10 non-technical self-improvement ideas that may inspire you

Are you looking for new startup ideas? Trying new things can inspire you

Posted by Paweł Nguyen on January 22, 2015

Do you ever think about learning entirely new things? I mean new skills that are not connected to your profession.

A year ago I realized that there’s a bunch of skills that I don’t have and don’t really need but it would be fun to try them out. In the end I didn’t have time to test all of them but a wishlist was a good place to start.

I know many people that had this sudden urge to learn new things that are different to what they do at work. If you’re looking for self-improvement ideas that are not connected to your day job - this is the list I created back then:

1. Cooking course

Cooking can be very pleasant and rewarding experience. I highly recommend finding a cooking school which offers short, evening courses focused on one topic, e.g. burgers. It’s a great opportunity to take someone out for a date, or go alone and meet new people.

2. Dancing class

Dancing is a good way to boost your self-confidence and spend time on a pleasant activity. It’s fun and a a great way to bond with your partner or to - once again - get to know new people.

3. Piano lessons

Playing an instrument can improve mental skills. You probably won’t turn out to be a prodigy, but playing piano might boost up your overall performance.

4. Vehicle maintenance course

Do you own an older car? You could be doing minor repairs on your own

5. Massage course

If you have time and money - it’s a great idea. Your friends, family and most of all - life partner will love you for taking a massage course.

6. Bartending course

Bartending course is a good chance for you to try out different drinks, learn new tastes and revisit your alcohol preferences. Mixing drinks is a nice way of having fun yourself but also for your friends which you can teach later. And people will adore you at house parties.

I recommend taking a weekend course if you can find one, it’s quicker with less theory than at a regular one.

7. Lip reading

I thought that it would be fun and quite useful to have this skill but I never took a course like this. Probably because I wasn’t curious enough :)

8. Speed reading course

If you’re interested in hacking your own reading pace, this might be just for you.

9. Learning a new language

I think that I don’t need to explain to anyone benefits of being able to communicate in a new language :)

10. Getting a tattoo

This one doesn’t really fit the rest of ideas, it’s not a course but a tattoo can also be an improvement and an idea worth considering.

Why is it worth the effort?

I may have convinced you that trying new things is amusing and entertaining and can benefit in strengthening your relationship and social skills.

But the greatest extra is getting to know people outside of your social circle while discovering new activities. This can often lead to locating pain points which would be hard to find otherwise. And from pain points there is a straight way to startup ideas.

What are your self-improvement ideas?

So, did I inspire you? Let me know in comments what are your ways of improving yourself in your spare time and tweet if you found this post valuable.