The Top 5 Self Investments to Make This New Year

A key to living a rich and fulfilling life

The average return on investment of property is 10%. For stocks and bonds, this is 4–6%. Despite these numbers, property, stocks, bonds or a savings account, are not the most profitable forms of investment. Investing in yourself may be the most profitable investment you ever make. Not only does it yield future returns but it also yields immediate returns. Your biggest asset is always going to be your knowledge — this is what makes you valuable.

By investing in yourself, you increase the value that you bring to professional and personal environments. Just as a car depreciates with time, our value also depreciates in the same manner. By not investing in yourself you reduce your worth. And if you are not growing, you can only be decaying.

However, self investment is no easy task — if it were easy everyone else would be doing. It requires sacrifice: sacrifices of your time and money. But let me assure you, it is worth doing and your future you will be thankful. By investing in yourself you create a life full of rich experiences.

Self investment is an extremely uncomfortable life long journey. You will go through trials and tribulations that will test you along the way — this is necessary to achieve greatness. Your mindset will be important in helping you overcome these challenges. An important mindset characteristic of successful people is their ability to persevere through hardships. The tortoise and the hare fable is a great example of this. The hare, believing in his natural talents became complacent and fell asleep during the race. On the other hand, the tortoise believed he still had a chance to win despite how slow he was. Ultimately, the tortoise’s perseverance helped him to win the race.

A common phrase I like to repeat to myself is, “I am a failure but I have never failed at anything”. There have been many times I have failed job interviews, relationships or business ventures. However, all of these failures have contributed to my knowledge of those areas. When investing in yourself, failure should be viewed as a learning experience. These experiences are important in helping realize your true potential. With hard work and perseverance nobody can predict the depths of your potential. Your mindset will be important in helping you overcome the adversity you will face along the way.

As Henry Ford once said, “if you think you can or can’t do a thing, you are probably right.”

In his book Start with a why, Simon Sinek states “there is a difference between running with all your heart and eyes closed and running with all your heart and eyes wide open” . He discusses the importance of why we do what we do it. And how people who have a clear why, are more successful than their counterparts.

The first step to self development is determining your why— what you want to achieve. This may be an area in life you are weak in or something that you have always wanted to try. Start by asking the important question of why you are doing this. The second step, is to then figure out how you will be doing this — put in place a plan of how you will achieve your goal. Thirdly, you want to determine what you are getting out of this — these are the results you are achieving. Becoming successful, requires measuring results. Spend some time daily to sit and reflect back on the day. Ask yourself what you did well and what could be improved for tomorrow. Your goal should be progress and improvement. With consistency, you will see the results.

Albeit, you may not always achieve your goals on this journey. The skills and experiences gained along the way are permanent.

One of the best ways to increase your knowledge is to read. When you read, you learn from the experiences of others who have done the hard work for you. Reading is also a form of meditation — by reading you force your brain into concentration. This is one of reading’s great benefits. When you are consistently reading, your decision making and resilience abilities are increased. The books you read may be from a variety of topic areas, a project you are working on or areas you want to improve in. Your aim should be to read often and on a variety of topics.

Secondly, investing time in attending seminar/events is a great way to increase your knowledge. These seminars can be on anything you are interested. By doing this you renew your sense of motivation, gain expert knowledge and connect with like minded individuals. Websites such as Eventbrite and Meetup are great for finding both free and paid seminars/events. Once you have accumulated enough knowledge you may put it into practice by hosting an event on these websites.

Short courses are another great way to increase your knowledge. EdX, Codeacdemy and udemy are some of the many online learning hubs available. These sites also offer certificates of completion to showcase your hardwork. A large amount of courses offered are also free. This is a great way to upskill and add value to your professional life.

2. Invest in your health

Your body is the temple in which your mind is housed in. If the temple is falling apart, the mind will be in a similar state. To develop a sharp mind, the body needs to fueled and strengthened.

In his book, Nutritarian diet, Dr. Jeff Farnham, says “your body is like a super computer; feed it right and it will keep you fit, lean and healthy.” An important part of maintaining your temple is nutrition. A well balanced diet is the most powerful prevention strategy against diseases, but also a way to reverse diseases. Even the most chronic degenerative diseases can be cured with appropriate nutrition.

A reduction in low nutrition, fatty and processed foods can help make you feel better. Dr. Farnham advocates a nutrient dense diet:

When you take control of your diet, your mental performance and longevity are enhanced.

The recommended dose is 30 mins of moderate exercise 5 out 6 days of the week. A further recommendation is to include at least 2 strength sessions during the week.

There is no miracle drug to living longer and feeling better. Start by adjusting your diet and following an exercise program.

3. Invest in a Journal

Journaling is a common practice used by the most successful people. Tony Robbins, makes use of a journal to reflect back on his goals. By writing down the process needed, he is able to turn his dreams into reality. The act of putting your thoughts to paper has been shown to have a better effect in accessing your unconscious mind. By taking the time to sit and write, you force yourself to ask questions to achieve your goal. An important technique is to reflect back on the past week, month or even year. By recording your daily journey you are able to go back in time to a specific day. This is a powerful technique that can shock you into action or produce gratitude.

4. Invest in a mentor

For many mentoring has become a buzz word. Many people go into it under prepared and unclear of their reasons. This leads to the failure of the mentor and mentee relationship. A great mentor can enrich your life and give you access to a larger network. The ability to be able to bounce ideas off an individual whom you admire and respect can help you get through the tough times of your self development journey. They can steer you around the problems they encountered and help you identify opportunities. But, you must put in the effort in order to attract a mentor.

“To develop a reputation as someone who is teachable, curious, motivated, talented, and above all, well-balanced and reliable, is the single best way to attract a mentor,” writes Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook's Chief operating officer).

Mentoring is an investment of a great deal of time —you need to be sure you are not wasting each other’s time. Just as an athlete learns his craft, you too must do the same in order to attract the right mentor. You will need to take responsibility for your success.

By investing in yourself, you ensure that you are adding value to both your life and of those around you.

Thanks for reading :)

Related posts:

Aku tidak mau jadi dia yang tak kukenal, sehari-hari jadi dia sampai mati kekal. Lelah, banyak desah, penuh benci, dan pada diri sendiri banyak mencaci.

These last 23 days of writing daily has taught me a lot of lessons.. “Inspiration in the Oddest Places” is published by Kandice Leaf.

Engaging with your audience as a journalist should not be a secondary thought anymore. The public is not only the recipient of your journalism, they are often your sources, leads and interviewees. To…