When I was a kid, I’ve always been interested in the stock market, and in the term: invest.
I was interested in the fact that you can pour resources into something, and have it create and give back to you. In stock’s case, it was money.
Other than other assets, property, people, or more money, there is one asset we have that has the most potential return on investment : Ourselves.
How do we do that?
Read
Materials and books are condensed learnings of people who have been there and done that. They provide insights, realization, advices, and even shortcuts and action plans of people who have both failed and triumphed.
Many good books I’ve read have paid off more than what I bought them for. And the tips, strategies, and lessons they have shared can provide you a big jump ahead of the current experiences that you have.
As I read somewhere before, reading is a shortcut to the many years of experiences and mistakes that others have made, and are sharing with you in the hopes that you too can learn from them, and avoid making the same mistakes.
Take Care of Yourself
Investing in your growth is not only about your capability to do more, or better. It also has to do with you being able to do what you do best. And if you’re burned out, injured, sick, or lacking energy, then you won’t be able to perform and get to doing what matters most to you.
Eat right, sleep right, get enough rest and exercise. Be aware and mindful of what you body, mind, and heart is telling you. This will allow you greater strength, endurance, health, creativity, and energy.
Start a New Hobby, Or Revive an Old One
I had learned to play guitar in my younger years, and I found much enjoyment and relaxation from that. Now that I’m older, I found it very helpful and relaxing to me to have rediscovered that hobby, and to play guitar again.
We all need hobbies, that which we find fun and recreational. It helps keep up happy, energized, and recharged. It also allows us opportunities to learn something new, and to avoid the burn-out of too much work and pressure.
Learn a New Skill
Learning something new can not only give you enjoyment, but is a critical part of self-improvement. You can invest in yourself by learning new and relevant skills to your job, your career, or your personal goals and dreams.
In this internet age of ours, it’s easier to learn new skills, thanks to online courses, tutorial videos, and online communities that teach, support, and encourage each other to learn new skills, as well as provide coaching and mentoring.
Travel Solo
Travelling by yourself is a very enriching, if not educational experience. You’ll realize more about yourself, how you act and react and think in different situations most especially, the situation that you’re all alone in a foreign country where you don’t know anyone, and nobody speaks your language.
You will learn to survive and get by using your own wits and what you have, as well as, hopefully, develop some independence in you.
Get a Mentor
Look for someone in your line of work that you can consider successful, or that you would like to learn from. Then, don’t ask that person to be your mentor right away. Find ways to help them, add value to them, and maybe even do some work for them. Then you can start learning, and develop a mentoring relationship.
Real good mentors will not only teach you what they know, but they also expect some sort of loyalty as well. Otherwise, why are you going to them? And you don’t want to start off on the wrong foot, by asking a ton of questions, making them work at answering them, and then not helping them in any form at all,
A true mentoring relationship is give and take. Both must give value to each other.
And both thus enrich each other’s lives.
Make Time for Yourself
Because nowadays, people are too busy to stop.
Or they stop too frequently, but never really get to taking care of themselves.
To avoid getting burnt out, and maintaining balance in the force in your life, it is important to schedule and make time for yourself to recharge and rejuvenate yourself.
Remember, it’s not about having time. We all have the same amount of time. It’s about making time for yourself.
Do something that challenges you, or something that scares you.
My example is that I’d never thought I would get in the habit of writing. Just writing, and hitting publish, at first really, really scared the wits out of me. It was so uncomfortable doing that and laying my thoughts out for the internet to witness, and possibly, tear apart.
Thankfully, that hasn’t happened, and I’ve grown and my experience has been all for the better.
Be in the Presence of Amazing Friends and People
As Jim Rohn once said: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Being around people smarter, kinder, wiser, and different than you seems to have an effect on your general well-being. That, and it actually motivates you to become a better person as well.
You get a front seat pass to seeing how their minds work, what they believe in, what they do, how they execute, that gets them closer and closer to their dreams and goals. If they aren’t already living them.
Get a Coach
A coach can be there for you to support you, and help you get clear on what to do next, and how to go about doing it. They can help you move forward from what’s blocking and stopping your growth, and will be invested in your success and well-being as well.
Now, I’ve been coached before, and I’m a coach as well. Seeing the progress I have made with my coach has been astounding, and I can say that I wouldn’t have recovered as fast from my setbacks had I not had a coach to help me work through my confusion and help me get clear what’s next for me.
Invest in yourself, and reap the rewards
And the sooner you do, the more time your investment has to grow, and pay back dividends for your life, and the people you impact.
Give yourself opportunities to grow.
Invest in yourself.
How are you investing in yourself? Please share in the comments below!
Acknowledgements:
[…] of a sacrifice, think of it as an investment. You’re putting energy, time, and resources into building something, whether it’s a […]