In 2022 I invested more money in myself, my education, and my personal growth than any other year, and it really has changed my life. The truth is even as a coach, I still need guidance, accountability, support, and continuous personal growth to be my best self. Therefore I got to work and found the best! I hired a trainer (Thanks Her Strenth Studio) because I wanted to learn how to lift heavy weights. A business coach (Thank you B-school!), a chiropractor, and a therapist. I even started going back to church to get the spiritual support I need(thank you Starpoint). I was sick of trying to “know” how to do everything, or wing it and do it myself.
Of course I can learn anything I set my mind to, but will I push myself or try new weight lifting maneuvers the way I trust my trainer to have me do? No, probably not. Would I talk to a friend the way I talk to my therapist? Probably not. You have to find the best teachers and support to be YOUR best. Here are the 3 ways to invest in yourself for 2023 that I found incredibly beneficial for my own life and I think you will find the same.
I know you all are probably saying well I don’t have the money or time for that. We make time for the things that are important in our life. Below you will see on my list “Health” is, and always will be number one. If I do not have my health, I have nothing. A big realization that came to me this year was that the time and money that I used to spend on shopping and buying material things actually blows my mind. Meanwhile I could have been spending it on my self growth years ago instead of saying I didn’t have the money.
1. Invest in your Health. The most important investment you will ever make.
What do you want to improve? Do you need accountability? Support? Weight loss? Exercise motivation? Sleep & recovery help? Mental health help? Parenting? Postpartum recovery?
Hire a personal trainer, Health Coach, Nutritionist, Therapist, Life Coach, Meal prep service, Online fitness program, home gym equipment, or just a pair of walking sneakers.
Get on it now!! Don’t know where to start? Just reach out to a professional and ask them! Getting started is honestly the hardest part, and once you find someone and talk to them it takes that initial awkwardness away that you don’t know what you’re doing. Most importantly we all have to start somewhere!!
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Proverb
2. Invest in your personal growth education.
This is necessary!! If we aren’t learning, and challenging ourselves to become better we are stagnant. No one likes stagnant water. Betting on ourselves literally lights us up!! This can be anything, learning how to:
- Meditate
- Journal
- Play an instrument
- Continuing education for your career (Thank you Dr. Sarah Duvall and the sleep sense team)
- A new sport or exercise (come lift heavy with me!)
- Take a class on anything that you are interested in.
- Go to a women’s conference or retreat.
Personal growth can be anything that puts you outside your comfort zone. For some people sitting quietly in meditation for 1 minute will do that! The best thing about personal growth is a lot of these options are free!!
Think about areas of your life you want to get stronger, or feel uncomfortable in. In short what scares the crap out of you? How can you make changes?
3. Invest in experiences & connection.
You all know that I am a huge advocate for experiences over gifts. Gifts are great and can be really thoughtful, but let’s be honest, do you remember what you got for your birthday or Christmas last year? Most likely not! Because I don’t know how many times I have spent time and money getting my daughter or nieces and nephews gifts for it to be tossed to the side and never played with.
Stop wasting the money! For instance this year my husband turned 40 and although we did get him gifts (he probably doesn’t remember what they were) one of the gifts was to go skydiving together. I had it scheduled the day after his birthday party, and honestly we will never forget it! The experience was amazing and even more fun that we did it together. We also had most of our family together, bbqing, and swimming in the pool (connection). A weekend no one will forget, not an item stuffed in the back of my closet.
How can you create experiences for yourself and the ones you love? Start investing in real life memories. I promise you will never regret doing this.
Invest on the inside, and you will get the outside.
For a little visual here is some compounding that is always a gentle reminder for me when I don’t feel like cooking dinner, or have the urge to shop for the wrong reasons. As you can see we spend enormous amounts of money most likely out of habit, exhaustion, and laziness.
This is not to pass judgment. I am 100% percent guilty of all of these spending habits! The point is to show you how that $4 dollar coffee compounds over time, and those supplements you were hoping would do the trick to help you sleep better, and lose weight cost you more than actually hiring a coach to help you put in the actual work that will get you results.
This is not to say we will never buy that coffee, or door dash when we’ve had a busy day. Opening our mind to the possibility of moving money around is the point. Just as fast as we spend, we can also save or put it towards a different cause. As I said above in my first paragraph there is a freeing moment of letting go when you stop trying to control everything and actually ask for help. It feels amazing to know that you addressed your feelings of less than, wanting more, or fear of not knowing how to do something, and took action. Invest on the inside, and you will get the outside.
RESOURCES:
Find all the FED Resources here
Prioritize your health, lead your children
Her Strength Studio(Latham)
Starpoint Church(Clifton Park)
Dig Deep(Latham)
B-School– Virtual
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