people from your life, the first step is to identify them. Start by making a list of all the people in question and write down their traits.

Toxic people often share similar traits, such as, manipulative, judgmental, unapologetic, irresponsible, inconsistent, and unsupportive.

Once you have identified all the toxic people in your life—the next step is to separate yourself from them.

Here are some ways to rid yourself of toxic people:

Establish clear boundaries.
Stand firm and don’t give in.
Be assertive and stand up for yourself.
Know when to call it quits.
Don’t try and fix them.

Keep in mind, toxic people are manipulative, and they are good at making people feel sorry for them. Don’t fall into this trap.

They will create drama and then come to you for a shoulder to cry on. This can be detrimental to your health and well-being and will ultimately lead to burn out and exhaustion.

The best thing you can do is remove them from your life. It won’t be easy, but in the end it’s what’s best for you and them.

“Toxic people attach themselves like cinder blocks tied to your ankles, and then invite you for a swim in their poisoned waters.” ― John Mark Green

11. Focus on the Present

We all live in a busy and chaotic world—and sometimes it can feel like our lives are passing us by. With all of the daily distractions that we face—finding time for the present moment can often feel like an impossible task.

Fortunately, there are some simple techniques that you can use to step back from your never-ending to-do list and focus on the present moment.

Here are some ways to be more present:

Take notice of your surroundings.
Practice mindfulness meditation daily.
Cut out any distractions while eating.
Drive without listening to music.
Practice active listening during conversations.

Taking time to be more present can have profound benefits in your life. Some of the benefits include decreases in stress and anxiety, increases in contentment and well-being, and better focus and concentration.

In order to experience more presence—it’s important to turn these practices into habits. If you practice them daily—they will become natural and effortless.

With consistent practice you will start experience more moments of being present throughout your day. And over time the benefits will become more and more profound.

“Live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find eternity in each moment.” Henry David Thoreau

12. Speak Less and Listen More

When you are talking with someone—are you listening intently to what they are saying or just waiting for your turn to speak?

If you said the latter, don’t feel bad.

Most people aren’t solely fixated on what the other person is saying. They are usually too busy formulating a clever response in their head.

While it’s important to engage in effective communication, it’s also important to engage in active listening so you can truly understand what the other person is saying.

Learning to speak less and listen more can have profound benefits on your life. For example, speaking less and listening more can prevent you from saying something that you might regret later.

Additionally, it can help build stronger relationships. People are good at detecting whether someone is truly listening to them or not.

When people feel like they are being heard—they feel appreciated and understood. This in turn increases your trust factor and likeability.

Here are some ways to speak less and listen more:

Maintain strong eye contact.
Don’t interrupt.
Ask thoughtful questions.
Think before you speak.
Learn to accept a difference of opinions.

Speaking less and listening more is really about treating people the way that you would like to be treated.

No one likes being interrupted while they are speaking. And no one likes to feel like they are speaking to a wall.

If you listen intently and don’t interrupt people when they are talking—they will likely reciprocate.

Not only will you learn more from your conversations—you will also be the person that people seek out when they want someone to confide in.

13. Build Resilience

Let’s face it, life is tough. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, or what you do, life will find a way to challenge you.

Even the wealthiest people on earth can’t shelter themselves from their problems. The bottom line is—life is hard and the only way to make it through is to be resilient.

Resilience refers to how well people can bounce back from setbacks and challenges. People who are resilient tend to cope with stressful events better than most.

Additionally, they can also maintain a positive attitude despite a grim outlook. This is often why resilient people are so successful.

They can push through the challenges and obstacles that life throws at them. They don’t allow themselves to get caught up in self-pity or self-loathing.

Having resilience is an essential characteristic for anyone who wants to achieve exceptional results in life.

In order to build resilience, you must first establish your why. Why do you want to achieve a particular result? What would that mean for you and your family?

These are the kind of questions that you need to answer. If you can find a strong enough why—you can push through anything.

When you have a strong and compelling why, there is literally nothing on earth that can stop you from achieving your goal.

Here are some more ways to build resilience:

Embrace challenges.
Look for the positives.
Cultivate a warrior’s mindset.
Practice gratitude.
Find support.

Building resilience is a continuous process. You will never reach a day when you can say, “Ok, I’ve become resilient. Now, I can relax.”

Becoming resilient is a never-ending pursuit. You must strive to become more resilient every day. And over time, you will start to achieve goals that you once thought were out your reach.

And the obstacles that once appeared as big as mountains will soon become speed bumps on your journey to success.

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”
― Steve Maraboli

14. Learn to Let Go

Everyone struggles with letting go. We feel like if we let go—we’ll lose control. Some people are reluctant of letting go because they’re afraid that they’ll lose their identity.

As a result, they will hold on to things until they are taken from them. This can be a traumatic experience—but it’s often for the best.

Whether you are holding on to the past or afraid to let go of a toxic relationship, letting go can be a powerful catalyst for change.

The first step to letting go is affirming to yourself that it is time to let go. You must be open to the idea of letting go and understand that it’s in your best interest to let go and move on.

It’s going to be difficult to let go of something—If you’re still holding on tight. You need to loosen your grip and make the decision that letting go is a necessary step to moving on.

Here are some tips for Learning to let go:

Trust that you’ll be ok.
Talk with someone you trust.
Take it one step at a time.
Allow yourself to feel negative emotions.
Learn to forgive yourself and others.

Letting go can be a difficult and emotional process. Therefore, it’s important that you have a strong support system that you can call on.

Once you start letting go, you will start to feel a renewed sense of inner strength and self-confidence. You’ll know that nothing has the power to hold you back from becoming the person that you were born to be.

15. Practice Gratitude

Let’s face it, we’re all busy—and sometimes it’s hard to slow down long enough to appreciate all the good things we have in our lives.

Despite this fact, it’s important that we take time out of our day to practice gratitude. Having a gratitude practice has been shown to improve mental, physical and relational well-being.

Furthermore, research shows that practicing gratitude may reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, increase self-esteem, and improve sleep quality [3].

A great tool for starting a gratitude practice is using a journal. Personally, I’ve been using a gratitude journal for years and it has been life changing.

The journal that I use is called the SELF journal. It’s formatted in way that makes it easy to write down goals, to-do lists, ideas, etc.

How my gratitude practice works is simple, I write down three things I’m grateful for—for that day. It could be something big like landing an important client or something as simple as having access to clean water whenever I want.

The point is to only write down things that you are truly grateful for. Don’t feel like you need to write down the obvious stuff.

Take time to think about things that make you FEEL grateful. You can always write down more than three things—but aim for at least three.

Here are some ways to practice gratitude:

Write down 3 things your grateful for every day.
Tell someone how much you appreciate them.
Do volunteer work.
Look for the positive in all situations.
Practice mindfulness.

Having a gratitude practice can have profound effects on your life. Not only will you start to feel happier and more content—but you will start to unconsciously discover things to be grateful for.

This is because of the brain’s reticular activating system. In short, the R.A.S. is a part of the brain that notices what you pay attention to—and then filters out irrelevant information.

In essence, the more you practice gratitude, the more the brain will find things for you to be grateful for.

16. Identify Your Life’s Purpose

I think it’s safe to say that most people have a desire to find their calling in life. They would like to know what their life’s purpose is.

Unfortunately, not many people ever discover their life’s purpose. In fact, most people simply go through life working a job they don’t like—hoping that they’ll be able to retire one day.

These are often the people who end up looking back on their life with regrets. If there is one thing that I fear most in life—it’s having regrets at the end of my life.

So, if you’re feeling stuck in life and you’re looking for something more, it’s never too late to discover your life’s true purpose.

More and more people are switching careers, starting businesses, traveling the world, and learning new skills, all in hopes of finding fulfillment and purpose.

If you truly want to discover your true purpose in life—you must be willing to get outside of your comfort zone and try new things.

It’s highly unlikely that your true purpose is going to show up on your doorstep with a red bow. You must be open to new experiences and get comfortable with uncertainty.

Here are some ways to discover your life’s purpose:

Follow your inner guidance.
Lean into your natural talents.
Think of times when you were at your happiest.
What would you do if money were of no significance?
Seek out new opportunities and challenges.

Another important question to ask yourself is, “what wouldn’t you mind doing for the rest of your life?”

Since you are seeking your life’s purpose, this must be something that you would enjoy doing for the rest of your life.

If you can answer that question, then you are well on your way to discovering your true life’s purpose and living a life that only a lucky few get to experience.

“I believe purpose is something for which one is responsible; it’s not just divinely assigned.” ―Michael J. Fox

Final Thoughts

Personal development is a personal quest that you can embark on to discover your own true potential.

It’s not an easy journey and sometimes it can feel perilous, but there are wonderous treasures waiting to be discovered for those who remain steadfast.

Whether your looking to improve your productivity, learn a new skillset, or become the top salesman in your company, personal development can help to get you there.

Goal setting is an important component of personal development and in this article, I shared examples of 16 personal development goals that you can set to become your best self.

Just to recap, the personal development goals that I discussed were:

Build Healthy Relationships
Develop a Growth Mindset
Seek Out New Challenges
Work on Your Weaknesses
Increase Your Emotional Intelligence
Eliminate Limiting Beliefs
Practice Self-Care
Wake Up Early
Improve Time Management Skills
Get Rid of Toxic People
Focus on The Present
Speak Less and Listen More
Build Resilience
Learn to Let Go
Practice Gratitude
Identify Your Life’s Purpose

Personal development is a lifelong pursuit. It’s not a quick fix or hack, it’s a lifestyle that will help you achieve what you want in life.

When starting on your personal development journey it’s best to start slow. Pick a couple of important goals that you can start to work towards.

Once you start to accomplish some goals, your self-confidence will improve, and you will feel compelled to go after bigger and better goals.

The most important thing to remember is “NEVER GIVE UP”. You are either improving or regressing, there is no such thing as standing still.

So, make sure that you are always moving forward and striving to become better. It may take longer than you like but if you stick with it—there is no limit to what you can achieve.

My Favorite Quote on Personal Development

“If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.”
– Abraham Maslow