Investing. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word? Money? Finance? Stocks? The Wolf of Wall Street? And you wouldn’t be wrong. Most people probably think of the stock market. Or they visualize financial investments in assets that provide direct numerical returns. Financial investing helps you build the financial future of your dreams, which is something we live for at Bondora! But is that the only type of investing?
There’s a different type of investing that has nothing to do with the stock market: Investing in yourself. That means putting time, money, and effort into making your life better now for the future.
How to invest in yourself
It can be done in various ways and be worthy for different reasons:
- Education: Learning new skills and specializing in new topics and areas can transform your professional career. It can bring you new perspectives, open previously closed doors, and set you on the path to a brighter career. The result might be a job that is closer to what you really want and compensates you better, helping your financial future!
- Self-development: Growing personally to be more confident, organized, disciplined, etc., has enormous benefits in all areas of life. You may be better equipped to hunt down better opportunities, nourish more relationships, and extend your network, and generally be better in anything you do. The potential mental health gains are enormous as you build your self-confidence and search for personal fulfillment.
- Health and wellbeing: Getting in shape and moving your body is proven to make people feel better, more energized, help them beat stress, and have a better mood. The benefits to body, mind, and soul are countless, and yes, it will also spill its fantastic effects onto all other areas of your life. Besides, it may save you from medical bills—a direct financial benefit right there—and your body will thank you in the future 🏋️♀️
Regardless of where your focus is, digging into health, education, and self-development may bring you tremendous gains and a most sought sense of accomplishment.
For many of these things, you don’t need to invest money, but you can. While you can find books, courses, classes, and other self-investment methods for free, you might also opt to go the paid route to acquire something more valuable or more comfortable to consume.
Where to start?
Some great ideas on how to spend your time, money, and energy are:
- Books! Many of the incredibly successful people in business and finance read tons of them. Bill Gates reads 50 books a year, billionaire Mark Cuban says he spends over 3 hours a day reading, and Warren Buffet famously said: “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest”.
- Content: There are so many blogs, podcasts, and videos to teach you anything you want to learn. Sometimes we perceive the value of these pieces of content as low, as they are abundant and many times free. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. The same people who are writing books nowadays are creating content, so picking the right sources might be the key to great learning.
- Courses and education: Unless it’s a horrible course, chances are studying more will improve your knowledge and open new possibilities. Furthermore, the level of education seems to have a direct correlation with one’s salary. Across all European Union member states, the higher your education level, the higher your income tends to be.
- Regular exercise: Perhaps there’s one sport or class you always wanted to take? Exercising helps your skin look better, improves your brain health and memory, all while upping your energy levels. It’s a great deal, isn’t it?
- A new craft: Music, art, programming, a new language—learning new skills helps develop your mind in several different ways and can even help people with anxiety or depression.
- Improved efficiency and convenience: Buying new tools, or perhaps software that makes your life easier, or a piece of hardware that speeds up your job can be seen as an investment in yourself. The thinking is that it takes your work to a new level or makes you improve your efficiency and productivity. That dream coffee machine that makes the best espresso can be an investment; starting your day with a sip of inspiration from the best coffee beans can give you the edge you need to accomplish your goals.
- Events and conferences: We are still going through a pandemic, so in-person events are not readily available right now. But hey, when the world comes back to something resembling normal, events and conferences are great for networking and meeting new people in your industry.
- Retreats: One in every five workers in the EU experience stress doing their jobs. Besides, all other areas of your life can contribute to stress, bad moods, and anxiety. Retreats are a great way to disconnect from your obligations, focusing on relaxing, and giving your body and mind time and the right environment to heal. If we all need a vacation once in a while, why not take the next step to a full immersive chill experience?
- Therapists: After they engage with therapy sessions, many people, including some of the most famous and successful individuals in the world, recommend therapy to others, as it often has a positive impact that branches to many areas of your life.
Investing in yourself, financially or not, brings a set of benefits that can help your career, your personal growth, and even your financial future. How will you invest in yourself and your self-development in 2021?