Your past habits, actions and decisions have a profound effect on your current situation.
Investing in yourself means improving yourself on different levels, including physical, emotional, mental, professional, and financial levels.
This is the only investment that will 100 percent pay you back. The quality of your present and future life directly depends on your efforts to invest in professional and personal growth.
Regardless of what happens to your job or the market, you will have a place under the sun when you’re learned and healthy.
1. Set SMART Goals
Love them or hate them, goals are a roadmap to what you want to accomplish in life.
Without specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound goals, your life journey will be a hustle with no purpose.
Your goals can be short-term, such as saving for a new car, or long-term, such as paying off a mortgage.
Take a few hours in a week to think about what you’d like to achieve or have, set goals and take action.
If you want to pick up more about SMART goals, check out S.M.A.R.T. Goals Made Simple by S.J. Scott.
2. Take Care of Your Physical Health
You only have one body, so it’s imperative to invest in it.
Drink enough water, eat healthy foods, exercise regularly and incorporate healthy habits into your lifestyle to live a long and happy life.
Several studies link daily exercise to reduced stress, better memory, improved brainpower, productivity, and increased creativity.
Physical inactivity puts you at more risk of developing obesity, diabetes, depression and cardiovascular disease.
3. Don't Ignore Your Emotional Health
Your emotional health is just as crucial as your physical health.
You can expand your mind by educating yourself with new things and keeping it active.
Stress, low moods, panic attacks and toxic relationships can destroy your precious energy, eat your time and keep you from living your best life possible.
If you’re facing any emotional issues, talk to a close friend or someone who understands you. Doing this will help you clear your mind and stay focused on the opportunity’s life presents.
Remember to make time for the people you love and enjoy being around – your friends and family. Consider spending less time with or removing yourself from relationships with people that tear you down or suck your energy instead of building you up. If you feel zapped every time you have been around a friend, that friend is not helping you but hurting you.
4. Learn How Money Works
Read personal finance books to understand the basics of how to make, save and grow money. Books can give you ideas you never thought of and take you to places you’ve never been.
No matter how well-paying your job is, learning how money works will help you increase income, meet life goals and live a better life.
Books that can help you change your attitude to money and give you a whole new perspective on how it works include The Power of Zero, The Richest Man in Babylon and Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
If you’re not a big fan of reading, you can listen to audiobooks or podcasts while on the go.
5. Hone Your Professional Skills
If you’re like many people, your day job is your main source of income.
When you constantly improve your skills, you become a better professional and can be rewarded with a promotion or pay rise.
You can start by utilizing available training through attending conferences, enrolling in workshops and participating in webinars.
Next, focus on advancing your education with advanced degrees, extra classes and relevant certifications.
6. Quit Trying to Win the Approval of Others
Are you living your dreams or someone else’s?
It’s crucial to learn the difference between your true desires and what others want or expect from you. Don’t wait for others’ approval and never waste your time and energy trying to please everyone because guess what? You never will!
You’re investing in yourself to make you a better person. So, live your life and achieve your goals.
It’s okay to say no to things that don’t bring you joy, friends that don’t make you a better person and expenses that kill your savings.
7. Never Stop Learning
Have you ever tried to explore your creative side? Most of us have a fountain of creativity that has never been tapped or used to its highest potential.
Creativity in any form lets you grow personally and professionally. Select some form of activity that you’ve never tried, haven’t practiced in a while, or have never explored fully.
You can try and learn a new language, write something (poetry, short stories), play a musical instrument, paint, sculpt, do some gardening or landscape photography.
8. Invest in Your Future
Many people make the mistake of waiting until retirement to start investing. Learn from their mistakes.
Now is the best time to think about your future and what to do to afford the lifestyle you want.
Start by creating a rainy-day fund, then contribute to your retirement savings. Once you’ve accumulated enough savings, invest part of that in assets that will appreciate.
Diversify your portfolio with real estate, commodities stocks and bonds to mitigate the risks. Invest in things that you understand. Growing your knowledge will allow you to be much more diversified in your investments.
Conclusion
Learning to invest in yourself is probably the most profitable investment you’ll ever make. It will set you on the right path towards your future goals.