7 Ways to Invest in Yourself Right Now
(& You won’t need money for All of them!)
If you’re anything like I used to be, you’ve spent a lot of time, energy, and money on purchases. But not too long after shopping the rush is gone. The good dopamine feeling that takes over your body while buying whatever you want vanishes quickly. It does not last as long as we want it to because the investment we’re making is not directly in ourselves; well at least not on a soul and spirit level. In this article I share the best ways I’ve been able to create lasting positive energy and good vibes. Here they are: 7 investments you can start making to build yourself up and they have lasting power.
1. Pass up that TV Time to Read some of your favorite authors who write on topics that can teach you more about the things you’re passionate about. Read variety, and include non-fiction books that focus on areas of your life you want to improve. There’s an old saying that successful people don’t watch too much tv because they’re too busy trying to be on tv; or creating the scripts for the programs audiences love to watch. Television can desensitize and detach us from ourselves, and too much of it will drains creative energy. Unless you carve out specific times to watch tv and make sure it doesn’t conflict with the things you want to do for yourself, it’s an unnecessary evil. Turn it off.
2. Wake Up Early, the earlier the better because you’ll be rewarded for it. Science says that people who invest in an early nightcap as a trade-off of for an early rise are happier and more productive than those who don’t. An early rise is one of the best forms of self-investment because the rest of the world is standing still. 4am is the Godly hour when the veil between our reality and heaven is thinner than usual. Use this time to connect to spiritual source, reiterate and rework your prayers and intentions, and review your plans and tasks for the day.I’m not suggesting you never sleep in late because I hear that one of my favorite movie directors does so often. But he probably adapted those late lounge habits after sealing the deal for his hit television show Empire. Pick your rise and shine battles now so you can orchestrate them however you choose to later. When you wake up and greet the sun before everyone else does, you’re positioned to shaping the best version of the day possible.
3. Practice Gratitude as a way of life. How many times have we been told to be grateful for what we have because somewhere on this planet someone is doing far worst? I can’t count. But that’s not why I’m urging you to invest in yourself through gratitude. There’s something even bigger happening in the universe when we redirect our whiny energy to a grateful state of being… it hears us clearly – uninterrupted by erratic energy, ungrateful emotions, or any other inner-turmoil.
The vessel of supernatural power widens with pleasure when you maintain a grateful “heart and mind = spirit” despite the temptation to entertain negative thoughts when faced with obstacles. The Laws of the Universe that God authenticates is a living, breathing, moving force that is always working on your behalf. It accepts your gratitude and brings about more of the same. Your brave investment in the habit of being grateful brings you high favor. When you condition your heart to be grateful for where you are in the moment – blessings show up that you didn’t think were possible.
4. Apply these 4 Dream Drivers into your life.
a) Happiness: A good mood is the state of being that guides your internal systems, thoughts, beliefs, emotions, hormones, and actions in positive ways. You won’t always be in a happy state but knowing chronic sadness creates a negative impact on your emotional, spiritual, and physical health is good reason to reestablish it when it’s fleeting. Maintain your happiness by setting aside quality time for yourself and stick to a self-care routine (hair, nails, massages, arts, crafts, hobbies, etc). Acknowledge your passions and desires; allow yourself to run with your ideas and create at will.
b) Productivity: Nurture your creative instincts and step into your purpose. By nature, you inherited an ability to produce solutions for sustaining your livelihood. Exercise your mental and spiritual freedom to access that part of your potential.
c) Inner Psychology: You are a combination of cultural, social and genetic influence, but you possess great willpower to shift, shape, and transform your life into whatever you imagine and desire. Expand this area.
d) Physical Wellness: You were born pure, fit, and flexible in a body that is a miraculous self-healer and also by your attention and direction. Invest in maintaining your physical potential through exercise, weight-training, yoga, stretching, or any active sport you really enjoy breaking a sweat doing.
5. Get a Mentor: The most successful and productive people in our world have mentors and advisors. They surround themselves with Masterminds and those who have more experience than themselves. Having a Mentor is an investment that separates you from the masses. Most people are trying to do everything alone and often fail. It’s harder to fail and stay there when you have support from someone who’s been there and done that. A mentor keeps you informed and lessens the burden that comes with navigating areas that are new to you. Most people who know a lot about the things that interest you want to pass the torch over to you.
To have someone who holds you accountable while you push through the difficult tasks between you and your goals is a priceless stabilizer. Your mentor can recognize your strengths and weakness from an outside perspective and give you honest feedback. Mentors who are grounded in their fields want to impart wisdom, guidance and knowledge to help you reach your goals with certainty. Getting under the wing of a mentor can stimulate your creativity. Knowing you have a mentor who supports your goals reduces stress and burnout, which allows you to maintain the energy you need to create your vision.
6. Start Making Dough Asap: Pick any small thing you know how to do. It doesn’t matter where you work or how little experience you have, there’s something you can do that someone will pay you for. Find out what it is and do a trial run. Side-income, weekend income, quarterly additional income, whatever it is begin the process of putting yourself out there to attract it. Some creators are still stuck in jobs that are eating up a huge part of their time and creative energy. Kolby A-Index helps determine a person’s natural instincts.
The Kolby research indicates that people who give up chunks of their time in fields that don’t line up with their passions and spirit experience symptoms of low energy and fatigue. By the time they leave work they have zero energy or enthusiasm left for their own dreams and creative projects. That’s why it’s important to strike balance. You must be able to lean into your purpose and begin doing things that you feel connected to. Doing something that you enjoy will not only restore your energy, it will unleash your confidence. Acting on it can churn in the cash the universe wants to send your way. Assert yourself through a skill you already have and begin collecting your dough.
7. Apply the 1/3 Rule to your social life: One type of person can’t have all of your time if your plan is to succeed. There’s a strict formula that has been holding true for generations and that formula is: In life, we can only be the sum of the people we spend the most time with. I used to think that was a vain concept, but I grew to learn the importance of investing time with others proportionately. If you spend 90% of your time around people who are struggling and complaining and can’t seem to catch a break, eventually that energy and state of mind is going to be transferred over to you. Even if you express enthusiasm and optimism about your goals the weight of their thought processes will eventually wear you down into compliance. There’s no way around it.
You can love everyone but you won’t be able to help anyone or be an example for someone if you constantly surround yourself with one type. Make it a point to spend your strongest hours, no less than 1/3 of your time in the company of mentors and people who are advanced in the field you want to learn; 1/3 of your time should be spent around people who are on your level thriving and going after the things they want in life; and 1/3 can be spent with those who need what you can offer them. The more you engage and plant yourself in environments with successful people the higher your chances to reach your own success.