5 Smart Ways to Invest in Yourself
The most important investment you can make in life is in yourself. It’ll help you with not only your future endeavors, but your current wellbeing as well. The better you treat yourself, the better quality of life and happiness you’ll have. Here are a few ways you can start investing in yourself today!
Never Stop Learning
You may get to a point in your life where you lose interest in old passions. The things that used to bring you joy, now feel like more of a chore. When it gets to this point, this is when you have to start being proactive in finding a new passion. The best way to do this is by always working to learn something new. Although you may not be in school anymore, that doesn’t mean you have to stop learning. The more you discover, the more you’ll grow.
There are various avenues to continue learning throughout life. Some great ones include reading, watching documentaries, and listening to podcasts. Reading is great for expanding your vocabulary and knowledge, while also being a great stress-reliever. When it comes to documentaries, the subject offering is endless. These are especially great if you’re a lover of non-fiction. Podcasts have also become increasingly popular and are an easy way to learn on-the-go.
Care For Your Health
Prioritizing your health is essential in order to thrive long-term. The more time and effort you put into strengthening your health now, the better you’ll be able to protect yourself from unnecessary health conditions later on. Start by looking at your diet as a way to fuel your body, rather than a means for losing weight. What does your body need? What makes it feel good/bad? Take note of how your body feels and cut out and add in foods accordingly. It’s also important to make time for physical activity multiple times throughout the week. If a gym membership is out of the question, don’t fret, you can do at-home workout videos instead.
Additionally, caring for your health means assessing your health concerns, if any, and bringing them to the attention of a healthcare professional. Schedule regular appointments with your primary doctor, gynecologist, and dermatologist. If you’re short on time, you can use telemedicine services instead to speak to a doctor. From getting your birth control prescription online to a diagnosis for the flu, there’s no limit to what you can do from the comfort of your own home.
Control Your Finances
There’s no worse feeling than being indebted to someone or something else. Money is one of the biggest stressors for people and can take a toll on your mental wellbeing. However, becoming the boss of your money can give you back control of your life. Your current financial status does not need to define who you are or where you’re going.
Having enough money for both emergencies and opportunities is ideal. The two key factors to achieve this are financial planning and self-control. Start by mapping out all of your monthly expenses and compare it to how much you take home. From there, you can determine which expenses you can cut out and how you can minimize your debt. Self-control, however, is tricky. This will take some practice but in the meantime, you can use a budgeting app to show you what categories you spend the most money in. Nothing will humble you more than realizing 60% of your funds go to food and coffee.
Honor Your Gut Feeling
One of the best ways to show yourself love is by trusting and honoring your gut feelings. Deep down, you know what’s right and what’s wrong for you. Finding value in your intuition will set you up to make better decisions and keep you from regretting things later on. So when the feeling is strong, don’t ignore it.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to decipher which feeling is a signal that something isn’t meant for you and which is a sign you’re simply scared of change. Do you feel anxious and uncomfortable because this change may require you to grow in new, drastic ways? Or is this a situation where no matter what you do, the world seems to be working against you? Although you may not always know the answer to this, it’s important to reflect on the situation at hand and assess if it feels like you’re fighting against the grain, or if things are falling into place.
Take Breaks
The most important thing you can do for yourself is knowing what your limits are and to respect them. Having boundaries and learning when to say, “no,” doesn’t make you a weak person, it makes you stronger for knowing where your energy is best directed. Creating boundaries for yourself also means understanding when it’s time to take a break.
Taking a step back from things allows you to relax and refocus. This is especially important if you feel like you’re in a rut or about to burn out. Go off the grid for a little bit. Stay in for a weekend. Decline that obligation you don’t want to go to. Scattering breaks within your life will help you take charge of your emotional wellbeing and give you greater peace of mind.