These last few months I’ve been slowly taking everything in around me from my impending graduation to just figuring out what my life goals are. The last few years at Missouri State have been playing over and over in my head and I have been reliving my college career. I can honestly say that I have grown tremendously in all areas of my life since becoming a student at MSU. Personal growth is a big part of growing up and being a college student because you’re moving as an individual with more responsibility. For this blog post, I wanted to give you all some tips and tricks related to personal growth. Personal growth or personal investment can be attested to through any new skills you learned, changes in your attitude, or if you’ve improved your mental health. Personal growth lasts a lifetime and it’s beneficial to your relationships or just making yourself happier.  

Personal Growth Tips and Tricks

Experience new things and places

Personal growth is all about developing yourself in order to have a positive impact on life so why not take chances to experience new things and places. You get a chance to learn more about the world around you and what it has to offer. New things also bring a variety of challenges and learning about different perspectives.

Give this tip a try on campus: MSU is full of opportunities for personal growth! Check out a new organization, go to a campus event that’s new to you, and look for a service trip or activity you can join. 

Take a look at yourself and what you are capable of 

Use opportunities to learn about yourself, what you enjoy, and what you excel at, and look for ways to extend yourself. Avoid comparing yourself to others. You’re only in control of yourself so try to learn more about yourself and who exactly you are.

Here’s how you can practice this tip: you are your biggest motivator so make sure you are giving yourself the time, energy, and attention that you deserve. You can meditate, do some self-care or motivate yourself with positive affirmations in the morning.  

Accept your failures and mistakes  

Life is full of failures and mistakes no matter how small but accepting them and moving on shows how accepting of yourself you are. With this tip, you are allowing yourself to experience your emotions, come back stronger and lead yourself toward success.

Put this into practice at MSU: if you ever fail an exam or an assignment, use that opportunity to assess how you are studying. Check out ways to get support, such as the Bear CLAW or visiting your instructors during office hours. The Center for Academic Success and Transition (CAST) is a great organization that can help students with academic support and provides information about helpful student services; through CAST’s student academic assistance page, you can request to meet with a Success Coach or a Peer Mentor.

Evaluate your life 

You are ultimately taking the time to see where you are in life, and what you hope to accomplish or help identify areas of your life that need improvement. This enables you to identify your weaknesses and work to change them leading to a better version of yourself.

You can utilize this tip like this: take a little time each semester or throughout the year to think about your major and see if it’s still something you want to do, or if there might be a different major out there for you. You can take the opportunity to find any internships or other experiences that can help with your future.  

Takeaways  

I got a chance to experience life away from my family and looking back on where I started there were a lot of changes I went through on my own. I visited new places, accepted my bad decisions, and took time to learn about myself. The thing about college is that you aren’t always ready for the growth that comes with independence. You’re going to grow as a person whether it’s academically or with your self-confidence. I’m hoping that my tips and tricks can help you with your own personal growth or put you in a position to think about it more. Growth is only natural and with college added to the mix it’s inevitable.  

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” – Steve Maraboli 

~Alexandria  

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)