Investing in yourself and your future doesn’t just mean buying stocks. Self-care, exercise, learning, and saving money are all forms of investing in oneself, and anything that lends itself to personal or professional growth can be considered the same.
Because the more time and energy you give to working on yourself, the more value you can give back to the world. So, whether you’re working on building your finances, building a business, or simply building a better you, these are our top tips to start investing in your future.
Investing in your Future
Invest Your Finances
Ok, so I know we said this wasn’t going to all be about financial investing, and it isn’t, but still, it’s worth mentioning.
Investing in stocks, bonds, property, or other viable financial instruments is one of the best ways to earn some extra income on the side and start building a nest egg for your future.
However, the world of investing is not a place to delve into blind, and to many people, it can seem like an intimidating place at first. Therefore it is important to do your research. Luckily, there are heaps of resources available online to help you figure out the ins and outs of the trade, from candlestick charts to mutual funds to figuring out the best investments and building a diverse portfolio of your own.
Establish an Exercise Routine
We all know that exercise is good for us. It gives us energy, releases serotonin, and wards off obesity and disease. It can also keep us feeling younger for longer, slowing our bodies and minds, help us manage stress, or even boost our creativity.
Yes, regular exercise is one of the best investments you can make in yourself. You know this, and chances are you have tried to make exercise a part of your routine before. Maybe it’s worked, and maybe it hasn’t. But now is the time to knuckle down and make exercise work for you.
You don’t have to join the gym, lift weights, or go for a daily run. If you want to do those things, then that’s great, but if you don’t, then that’s fine too. Instead, you could swap the car for a bike to get to work each day, a simple switch that won’t shake up your routine too drastically or take up too much extra time. Or, if you enjoyed a particular sport when you were at school, you could check google for local teams to join.
The trick is finding something that you enjoy or which has long-term sustainability (Ideally both) so that you can maintain consistency over time and really start to feel the benefits.
Choose Your Friends
Having a close network of friends is an extremely valuable thing, and it pays to nurture and grow those relationships. Having friends, you can relate to, confide in, and work with means you will always have a safety net when the world knocks you down.
They say that you are the average of the five people closest to you, meaning the types of friends you choose to be around can dramatically affect your actions and outlook. Therefore, to invest in yourself, you also need to invest in your friendships.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, surround yourself with ambitious people. If you want to be happy, find friends with positive outlooks. If you want to be healthy, connect with people who take care of themselves. You want to surround yourself with people with the same beliefs and values as you and who positively impact the way you think and act.
Sometimes this means being selfish with the people you choose to spend your time with. Some friendships may feel like a one-way street, where you’re giving up all of your time and affection and not getting the same back; other friendships may bring out the worst in us, encouraging us to indulge in bad habits and actions.
Cutting these types of relationships from our lives is not a bad thing, especially if it helps us to grow and mature as a person and taking the time to build a strong group of friends that help lift you rather than bring you down is one of the best things you can do for your future self.
Set Goals
One of the best things you can do right now to start investing in your future is to set yourself goals. Whether they be financial goals, fitness goals, personal goals, or all the above, it doesn’t matter. Figure out the person that you want to be and get it written down.
Once this is done, you can work backward and figure out the actions and habits you need to nurture to become the person you want to be. Break it down piece by piece, find things you can do daily, weekly, or monthly to get yourself where you need to go.
Equally important as setting your goals is monitoring your progress. At the end of each week, you should revise what you have been doing and adjust your plans accordingly. Is there room for improvement, or are you on track? Is there a more efficient way to do a particular task? Would a different method be more effective?
Actively measuring your progress and taking the time to evaluate and adjust your goals regularly will help clarify your ideas, sharpen your focus, and help prioritize how you spend your time. Making results that much more achievable.
Stop Procrastinating
Possibly the most important thing you can do on this list to start investing in yourself and your future is to stop procrastinating and get to it! The best time to start was yesterday, and the second-best time is today. Now.
The ideas on this list are a good start, and there are many more out there that you can add to it later. But first, you need to get the ball rolling. Identify the areas of your life that you want or need to change the most and get working on it.
Figure out the first step: setting yourself goals, doing some exercise, or simply figuring out the type of person you want to be, and then going ahead and taking it. The first step can be heard, but the second and third will follow naturally as soon as you take it.
So, stop procrastinating and start investing in yourself. Because the sooner you start, the greater your rewards will be.