Here we are – another year of self improvement has passed! How did it go for you?
This is always a great time of the year to step back and reflect a bit. Take a moment to ask yourself, “What have I learned this year? What have I accomplished? What could I have done better knowing what I know now?”
Then take a moment to step back and think about the upcoming year. Ask yourself, “What do I still need to work on in my life? What should my focus be on for next year? What are my goals?”
If you are anything like me then you ask yourself these types of questions each and every year. Because you realize that learning, growth, and improvement are processes that don’t truly end until the day you die.
As for this site, it has been a very successful year for The Emotion Machine. Each year gets better and better – and most of it just comes down to simple patience and dedication.
Most importantly, many new people have taken advantage of the free guides and workbooks from our self improvement toolkit. And our free confidence course was completed by hundreds of people this year. These are all really good signs, I’m really proud of both of these resources and what’s to come in the future.
But the main reason for this post is that I want to reflect on the “best articles” published here over the past year. So without further delay, here is a collection of my best self improvement articles of 2015!
The 10 Best Self Improvement Articles of 2015
These are the top 10 articles that received the most attention and recognition from our readers. Overall, I think they are a good reflection of the many topics we covered this year.
1. Reframing Your Dark Side: Embracing Your Shadow Is Key to Genuine Mental Health
Why is it important to embrace our “dark side” every now and then? Discover the power of negative emotions, why we need stress and anxiety, and even how “Dark Triad” personality traits can be conducive toward happiness and success.
2. How to Defuse Heated Arguments Before They Spiral Out of Control
Here are important principles for improving our conversation skills and communicating in a more healthy and respectful manner during heated arguments. Pay attention to signs of “silence or violence” and learn how to cultivate more meaningful dialogue.
3. Why Asking “What’s My Duty?” Is More Important Than “What’s My Passion?”
Duty implies that you’re part of a bigger picture, but you’re not the “whole picture.” You are just a small piece, though it’s an important piece nonetheless.
4. How to Build Your Own “Safe Space” and Never Grow as a Person
We hear a lot about “safe spaces” at colleges and universities, but has the concept gone too far? How can “safe spaces” actually hurt growth and self improvement by fostering too much comfort and dependence on others?
5. Radical Acceptance of Life’s Never-Ending Bullshit
Radical acceptance comes from the insight that life will never stop throwing you bullshit and it’s not your fault. A new take on self improvement that accepts reality for how it actually is.
6. The “Over-Sharing” Epidemic: How the Internet Makes Us Devalue Our Private Lives
Why you should be more mindful of how you use social media. Minimize your tendency for “over-sharing” and become more comfortable just keeping some things private, where they belong.
7. The Power of Nudges: Insights on How to Influence Human Behavior
Nudges are a growing concept in psychology that focus on how we can change human behavior by making small changes in how a choice is presented to us. Discover the difference between “mindful nudges” vs. “mindless nudges” and how we can use both.
8. Reconnecting With Your Body After Trauma
Psychologists often focus on the cognitive and behavioral components to mental health, but they forget the importance of “reconnecting with your body.” Trauma can have a long and devastating impact on our bodies, but we are learning clever and useful ways to help individuals to reconnect with their bodies again.
9. Good Manners in the 21st Century: Why It’s So Hard to Be Nice in Today’s World
What does it mean to have “good manners” these days? While our social world has changed a lot over the years (especially due to technology), ultimately the rules have stayed the same: it’s about having empathy and treating people with kindness and respect.
10. 3 Games People Play to Avoid Taking Responsibility
People often play games with ulterior motives to avoid taking responsibility for themselves. Here are 3 common games people play with others – do you recognize any of them?
Personal Favorites
Here are a few articles from this year that didn’t get as much attention as the “Best Articles,” but they are personal favorites of mine that I strongly believe are worth checking out as well.
Our brains are constantly creating stories about our lives and the things that happened to us in the past in order to make sense of them. How can we use the power of writing and story-telling to reframe our story and get to the next chapter?
Every mind is a creative mind if you know how to exercise your creative muscles. Check out these principles behind a mind that never runs out of new ideas, plus some very useful tools and exercises for your imagination.
Why is it important to cultivate humility and accept our “flawed self?” How can this “flawed self” concept actually spark authentic self improvement?
Mnemonics are a forgotten art of memory that today is only practiced among a small group of mental athletes and memory experts. Here’s a great introduction to the technique and how to better use your memory.
Life rarely follows a script, instead it’s a whole lot of improvisation. Here are 5 great improvisation exercises for improving your communication skills.
Join me next year!
I hope you enjoyed all of the content from this year – the articles, guides, and courses. If you want to continue following us into next year, make sure you sign up for free updates below.
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