Top Tips to Invest in Yourself Wisely

The other day I was taking a little time to myself to read and reflect as a part of my personal development plan and it struck me, as I was sitting on my balcony reading, how important this time is. Taking time and investing in yourself is critical to your mental balance, well-being, achieving your life goals, and re-gaining energy that you give out every day. If you don’t invest in yourself, your growth, development, and re-charge your batteries – who will? More alarmingly: what happens if you don’t?

If you don’t invest in your personal growth; you may suffer from mental burn-out, the mid-career slump, or an inability to continue functioning at a productive level. You might fall behind in your career, become stagnated, or feel like you are stuck doing the same thing. Your career path all the sudden feels like a long dark tunnel. World-renowned leadership coach, John Maxwell, teaches that self-investment is invaluable to not only ensure your own success but it also enables us to develop others. This is true no matter who you are and what you do. Whether you are a high-powered executive or a stay at home mom and anything in between. It all requires our energy and our time. I will caution you, however, to invest wisely. Time is a precious commodity that is in short supply. You cannot borrow it, buy it, beg for it, find it, or make more time. You can only manage what you have.

To avoid waking up one day either hating your life or wondering what you did with it, here are some self development tips:

Know Your Strengths. Understanding what you are good at is key to your future development personally and professionally. As you learn and grow, this will shift as new paths open up that you had not even realized before. It’s exciting and rewarding! For example: my mother said that I’ve been project managing from the day I was born. I’m good at it and I enjoy making things better. As I gain experience and matured – I found that I also love helping people. All that meshed into what I do now: Professional and Leadership Development. If you don’t know your strengths: get with a professional and have an assessment done so you can spend energy in the right places.

Focus. Where do you want to go in life and do you have a self-development plan? Some people find themselves scrambling later in life to make up for lack of early planning. I didn’t ‘wake up’ until I was almost 40 and finally realized that having a plan is the soil in which your future growth will flourish. Know strengths and focus early as possible and get a game-plan. Whether it is additional education, a certification, a language, or a skill: put it on your Action List. No one ever got anywhere by standing still.

Invest in Yourself Wisely. Time is precious – we are always talking about ‘making time’, but that’s impossible. If I could make time I’d be the richest person in the world! Do not confuse self-development with self-gratification. Ben Franklin said: “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest”. I’ve learned that I’m much more productive if I skip watching TV and read a professional development book instead. I also feel better about myself. Also: being ‘busy’ doesn’t mean you are getting things done. Understand where you are spending your time and look for ways to make it time well spent.

Use it or Lose It. Nothing is as sad as wasted expertise. If you learn something, plan to use it. If you don’t plan to use the knowledge and skills you have: then you have just checked a box on your life plan without anything to show for it. Even worse: you will no doubt lose that precious knowledge and skill soon enough without applying it. Even if it’s a new sales technique you read in a book, a new method to connect with others, or a leadership principle – put the skill into practice.

Re-Charge Your Batteries. Self-development takes accountability and establishing a positive routine – don’t forget to relax and take time doing something that lifts you up. Kudos to you if absorbing self-development material gives you energy. But, for some it’s a day at the beach, a round of golf with friends, a bike ride, yoga, or playing with your children. Whatever that is – take time to refresh your mind and body. You will find that life’s challenges are better met with renewed spirit.

Personal development will prepare you for opportunities so, when they arrive, you are able to act on them! If you wait to prepare until the opportunity comes: how can you make the most of it? I find it amazing that seasoned professionals still believe that they do not need to focus energy on personal development. I have heard: “If my company thinks I need a skill, they can pay for it” or, “I’m too busy to sharpen my professional acumen”. We are all busy, perhaps not necessarily on something that will add real value in our lives. The worst thing a smart professional can do is ignore their own path to success. Success doesn’t happen by itself, there is no ‘success fairy’ granting wishes to good little workers. Success is obtained by being prepared and taking the initiative to ensure that you are ready to take that next step, so invest your time wisely!

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