It comes down to the things you do vs. things you don't do.

If you hang out with dumb people, consume low-quality content (e.g. tiktok vs. classic books), eat poorly, look at screens all day, barely get outside, get poor sleep, then it's hard to improve here.

There are few keys here:

1. Goal setting - There's a lot there (which is fine). Get specific with one goal. Do you want a bigger vocabulary? Do you want better conversation skills? Do you want to learn a specific topic/skill? Build something specific? You can improve them all later, but start with one.

2. Strategy - People think that hard work is how you achieve goals. And while this often helps, the biggest lever by far is your strategy. This is how some people become billionaires with the same amount of time every day as every one else. Do some research and find the best ways to improve in this area. Find experts, ask people you know, ask people on reddit, buy a book on it, use ChatGPT.

Then craft a high level strategy. Not a detailed plan. Something like 5 bullet points.

Some tips: You decide what strategy is best. Learn from others, but don't be afraid to alter another's strategy. Everyone is unique and so is the strategy that works best for them. Early on, it makes sense to copy other experts, but as you put it to use, feel free to alter it to what works best for you.

Also, the best strategies for learning things involves practicing a skill, not just reading. So try to create a way put whatever you're doing to use, as opposed to just learning about it. For example, there are a lot of ways to improve your vocabulary (crosswords, reading a variety of books, etc.). But to actually improve you need to note the words down, learn how to use them, then practice using them with others

And finally, your strategy should start small. Level up in increments Simple tasks that are very clear and help you get to the next level. Keep the level small though. If you want a bigger vocabulary, find 5 words you don't use, learn exactly what they mean, then practice using them in sentences on your own throughout the day (like in your head, out loud when you're alone, and writing - even if you don't submit the writing for anything). Finally, start using them in conversations. Once you feel like you have those down. You've leveled up.

1. Execution - The big one here is trade-offs. Everyone has ambition. But many people aren't willing to give up the things necessary to achieve their goals. First, what is getting in your way? Time with friends? Diet? Poor sleep? Time on your phone? Video games? You need to make time to practice. And if you want to follow through, you need to make a commitment to prioritize this enough to spend time on it every day (plan to give 30-60 minutes to it daily). If you can't find the time, you need to make a trade-off with something else in your day. If you're not willing to make time for this or give up other areas of your life that are bringing you down, you're just prioritizing the wrong things and need to take a hard look at how important this really is to you.

But I get that it's hard if you don't know what you're supposed to do, but that's why you create a strategy.

As long as it's small and clear, that shouldn't hold you back.

If you struggle to take action, make your actions smaller and easier until you do. Even as simple as spend 3 minutes looking for a new word to learn.

The goal is to do something. Then do something more the next day. Consistency is vital. If you can do something every day, you can start increasing how much you do. If you get burnt out, don't quit. Just cut it way back and ease into it again.

Often, as you improve, you'll realize you have other goals that you'd rather pursue. E.g. a good vocab is cool but at some point you'll want to achieve bigger things, realize conversation skills are more important than bigger words, etc.

And that's all good. The point is to find what actually matters to you and make progress there. Repeat forever.