Life
The older you get and the more people you meet, the more you start to realize that tween paragon of wisdom Hannah Montana was right all along: nobody's perfect. Part of ~adulting~ means finding new ways to improve yourself all the time — because self-improvement is a never-ending process. Of course, you should always be confident and believe in yourself, but you can do both of those things while still acknowledging your flaws and weaknesses, and resolving to work on improving yourself. But why should you focus on active self-improvement?
"It's important to constantly be improving yourself because progress leads to fulfillment," Julie Holmes, a New York City life coach, tells Bustle. "We oftentimes think that accomplishments lead to our happiness, but it simply isn't true. While you may feel good after an achievement, the feeling isn't sustainable. It's important to always be learning and growing in life for happiness that's lasting."
Self-improvement can take many forms, and ultimately, it's up to you to figure out what exactly needs work. A good place to start if you're lost? Reading other people's advice on how to improve yourself — like all of the wisdom Twitter users have been sharing using the hashtag #BetterYourselfIn3Words. If you want some inspiration to start (or continue) your journey to self-improvement, here are 13 tweets full of great, albeit brief, advice.
1
"Understand Different Perspectives"
Thanks to our individual histories and experiences, we all have a unique perspective on life. One lesson that's crucial to learn? It's not only your perspective that's valid — you should always aim to be understanding of others' perspectives, even if you don't agree with them.
2
"Learn From Mistakes"
We all screw up from time to time, so you shouldn't beat yourself up over every little mistake you make. What you should do instead is learn from those mistakes — because that's how you grow as a person and truly improve yourself.
3
"Focus On Myself"
If you're a people-pleasing kind of person, it's easy to get caught up in always trying to make sure others are happy — but don't forget that it's OK to focus on yourself and put your own needs first.
4
"Learn To Listen"
Learning how to be a good listener doesn't happen overnight, but if you want to improve your communication skills and become a more empathetic person, being able to truly listen to someone is key.
5
"Lose The Negativity"
Not everyone is cut out to be a super bubbly, positive, optimistic person, and it's OK to be a bit on the pessimistic side. However, having a constant attitude of negativity isn't healthy — and shedding your negative outlook on life and trading it in for a more positive one can really help you improve yourself and how you feel.
6
"Never Stop Learning"
Unless you're studying to be a doctor or a dentist, you might not be in school forever — but that doesn't mean that you should stop learning. You don't need to be in an academic setting to be educated: you should always have your mind open to learning something new.
7
"Don't Over Think"
I'll be the first to admit that I'm totally guilty of overthinking on more than one occasion. Although there's no harm in thinking through a situation, it's also important to learn to trust your intuition — because overthinking can sometimes be more detrimental than helpful.
8
"Don't Judge Others"
It can be challenging, but one of the most valuable ways you can improve yourself is by making it your mission not to judge others; instead, always aim to be accepting.
9
"Remove Toxic People"
Learning how to recognize the toxic people in your life is difficult enough on its own, and gaining the strength to cut them out is even harder — but to truly improve yourself and your life, it's a necessary step.
10
"Let It Go"
You might never want to hear that song from Frozen ever again (same, TBH), but Queen Elsa's advice to ~let it go~ is actually worthwhile: to have a happier future, don't hold onto things from the past.
11
"Say You're Sorry"
It might not always be easy to swallow your pride and apologize, but learning to say "I'm sorry" is key to growing as a person: it's important to take responsibility for your words and actions, and be able to apologize when you mess up.
12
"Consider Other People"
As humans, we can all be a little self-absorbed sometimes — and that's nothing to be ashamed of. Nevertheless, it's always good to practice being more thoughtful and considerate of others, especially if you fall more on the selfish side (hey, no judgment here).
13
"Have More Sex"
In my (slightly biased) opinion, this is the best three-word bit of advice of all. There are so many benefits to having regular orgasms, and that's not to mention how amazing they feel — so why not have more sex?!
Ultimately, though, your self-improvement journey is yours and yours alone, and no matter how you decide to do so, all that matters is that you're trying to become the best version of yourself — because that's the most any of us can do.
