Investing in yourself is one of the smartest decisions you can ever make.
It can lead you to a better, happier, and much more joyful life.
Investing in yourself is something to take seriously. As mothers, it can broaden our lives, bring career opportunities and at the same time strengthen our decisions making for us and our children.
But, if it’s so helpful then why do so fewer people actually invest in themselves?
When it comes to investing in yourself, most of us often tend to lie to ourselves and come up with excuses.
The two most popular excuses are, “I will start when I have enough time” or “I will start when I have enough money”, but these are just mere excuses. Investing in yourself is setting your priorities straight – giving yourself time and self-love.
Somepeople believe that giving time to oneself is self, but it is not selfish. You have to improve yourself to improve the people you love.
A good example would be an alcoholic giving advice to a person not to drink much, it just doesn’t make sense.
The alcoholic first have to be sober and then give advice on how can the other person remove this bad habit.
Why should you invest in yourself?
The question that comes in most people’s minds is why should they invest money to learn something new.
They can just figure out something on their own rather than paying someone else.
While this may be true, but learning something on your own can take a lot of your time.
A professional trainer or a coach can help you learn something much quicker, and he or she has had a lot of experience so they know how to deal with various kinds of people.
Self-investment grows you personally and professionally. Growth leads to better life choices, better career opportunities, and finally a stable future for your children.
When you invest in becoming a healthier, more knowledgable, more well-rounded person, your business should benefit too.
Adding to your skillset and expanding your outlook can help you see areas where your business can expand or improve. A healthy mind and body enable you to put more energy into your work.
Investing in yourself by maintaining your health, lowering your stress levels, and reigniting your passion for your business can prevent burnout and bring new insights to your work. These could be crucial factors in determining your business’ success.
What are the Benefits of Investing in Yourself?
Self-investment pays the best interest.
And it’s a 100% guaranteed return, unlike stocks or real estate.
Even though you might not see a immediate rate of success, you’ll soon realize that there will be a long-term outcome that will help you in a lot of areas of your life. Some of those benefits are:
- Personal and professional growth
Self-investment can enhance your growth both personally and professionally. You’re more strengthened to make hard decisions both in personal and professional life. You’re more capable of leading a team as you gain leadership skills.
- Idea generation
Self-investment can often lead you to paths you wouldn’t normally take. You’re out of your comfort zone, you get to make decisions outside of your comfort zone. New environments get your brain working in ways that it hadn’t before, leading to new ideas.
- New People
Investing in yourself will likely lead you to go places you normally would go. You may attend conferences, networking events, or go to classes to learn new skills. There you get to meet new like-minded people. In the end, you have a brand new group of people who’re similar to you and even share the same interests.
- New opportunities
When you start investing in yourself and give yourself the priority, you’ll realize you’re getting new opportunities. Whether it may be in the form of a raise at work or finding a perfect partner.
The universe will open newer and better doors for you.
- New Skills
As you invest in yourself, you’re upgrading yourself to a newer and better model.
And, yes just like car models. You’ll have better and more unique skills to offer to the market or people around you. You’ll be increasing your value. Just like upgrading your car from a Toyota to a Tesla, you’ll be more valuable, too.
6 Ways To Invest In Yourself
You can invest in yourself in a range of areas, including your physical health, emotional health, career, education, goals, creative pursuits, passions or interests, and relationships.
Here are some ideas to help get you started.
1. Exercise Regularly
Getting regular enough exercise is one of the best ways you can invest in yourself.
We now know that regular exercise can lead to more energy, more productivity, reduced stress, improved brainpower, better memory, and increased creativity.
It’s the best way to maintain a healthy weight, improve your mood, ward off disease, combat mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, and improve your focus.
Exercise can also help you as a mom. You’ll be a happier, more engaged and a better problem-solver when you make exercise a habit.
Don’t be put off by thinking that to get exercise you’ve got to join a gym, pay a hefty fee, and spend two hours working out every day.
That is definitely not the case.
You don’t need a gym to exercise. You can exercise by going for a walk, doing yoga, or working out at home.
A dance party with your kids, swimming, going for a hike, or take the dog for a long walk.
The type of exercise you do doesn’t matter, so long as it’s something you enjoy and can do most days.
If you’re new to exercising, there are plenty of mobile apps out there that will give you personalized workouts according to your needs.
2. Strengthen your current skills
As a mom, you already have and use a wide range of skills in your daily life. You’re already the expert on your own kids.
But what about your other skills?
Honing the skills you rely on most is one of the best ways to invest in yourself. After all, you already have a foundation of knowledge in one particular area. It’s far easier to become an expert in a field you’re already familiar with than one that you know nothing about.
If the field you’re in now isn’t one you want to stay in, then analyze which skills will be useful in the field you want to go into.
Skills such as strong communication, leadership, team building, negotiating, business writing, and public speaking are valuable in a wide variety of different fields. So focus on strengthening the skills you’ll use in your next career or business venture to build your confidence and marketability.
3. Set Goals
Being clear on your goals is really important.
Once you’ve identified and set up a goal for yourself, you’ll have a clear vision of the path you have to take instead of having a vague and uneven path.
More importantly, goals give you a roadmap that you follow to achieve it.
It’s always best that you write your goal down in your journal and make a roadmap that you follow every day to achieve your goal.
4. Learn new skills
Another great way to invest in yourself is to keep learning throughout your life. Learning a new skill not only keeps your mind sharp, but it also adds yet another tool you can use to perform better in your career, start your own online business or maybe a money making blog.
One way to learn a new skill is by getting admission to a community college. These colleges offer programs during both day and night. So, if you’re a working mom you can go at the time of day which is feasible for you.
Another way to learn is by using the internet. In today’s age of technology there are tons of websites that have online courses by highly qualifies teachers and you can learn at home at your comfortable time.
5. Read More
Reading is a fantastic way to invest in yourself. It also is a relatively cheap activity and can even oftentimes cost nothing.
Most books you could ever want can be found on Amazon Kindle, or at your local library. Some even offer free ebooks with your library membership, so that’s a good place to start in looking for reading material.
Reading regularly has tremendous benefits. It stimulates your imagination, improves your vocabulary, increases your general knowledge, helps you relax, allows you to tap into the minds of great thinkers, assists you in solving problems, and it can be tremendously entertaining. Almost all the great leaders in this world spend time reading.
6. Get a Mentor
If you are serious about investing in yourself and your future, find someone to mentor you, especially in a field you want to excel in.
You will be surprised by how many experts are willing to share their knowledge and experience with you if you simply ask.
You could seek multiple mentors, each with their own skillset. Finding someone to mentor you will help you avoid unnecessary mistakes that the mentor made in the past, affords you the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques, and it will provide invaluable inspiration.
Remember that not every investment has to be financial, investing in yourself can be simple, cheap or free or it could be an extensive learning experience.