The Importance of Investing in Yourself and Your Future
Today is my birthday! Birthdays are a great time for self-reflection, celebrating your wins, and getting excited for the future. I wanted to get a little personal in this post and share with you one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned: that investing in yourself is the greatest way to change your life.
If you don’t fully understand what “invest in yourself” means or why you should do it, this post is for you. Once you invest in yourself, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results you’ll have.
What does it mean to invest in yourself?
Have you invested in yourself in the past year? If you're not sure what this means, consider phrases like “what you sow is what you reap” and “you get out of it what you put into it.” Investing in yourself means making a contribution in some way toward your own development and success, professionally or personally.
Patience and consistent effort are crucial here. Just like investing in stocks or real estate, investing in yourself requires you to wait a long time instead of expecting instant results. Investing is a long-term pursuit, but if you make consistent effort, you can stay motivated.
Investing in yourself can mean investing financially or investing your time and energy. So regardless of how much money you have, you can always find ways to invest in yourself. For example:
Taking a course to increase your skills in something you care about
Regularly going to the library and reading books to expand your knowledge
Meditating and journaling every day to improve your mental health
Hiring a coach who can work with you and give you guidance
Practicing a certain skill each day in order to master it
Listening to podcasts and watching videos that help you build your knowledge
What happened when I invested in myself
I didn’t use to understand why “investing in yourself” was such a big deal. Before 2020 I never invested in myself other than work courses and travel. Those things were nice, but I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing in my life.
Ironically on my last vacation to Mexico, prior to the pandemic, I started reading You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero. From that read, I discovered that I was missing out on making a greater impact in the health & wellness space. When I came back, the world shut down. But it didn’t matter – I was determined to make a change.
I studied for my Personal Trainer exam and received my microbiome/gut certification. Then I made my first major investment in myself: hiring a sales coach. It took a while to find one who was right for me, but I’m glad I did. I learned so much about myself, and as many of you have seen, I made changes to my business to incorporate more holistic practices.
The second investment I made was with Superconnector Media, where I got comfortable being on camera again and building authority on a national level. With my previous theater and commercial work, you’d think it would be easy. But I had extreme imposter syndrome. Thankfully I’ve had wonderful mentors who help me with my mindset, and I'm now feeling like a boss!
In fact, this past Friday I had the courage to be in the hot seat in front of 50 people to chat about my business on stage. I gained so much from that experience, and although it was scary, I'm grateful that I challenged myself.
The next steps toward your future
Looking back, I see so clearly that the biggest changes in my life happened when I invested in myself and got out of my comfort zone. Every time you step out of your comfort zone, you’re able to grow not only in your work life but your personal life too.
So write down some ways you plan to invest in yourself in the coming days and weeks. Brainstorm ideas for how you can try something new, take a risk, and make a contribution now that will pay off in the future. Don’t think of investing in yourself as a cost or a loss. Think of it as a way to value yourself and get the most out of life.
