Striving For Felicity

Personal Growth, Success + Lifestyle Tips

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46 Websites For Free Stock Images You Should Know About

Blog, Success

If you are a content creator like me, you are most likely very reliant on free stock images to make your content aesthetically pleasing.

Millions of content creators are relying on these commercially available pictures. And because of the high demand, there are countless free stock websites out there.

I would recommend to find yourself one or two websites where you can get your images from and whose license you know. In particular you should know, for what purposes, you can use the pictures, and if you need to give credit to the photographer. I also recommend making sure that the license hasn´t changed, once in a while.

Free-Stock-Images-For-Bloggers-Striving-for-Felicity

However, you should also change up the source of your free stock images from time to time.

Right now, I am at a point where I always find the same pictures on my all-time favourite free stock images source (listed straight as Nr. 1).

This is why I have decided to branch out a bit, and while doing that, I thought I could share my finds with you. Here they are:

  1. Unsplash
  2. Burst
  3. PhotoPin
  4. Reshot
  5. Startup Stock Photos
  6. IM Free
  7. PikWizard
  8. Foter
  9. Styled Stock
  10. Free Range Stock
  11. Free Digital Photos
  12. Image Base
  13. Getrefe
  14. Photogen
  15. Splitshire
  16. RGB Stock
  17. Stocksnap.io
  18. Magdeleine
  19. Albumarium
  20. New Old Stock
  21. BucketListy Photo
  22. NegativeSpace
  23. Barn Images
  24. Jay Mantri
  25. Shutterstock
  26. Pixabay
  27. Pic Jumbo
  28. Kaboompics
  29. Pexels
  30. FOCA Stock
  31. Pictography
  32. CreativeCommons
  33. ISO Republic
  34. MorgueFile
  35. Lifeofpix
  36. Rawpixel
  37. Easilstock
  38. Foodiesfeed
  39. Gratisography
  40. LibreShot

I hope this list will help you to create even more stunning content.

Another last tip in passing. Experiment with using the same picture multiple times. If you zoom in or out, rotate it, or filter it, you can make it seem like many different pictures, and it can save you immense time in trying to find new ones.

Sophie

13 Crucial Dos And Don´ts To Become A Great Leader

Blog, Success

Because we Felicity Seekers are focused on achieving an extraordinary life in which we master every part of it, we often grow into inspirational figures, which leads many of us to become a leader of some sort.

But we need to be careful because there are real leaders on the one hand and bosses on the other. I believe you know which one of the two gets more respect, surrounds himself with happier people, and overall achieves more success over the long term.

To make sure you know how to be a true leader when you suddenly slip into that role along your personal growth journey, I collected a few Dos and Don´ts you should be aware of.

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever recommend products that I have personally used and loved. Thank you for your support!

13-Crucial-Dos-And-Don´ts-Of-A-True-Leader-Striving-for-Felicity

This list is hugely inspired by Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I used the characteristics he thinks are detrimental for leadership and did my own take on them.

I highly recommend you read Think And Grow Rich. It is a fantastic book, no matter how old it is!

And if you are interested in other highly informational books that will accelerate your personal growth journey, take a look at my Reading List For Personal Growth. I am regularly adding the newest inspiring books I’ve read.

But let’s start with our list. If you want to be a great leader, these are the things you need to master:

1. Self Control

The man who cannot control himself can never control others.

– Napoleon Hill

As a leader, you need to have a certain amount of self-control. Nobody will take you seriously if you always let anger or frustration overcome you.

You need to act rational and control your emotions. After all, if you can’t even control yourself, how are people supposed to have trust in your control of the situation?

2. Definiteness Of Decision

Leaders are decisive. They can make important decisions in a reasonable amount of time and then stick to them.

Nowadays, people tend to change their minds seemingly as often as they change their clothes. Not only does that prevent you from actually getting things done. But it also makes people mistrust you.

You cannot rely on someone who can’t stick to a decision. He is simply unpredictable. And having someone like that as a “leader” is weakening the whole group.

3. Unwavering Courage

Note the difference between courage and recklessness. Courage means you act with the knowledge of your abilities and the essential information about a particular situation. You have weighed the risk against the chance of winning.

On the other hand, recklessness is like closing your eyes and running into a battlefield without armour.

True leaders are willing to take calculated risks. They encourage their employees or followers to get outside their comfort zone, and as a result, the group has success and grows stronger.

People will never be able to trust someone reckless, and they will lose their respect from a coward.

4. Sense Of Justice

We, humans, are somewhat genetically programmed to have morals and a sense of justice. And some studies suggest the same for other animals.

So unsurprisingly, we tend to sympathise more with people who we perceive as just.

A clear sense of justice is, therefore, essential in a leader. Otherwise, people will never be able to follow him with a clear conscience.

5. Definiteness Of Plans

Just as a leader has to make clear decisions, he also has to create clear and well thought through plans and stick to them.

A plan is only as good as its execution. However, many people lose themselves in planning and never start to take action. A true leader excels at both!

6. Sympathy And Understanding

You can start to practice this in the most mundane situations. For example, when you are driving behind somebody who drives unbelievably slow.

Don’t curse him and try some stupid overtaking. Instead, show some sympathy. After all, this could be somebody who just started driving and is still a bit unsure of himself. Or maybe there is an issue with the car. Who knows?

Or if a waiter is really grumpy and unfriendly to you. Don’t start to act hostile, too. That person might be having a really shitty day.

A leader is understanding of others.

7. Doing More Than Being Paid For

A true leader knows that if he works for more than he is being paid, he will soon be paid more.

What’s also important is that a leader likes to get things done most effectively. Sometimes that may mean to work more than he strictly has to.

In the end, this work ethic will immensely inspire his followers and therefore raise the productivity and success of the whole group.

8. Willingness To Assume Full Responsibility

This one is huge! A true leader does not make up excuses for his own mistakes. But that’s something most people get. What many overlooks is that a leader also has to take full responsibility for his followers’ errors.

You might think: “Well, it ‘s not my fault that Johnny is so forgettable.”

Wrong. It is your responsibility to know your employee’s strengths and weaknesses and to organise and support them in a way that will get the best out of them.

If they succeed at something, people will congratulate you on good leadership. So if they fail at something, you have to look at yourself first and search for where you could have done better.

That’s real leadership!

9. Cooperation

A leader doesn’t let others work for him. He works with them. A leader is a master in collaboration.

He knows precisely how to work with a group of people, divide tasks and therefore achieve the best results possible.

10. A Pleasing Personality

Let’s end the list of Dos with something that should be obvious but is sadly often overlooked.

A true leader has a pleasing personality. That doesn’t mean he is mainstream and always gets along with everyone, but it means he is easy to get along with, even though you might have different opinions.

What about you? Is it easy for people to talk to you? Are there a lot of people you clash with?

To round this up, I also have collected a few things you should absolutely not do, if you want to be a true leader:

1. Unwillingness To Render Humble Services

A true leader wants to be rewarded for the actual services he provided. He is not on the get-rich-quick trip, and he doesn’t rib off people.

2. Selfishness

A leader doesn’t just care about himself; he cares for all of his followers. He would never sacrifice somebody’s well-being, physically, mentally, or financially speaking, for personal gains.

3. Emphasis Of The “Authority” Of Leadership Or Title

I think we all know that one person who so adamantly emphasizes his superiority.

In reality, however, it doesn’t matter how old you are, what gender you are, what degrees you have, or who you know. The only thing that will make others see you as a leader is when you seem deserving of it.

The list of Dos establishes what you need to be a leader; however, if you still rub your authority into other people’s faces, none of the above will be able to help you.

In Think And Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill named a few more points he deems vital for a great leader. But these are the ones that stuck out to me most.

Take some time to go through this list and analyse yourself. You might not yet be a leader, but on the path to an extraordinary life, it is very much possible that you will suddenly find yourself in that role.

And when that time comes, you will have a much easier life if you nail these points.

I hope you continue to improve yourself every single day. I am looking forward to hearing about the great things you will accomplish in the future.

Sophie

7 Simple Ways To Overcome FOMO

Blog, Personal Development

By now, you’ve probably all heard about FOMO – fear of missing out. Recently this word has started to spread over social media and the internet like a wildfire.

Thousands of people can connect with the feeling of FOMO, and I admit to being one of them. At first, I was thrilled to find out that there is such a perfect expression for the way I was feeling from time to time.

How-To-Beat-FOMO-And-Regain-Happiness-Striving-for-Felicity

But as I realised how FOMO was keeping me from being happy, I started to work on overcoming it. Now, that I have cleared most of my life from FOMO, I am shocked to see how many people are letting FOMO get in the way of the life of their dreams.

Because I can tell you from my own experience, FOMO is absolutely toxic for your happiness! If you want to get rid of this unnecessary feeling and start to live a joyful life, you should read along!

1. Get clear over what you are missing out and analyse if it is something you actually want

Sometimes we get caught up in that FOMO when we see other people doing something that looks great on the outside. However, try to imagine yourself doing it. Would you actually want to do it?

Meaning, are you envying the feeling of the activity or more the appearance of it?

I often found myself having FOMO, but when I thought about it, I realised it wasn’t even something I would have wanted to do. That realisation eliminates your evil thoughts in no time.

2. Think about what you would miss out if you would participate

The problem with FOMO is, of course, that we only have 24 hours in a day, and we can’t be in multiple places at the same time.

Meaning, if you would participate in the activity that you fear to miss out on, you would inevitably miss out on something else.

If you go to that party, you miss out on having a beautiful and relaxing evening at home.

If you check your social media every half an hour to make sure you never miss anything “important,” you miss out enjoying the now.

You should always take a step back, and consider if this would even be a trade worth making. Because as soon as you decide that what you are currently doing is more important, you lessen that feeling of missing out on something you desire less.

In the end, it’s all about how you want to spend to your time, how you prioritise it. Therefore I strongly recommend you to take a look at 15 Ways To Spend Your Time Wisely.

3. Think about times you or others have missed out on something, was it that bad?

I am sure you’ve had those moments before, where you couldn’t go to that party, or you couldn’t meet up with those friends, or you had no internet connection to stay up to date on social media.

Think back to those moments. Have you really missed out on something important? Was it something so significant as to justify that immense fear of missing out?

I doubt many of you can answer that with a yes. So why keep worrying if nothing wrong ever came from it?

4. Overcome your limiting beliefs

More often than not, this fear of missing out stems from the limiting belief that this is a one in a kind opportunity that will never be available again.

And sure, that one specific party on that one particular day will never happen again. But don’t you think there will be a lot of similar parties in the future?

Sometimes, there are moments in our life where we are presented with a one of a kind opportunity that could change our lives forever. Of course, in those moments, FOMO should be your motivation to go for it.

However, most often then not, these are not moments in which we experience FOMO. Those are moments in which we are too scared to take a risk and go for it.

In which case you should definitely think about the lessons in 7 Reasons Why Failure Is Important For Success.

FOMO mostly surrounds very mundane activities. Those kinds of opportunities that happen all the time. So don’t let FOMO destroy the now. Instead, look forward to the next opportunity.

5. Slow down

Sometimes all we need to stop these toxic thoughts is to slow down. Try to incorporate a daily practice of mindfulness and meditation.

A calming Yoga flow can also stop your mind from going 200 mph.

Next time you feel FOMO, try one of these practices, and then reevaluate the situation. I am sure you will feel more rational about it and realise that there is not much to miss out on.

6. Practice gratitude

Gratitude is the antidote for all of life’s negativity. If you are grateful for what you do experience right now, you can’t fear to miss out on anything at the same moment.

Of course, in the beginning, it won’t be easy to feel grateful for anything when you have those negative thoughts going through your head.

That’s why it’s so important to practice gratitude daily. Start small and list three things every morning that you appreciate in your life. After a while, you can take the next step, and every time you catch yourself, being stressed, anxious, or depressed, try to feel grateful for something in your life.

With time this will get easier and easier, and before you know it, gratitude will get you out of any negative state within seconds.

7. Step away from social media

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the most significant fuel of FOMO is social media. And if you take away its fuel, the fire will slowly but inevitably become smaller and smaller.

So try to reduce the time you spend on social media. In addition to that, go through your Following and mute or unfollow every account that evokes some negative emotion from you.

Social media can be a fantastic tool for inspiration, motivation, and overall happiness. But you have to use it as a tool and don’t let yourself be controlled by it!

I hope these 7 tips will help you overcome that FOMO and enjoy living your life even more.

As always, I encourage you to keep working towards that extraordinary life of your dreams. I know at times it may seem like you are not making any progress, but each day that you are working towards it, you are planting a seed that will sprout in the future.

I believe in you!

Sophie

7 Reasons Why Failure Is Important For Success

Blog, Personal Development, Success

What is keeping most people from going after their dreams? Correct, the fear of failure.

Our modern society has become such a safe environment that we rarely need to risk anything anymore. If you are reading this, I guess you have a beautiful and secure home, a more or less stable stream of income, enough food in the fridge, warm clothes to shield you against the cold weather and legal rights you feel rather content with.

This safe life has caused many people to fear failure. They are simply not used to it anymore.

However, if you don’t fail, you don’t grow. If you rarely fail in life, you might as well ask yourself if you’ve lived at all. And you don’t want to regret not having lived your life to the fullest! You can read more on that in 15 Ways To Live A Life You Won’t Regret.

I’ve once read that life can be compared to a heartrate monitor. If you are alive and healthy, your heart steadily beats, and the heart rate line goes up and down and up and down. Therefore we all know it’s a bad sign if the line is flat.

Life, in comparison, is the same. If you truly live it to the fullest, you experience high and low moments, successes and failures. To prepare yourself for those low moments check out 9 Hardships You Have To Face In Life.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

– Winston Churchill
Striving for Felicity Failure in business is important for success

If you love this quote as much as I do, you should definitely check out 21 Quotes To Overcome Failure after reading this article.

Together this article and the other ones I mentioned earlier are going to erase your fear of failure and give you that motivation to go after your goals and dreams.

So let’s dive into them 7 Reasons Why Failure Is Your Stepping Stone To Success.

1. Failure teaches you more than success

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

– Thomas Edison

The first good thing about failure is the things it teaches you. Every time you fail, you become a bit wiser on what does not work.

Of course, you could say that by succeeding you would learn what does work, which ist more critical. But that is not entirely true.

Success only shows you one way that works. Maybe it is a way that won’t work every time or perhaps it’s one of the worst ways to make it work. You will never know until you have failed and gained more experience.

And because failure is so painful, its lessons stick much more to your memory. You definitely won’t forget them that easily.

2. Failure increases your risk tolerance

This one goes along the lines of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Once you’ve failed, you will see that it is not the end of the world.

You grow more confident in your ability to recover from failure and therefore you become more willing to accept necessary risks.

The key here is to look for asymmetric risk/reward opportunities. Yes, you always have to risk something, but the goal is to have an overproportionate chance of winning.

After having failed, you won’t be afraid to take that kind of opportunities.

3. Failure makes you more grateful

We, humans, get spoiled so quickly, and we don’t even notice it. Just think about it, I am sure there was a time where you didn’t have a mobile phone. Or your cellphone had barely any storage and short battery life.

But here you are, complaining about 64GB being too little storage and 3G being to slow.

Through failure, you learn to value your small successes more. After a defeat, a little success can make you the happiest person in town.

Failure teaches you to be grateful for the things that you do have. And as I always say, gratitude is key to happiness.

4. You grow through failure

Failure demands resourcefulness and mental strength. You have to do things you usually wouldn’t need to do.

You have to learn how to deal with frustration, disappointment, anxiety, and overwhelm and fight your way back to the top.

Is it easy? No. But it makes you much stronger than any amount of success ever could.

And that strength, that personal growth will help you later along your journey to that extraordinary life of your dreams.

5. Failure opens new doors

Some call it God or the Universe others merely luck, but we all know the situation where you’ve been disappointed by something not working out only to find yourself in a much better situation which you otherwise would have missed.

Maybe you’ve missed your flight and end up having to spend hours at the airport, but there you meet somebody that will change your life forever.

Maybe you didn’t get that job, only to get into a much better position you didn’t even know was available.

Failure tends to open new doors for us, that we otherwise would have never known about.

6. Failure is much better than regret

This one is huge, which is why I’ve also talked about it in 15 Ways To Live A Life You Won’t Regret.

If you want to live an extraordinary life and indeed be happy, you should live with as little regrets as possible.

Failure is, as painful as it might be in the moment, a million times better than to wonder “what if I had takes that leap of faith.”

So embrace failure on your way to success, because later on, it will give you that peace of mind that you’ve at least tried.

7. Every successful person has failed

Lastly, let’s mention that every successful person we are looking up to has failed to some extent in their life.

Some have even failed spectecularly, like J.K. Rowling, Donald Trump or Robert Kiyjosaki.

That should be testament enough that failure is a necessary part of success. So in a way you should celebrate each failure you experience. Because it not only means that you are getting closer to your goals but also that once you reach them, you will be able to look back and tell everybody about the failures you’ve overcome.

I hope this motivates you to keep fighting whenever failure crosses your path.

And again, should you need some more motivation, check out 21 Quotes To Help You Overcome Failure.

I encourage you to continue working towards that life of your dreams!

Until next time,

Sophie.

8 Ways To Provide Value To The World

Blog, Success

The wealthy understand that you need to provide value to the world if you want to be rich. The higher the value you give, the bigger the fortune you amass.

If we think about the massive value Amazon has provided and continues to provide to the world, it is no wonder Jeff Bezos is the richest man on earth.

Striving for Felicity How To Provide Value

So if you want to belong to the 1%, you need to provide value to the world.

I know that this can be a daunting task. You probably think that you have no skills to provide any value. However, what most people don’t realize is that value can take infinite forms.

To motivate you to pursue that extraordinary life of your dreams, I created a list of 8 Ways You Can Provide Value To The World.

1. Writing

Let’s start with the very thing I am doing right now. Through creating this blog and writing articles, I am creating value that you, dear Felicity Seeker, benefit from.

But of course, you don’t have to start a blog. There are many different ways you can write. For example, you could write ebooks, tweets, Instagram captions, or fanfictions.

And if you love fanfictions as much as I do, you will understand the immense value that lies within them and the happiness they provide for people.

So no wonder the fanfiction community also includes the possibility to become rich. For example, E. L. James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey, wrote her story originally as a fanfiction.

If you enjoy writing, wouldn’t it be amazing to give people joy through that?

2. Music

Music is another excellent form of value that we all benefit from. And of course, you don’t have to be the next Lady Gaga to provide real value.

You can write your own songs or cover other songs. You can gain recognition through YouTube or casting shows.

Even creating playlists and sharing them with others can be valuable.

3. Videos

I’m sure you are thinking about Hollywood movies straight away. However, there are plenty of options for how you can provide value through videos.

You can direct your own short movies and upload them on YouTube, or you can record high quality footage and offer it online. Just think about Musically, TikTok, or Instagram Stories.

There are so many ways you can create valuable videos. And the internet allows you to share them with millions of people.

4. Images

Photography also provides excellent value. Bloggers like me benefit immensely from Free Stock Websites like Unsplash, where I can find the most gorgeous and high-quality pictures to use for my content.

And through providing that free value, people start to recognize the skills of the photographer, which might result in a few clients.

So if you are interested in photography, why not upload a few pictures and see where it leads you? At the very least, you will have done something good in providing free value.

You might also be interested in 10 Free And Effortless Ways To Do Something Good Today.

5. Knowledge

This is another category in which this blog is active. I am sure you have a lot of experience accumulated in your life so far.

And if you are a Felicity Seeker that works through my Reading List, you are learning something new every day.

Why not share the knowledge you have online? I am sure you have googled countless times in your life to find an answer to a question of yours and been so grateful that someone out there uploaded it.

No matter how weird or useless something may seem, I can almost guarantee you that there are people out there searching for it.

6. Humor

Everybody loves to laugh. Nowadays, there are countless funny memes, YouTube Videos, Posts, Images, etc. on the internet.

As with most things, the internet has provided us with endless ways to share something. So why not tap into your funny side and create some content. Wouldn’t it be great to know you’ve made somebody’s day just a little bit better?

7. Motivation

If you are a Felicity Seeker like me, then you probably know how huge this niche is. There are so many motivational videos and posts out there.

I, for example, try not only to make my articles motivating, but I also create weekly motivating and inspiring quotes that I share on social media and my Quotes page.

A straightforward way to motivate people, for example, are study inspo images. Next time you study for an exam, try to make a beautiful picture of your workspace and post it.

There are millions of people who love images like that and get a ton of motivation from them. And it isn’t even that much of an effort for you to provide that value!

8. Living public

This one probably comes at the highest cost, and you should think it through thoroughly before diving into it.

But if you think about modern television, there are countless reality shows out there – stuff like Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Promi Big Brother, Love Island, or whatever new show came out this year.

Many people love to escape their reality by diving into the lives of other people. Therefore reality shows have an immense value for them.

I hope this list gave you some inspiration on how you can provide value to this world. I know in the beginning, it might seem like a daunting task.

If you’ve never done anything like that before, it may seem to you like you have no value to provide. Luckily, we are all unique, and therefore we all have some exceptional value to offer, and there are truly endless ways to do so.

Please don’t sit around and wait for that one “perfect” idea to come. It will be much easier for you to discover the value you can provide by starting to do something you feel at least somewhat able to do.

For me, it was this blog. When I started it, I didn’t feel like I had much value to provide. I mean, what could I possibly write, that hasn’t been written on the internet before?

However, if you are reading this, you must find some value in it. And if I can provide value then so can you!

I believe in you!

Sophie

18 Powerful Personal Growth Ideas

Blog, Personal Development

Self-improvement and personal growth are big but vague words. They can mean everything and nothing all at once.

We Felicity Seekers are hungry to grow into our best version. And we know that self-improvement is the key for that.

But what are some concrete self-improvement ideas we can work on? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

This list will enable you to jumpstart your personal growth journey in no time!

Enjoy!

1. Start listing things you are grateful for

We start this list with a straightforward but unfortunately very overlooked practice. I want you to start a gratitude journal or list.

And preferably write it down by hand although it can also be an excellent practice to have a notes section on your phone dedicated to it so that you can remember things you are grateful for throughout the day.

Striving for Felicity Personal Development Ideas

Every morning I want you to write down three things you are grateful about. And try not to write the same three things every day.

These can be little things such as “I am grateful I fell asleep so fast yesterday.” Or important things like “I am unbelievably grateful for getting that job!”

Starting your day like this will make it easier for you to be happier throughout the day and let “bad” things bother you less.

2. Read daily

I always preach the importance of nonfiction books for your personal growth.

Which is why I have created my Reading List for Personal Growth. This is where I list all my favorite nonfiction books that made me grow into a better version.

However, for some reason, people always have the excuse that they can’t find the time to read. That’s – to say it bluntly – bullshit!

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. And some of the most successful people on our planet, who definitely have a ton of things to do every day, find the time to read daily.

I am not saying you need to start reading 2 hours a day, although that would be great! Simply start by reading 15 to 30 minutes in the morning before you go to school or work.

I can almost guarantee that somewhere along your day you are mindlessly wasting these 15 to 30 minutes. Most likely scrolling through your phone. So how about redirecting them into something that will bring you closer to that extraordinary life of your dreams?

If you want to do that check out my Reading List!

3. Learn a new language

Admittedly, being able to speak different languages will be a skill that will become more and more unnecessary with developing translation technologies.

But I still believe it can benefit you immensely in your personal growth journey if you learn to speak different languages.

It’s not only lovely to speak the language of a foreign country you are visiting, but it can also help you network with different people, and it can change the way you look at different countries and cultures.

At the very least, it is a fun practice to keep your brain sharp and fit.

4. Learn a new skill

You will never be able to have too many skills in life. And there is an endless list of skills you could learn. Everything from drawing, cooking, calligraphy to driving, changing tires, and programming.

And the great thing about living in 2019 is that you also have a lot of options on how to learn those skills. You could find yourself a mentor, start doing it as a hobby, purchase an online course, or teach yourself through YouTube videos.

Life is more fun if you approach it as a never-ending journey of learning. So, what skills do you want to learn this year?

You could commit to learning one new skill every three or six months. Maybe even every month, if you are really ambitious and have the time to do so.

In a few years, you might be surprised where this skill could come in handy.

5. Get outside your comfort zone once a month/week

Our comfort zone is just that … comfy. And who likes to leave something comfortable behind for something less comfortable?

However, real growth always awaits us outside of our comfort zone. So we Felicity Seekers have to get out there.

Now how can we make it as easy as possible for us? Only by doing it regularly. It’s like a muscle. The more we do it, the easier it gets.

So try to challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone maybe once a month or once a week. Do something you feel uncomfortable doing, but you know it would benefit you in the long term.

6. Find a mentor

I know this can be a daunting task and also a significant financial step, and so far, I admit I have not yet made it myself.

But wherever I look, all the successful people I am looking up to say you need to get yourself a mentor. The value he or she will provide you with is immeasurable.

7. Exercise regularly

It’s the 21st century. By now we all know we should excerzise regularly. Yet many people still can’t bring themselves to do it.

You don’t even have to go to the gym, just do some none equipment workout videos from home. I also don´t have much space at home but still manage to do it. There are even apartment-friendly workouts so that you won’t disturb any neighbors.

Blogilates and the Nike Training App are some personal favorites of mine. You can even do most Blogilates workouts without shoes. So there is absolutely no excuse left for you not to do it.

8. Improve your eating habits

I am currently working on trying to get rid of hormonal acne through celery juice. Let’s see how it goes, but it definitely already raised more awareness in me concerning the things that I eat and how they impact my body and how I feel.

Improving your eating habits does not only have an impact on your health for the long term; more importantly, it enhances the way you feel today!

9. Set goals

To achieve the most significant personal growth possible, you have to set clear goals. How else will you know what to work on?

And don’t just set unrealistic goals. They will only frustrate you. You should set S.M.A.R.T. goals. Meaning specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound

10. Find idols and study them

Another great way to improve yourself is by studying your heroes. Find a few people who you look up to in one or more areas in life.

And then analyze what exactly got them to where they are today and try to imitate that.

What are Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds doing to have such a happy marriage?

How did Jeff Bezos become the richest men in the world?

How does Ray Dalio achieve such incredible investment results for his clients?

11. Identify your flaws and create a plan to overcome them

We all have some things we don’t like about ourselves. Maybe you are always interrupting people unintentionally. Perhaps you are uncomfortable with your style. Maybe you want to get rid of your hormonal acne.

There are most likely always things that are bothering you about yourself. How about instead of merely complaining about them you decide to tackle them strategically.

12. Cultivate a new habit every month/quarter

It’s easy to procrastinate your self-improvement goals in the hustle of daily life.

Often we suddenly have a spark of inspiration and want to implement all these new and amazing habits into our lives. Only to fail spectacularly at them, because we tackled too much at once.

Instead, try to cultivate one new habit per month or every three months or so.

These can be simple things like brushing your teeth with your nondominant hand or meditating. No matter how small or big the habit, if you only focus on one habit at a time, it will almost effortlessly become a new part of your life.

13. Take a Social Media and Entertainment Detox

Most of us spend way too much time on social media or entertainment apps like Netflix and YouTube.

Have you ever looked at the tracker of your phone to see how much time you actually spend in the different apps? It’s probably a shocking amount.

Can you imagine what you ould be able to accomplish if half of that time went into your personal growth journey?

Taking a detox will rib you out of that bad habit, and you will get a glimpse at how much more time you suddenly have in a day.

The important thing, however, is that afterward, you don’t jump back to your old habits.

14. Start journaling

I am probably mentioning journaling in about every article I write. But that’s ok since I am absolutely sure everyone can benefit from it.

It doesn’t matter how often you do it or if you use prompts or not. Simply try to get into journaling. Maybe challenge yourself to journal once a day for two weeks and after that only as often as you feel will benefit you.

At the beginning of the year, I journaled daily. Sometimes even for two hours! And I can’t begin to tell you how much it helped me on my personal growth journey.

However, I am currently at a stage in my life where I don’t feel the need to journal every day. Now, I do it maybe once or twice a week. But it still makes me feel lighter and more motivated whenever I take the time to do it.

15. Start a side hustle

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to know everything before you can start a business.

You will never be perfectly prepared. In fact, the beauty of a business is that as it grows, you grow with it.

Take my blog, for example. It’s about striving for felicity, how to create the extraordinary life of your dreams full of success, passion, and financial freedom.

Do I have all of that yet? No. Definitely not. But every day that I am working on this blog, I am improving my business skills and my mindset, and I am getting closer and closer to that end goal.

16. Learn how to practice self-care

Self-care is one of these things that seem like some Instagram or Pinterest trend but is actually really important to implement into your life.

Self-care enables you to recharge and tackle life with more passion and motivation. It will not only help you achieve your goals faster but also enjoy the journey more.

17. Start bucket lists

And I am not talking about the cringy type of bucket lists. No, I am thinking about three kinds of lists: One for things you want to learn, fun things you want to purchase and investments you want to make.

Having these lists will not only help you decide on what to do with your time/money, but they will be an immense motivation to work towards your goals.

18. Set relationships goals

While striving for an extraordinary life, it is easy to forget spending time with your friends and family.

But an extraordinary life requires mastery of every area of life, also meaning your social and romantic life.

So try to set clear goals. Maybe call your family and friends once a week and meet up with them once a month.

You could also start a list of activities you could do together. That way, it always stays exciting, and you can make some fantastic memories.

Phew, that was a long list So many great ideas on how to improve yourself and grow into your best version. Isn’t that exciting!

Please don’t let this big list overwhelm you. Nobody is expecting you to start implementing all of these ideas at once.

Just take one after the other, and before you know it, you will look back at your old self and be staggered by your progress. I encourage you to really enjoy the process.

Personal growth can bring you immense joy and satisfaction if you don’t take it too seriously.

Just remember that if you are doing self-development at all, you are already far ahead of the vast majority of humans.

I am excited to hear about your progress! Comment down below if you want to share your successes with your fellow Felicity Seekers.

Sophie