9 Best Articles on Personal Growth
The most useful articles on personal growth from around the web, curated by thought leaders and our community.
Refind focuses on timeless pieces and updates the list whenever new, must-read articles or videos are discovered.
Top 5 Personal Growth Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on personal growth by Refind users in 2024 so far.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
Dan Harris: The benefits of not being a jerk to yourself
After more than two decades as an anchor for ABC News, an on-air panic attack sent Dan Harris's life in a new direction: he became a dedicated meditator and, to some, even a guru. But then an…
How to ...?
How to Be Great? Just be Good, Repeatably
A thought piece on what it takes to truly be great and what that even means in the first place.
«makes the rest of us believe that correlation (of those outliers) is causation; in other words, success of those individuals is due to their offbeat ways»
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on personal growth—all under 10 minutes.
The 8 Stages of Life That Make or Break You
There are eight main stages of life. And we grow (or not) depending on our ability to overcome the "crises" that these stages bring.
«Erikson believed people could face the above conflicts at different points in their life, not just in the age range he identified.»
What It Takes to Grow: Pioneering Psychoanalyst Karen Horney on the Key to Self-Realization
“Self-knowledge… is not an aim in itself, but a means of liberating the forces of spontaneous growth. In this sense, to work at ourselves becomes not only the prime moral obligation, bu…
«under the forces of convention and compulsion; it requires living amicably with who we have been in order to fully live into who we can be.»
Embarrassment is an Integral Part of the Growth Process
By Leo Babauta A well-known climbing coach said that the biggest obstacle in the way of people’s growth as climbers is, basically, fear of embarrassment. When people want to get better at climbing,…
10 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd
The Curiosity Chronicle has quickly become one of the most popular newsletters for growth-minded individuals in the world. Each week, subscribers receive a deep dive that covers topics ranging from…
Don’t Beat Yourself Up; You’ve Laid Good Ground
In your quest for self-improvement, you’ll likely encounter moments of despair where your current self isn’t anywhere near the ideal self you’ve created in your head. Maybe your ideal self is 50…
«At the end of every month, write down your accomplishments. Be specific. How many times did you work out? How many books did you read?»
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on personal growth.
Generalise, don't specialise: why focusing too narrowly is bad for us
As children, we were told that practice makes perfect, but sportswriter David Epstein turns on its head the popular idea that specializing early on in one field leads to greater success. Epstein delved into studies on the development of elite professionals, observing that dabbling isn’t the hindrance many believe it to be. In this fascinating article, he outlines a convincing case that – in an increasingly complex and interconnected world – the world needs more “people with range.”
The essential guide to crafting a successful Growth Loop.
Based on personal experience, I want to share what I have found to be the top requirements for success when creating a growth loop.
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