It’s no secret that investing in yourself is one of the smartest investments you can make. Even though most of us know this, why do so few of us actually do it?
For some reason, investing in ourselves seems to come far down on our list of priorities. The two biggest excuses are ‘when I have more money’ or ‘when I have more time’… but the reality is that these are just that – excuses. Yes, you might not have any spare cash, but investing in yourself doesn’t have to cost money. You might not have much spare time, but we all manage to make time for the things we really want to do.
So why don’t we invest in ourselves? Maybe it’s because we’re not sure whether we’ll see any returns on our investment. Worse yet, maybe we don’t value ourselves enough to invest in ourselves.
Should you be Doing More to Invest in Yourself? Take Our Quiz Below!
Investing in yourself isn’t about taking a blogging course and becoming an award-winning blogger the next day. Nor is it about starting a daily yoga practice and becoming a yoga teacher in a matter of weeks. Instead it’s about the time and energy we put into trying something new. That’s the real benefit. Investing in yourself is not about instant gratification; it’s about the process of becoming the person you want to be.
And speaking of instant gratification, that is another reason why many of us don’t invest in ourselves. We live in a world where we want instant results, instant delivery, instant everything. But investing in yourself requires you to focus on your future self. You have to trust that with time and continued self-improvement, you will get the life you want, the business you want, the home you want, the body you want.
Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Put another way, if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will struggle to make progress and create the life you envision. If you don’t invest in yourself, you will stay stuck, and that’s a heavy price to pay.
So, what does it mean to invest in yourself? Do you have to spend thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours? The short answer is no. At least not for us at Mothers and Shakers. Here are a variety of ways that members of our team have chosen to invest in ourselves:
Uju had a goal to write a novel in 2018, so she signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and knocked out a first draft in 3 weeks. She invested $39 in Scrivener, a writing software that helps organise manuscripts, scripts and other big writing projects. But the biggest investment she made was committing to a daily word count and honouring her word to herself (and to her fellow NaNoWriMo participants).
Mirka is an ardent fitness enthusiast who committed to a daily running programme in preparation for the London Marathon. Mirka has been sponsored to run several major marathons, thanks to the time she’s invested in building up a quality fitness blog, and growing her personal brand through social media. By investing in her passion for running, Mirka was able to smash her marathon goals and raise money for a charity close to her heart.
Laura has invested in a bold redesign for her blog London Baby. However, during its revamp stage, Laura has taken her blog offline temporarily to focus on another core passion: politics. As an active campaign manager during a crucial time in British history, Laura has decided to channel her content writing and social media skills into pushing for positive change.
As you can see, investing in yourself can look very different depending on your goals. The important thing is to identify where you need to focus your energies and do one thing every day towards living a more fulfilling life.
Here are 11 ways to invest in yourself, many of which don’t cost any money:
1. Invest in your dreams by writing down your goals and working towards them.
2. Invest in your health by committing to a simply daily plan for good nutrition and exercise.
3. Invest in your skills by taking a workshop or a course.
4. Invest in your relationships by being present when you are with them and spending more quality time together.
5. Invest in your knowledge by reading more books.
6. Invest in your creativity by painting, making stuff, writing, cooking… so many ways.
7. Invest in your happiness by doing things you love just because you want to.
8. Invest in your personal growth by hiring a coach.
9. Invest in your finances by paying attention to them and growing them.
10. Invest in your mind and brain health by learning something new.
11. Invest in yourself by taking the plunge and finally starting on that big scary goal.
Have you been thinking of starting a blog? You can only make your dreams come true by taking the first step. So why not take the plunge and invest in yourself by joining our upcoming London Blog Workshop? Click the button below to find out more.
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