Self Improvement

Self-improvement is an endless quest for many people, especially Americans. Bookstore shelves are crammed with self-help books, how-to books, and 'fill in the blank' for Dummies books. Most self-help literature is serious. Some people do need serious help! Others need interesting bits of knowledge and easily to implement skills to make their day-to-day existence a little bit more fun, easier and interesting.

The resources we have gathered span the range of serious and life-changing to lighthearted and life-changing. Our view is that self-improvement is more than increasing productivity or improving one's mood - it involves expanding your mind, thinking about new ideas and viewing problems from new perspectives. The following online resources open the gateway for an entirely new and improved you.

Reviewed Sites

Self-Growth.com: www.selfgrowth.com

This website humbly calls itself the number one self-improvement site on the internet. They have a point. This website is comprehensive in depth and breadth of self-improvement topics. They have a directory of other helpful website. A neat feature is the inspirational quotes page that is updated daily. They offer classes, online tutorials and articles about self-improvement topics. This site could be listed as one of the best online resources in most of our resource categories.

Pick the Brain: www.pickthebrain.com

Pick the Brain is a blog focused on motivation, self-improvement and success. The difference between this site and so many self-improvement sites is that it is built on personal experience. The articles and posts often offer different perspectives about common subjects. Writers re-define success, time management, and motivation. Content on Pick the Brain moves beyond boilerplate, commercially sanctioned self-help and into an expanded way of thinking.

Ribbon Farm: www.ribbonfarm.com

The Ribbon Farm is a blog about ideas - big ideas, new ideas, and ideas that seem obvious once someone articulates them. The blog has book reviews and commentary on arts, culture, science, technology, business and more. Reading this blog will expand your idea of what is possible.

Life Hacker: www.lifehacker.com

This site delivers many free technology tools for managing your life. It also poses interesting questions about the changes that technology has made on our everyday existence. It is updated constantly, so there is always a new tidbit to chew on.

Podfeeds: http://www.podfeed.net

Podcasts are the new media. If you want to learn yoga, find a podcast. Missed the last presidential debate, find a podcast. Podcasts are generally more formal and planned than the average YouTube download. Podfeed.net offers podcasts for every subject, including self-improvement. While reading is the goal here, sometimes a podcast just explains things better. (Some yoga poses would be impossible to describe with words.)

Tips for Success

  1. Turn off your judgment gene and open your mind to new ideas. Self-growth and self-improvement involves more than learning better ways to do things you already know how to do. You will achieve more growth when you consider perspectives that you never would have noticed, and think about ideas previously off-limits.
  2. Stretch yourself. Many online resources offer new technological tools. For those who are not computer-savvy, give some of the tools a try. You might be surprised at how they revolutionize your life.
  3. Incorporate different areas of self improvement. Improve your mind, your diet, your exercise plan and your attitude.
  4. Look at self-improvement opportunities as an adventure rather than an obligation. You will be most successful trying things you want to try.
  5. Attitude is everything. If you don’t currently suck the marrow out of life, first try improving your attitude and changing your expectations. Disappointment occurs in the space between expectations and outcomes. Notice that we did not say 'lower your expectations'. You might want to enter new ventures without any expectations and see where you end up.