In my last post I was talking about the value of things and how it's not always wise to go for the cheapest possible option. In this post I'm going to talk about how you are your greatest investment; why you shouldn't hold back on your personal development, and why sometimes it's worth spending a little (or a lot) to make your life more fulfilling.
Firstly let's talk about what fulfilment actually is. The dictionary defines it as being the acheivement of something desired, promised or predicted. You can have the desire, or wish, for anything you want, but is this going to bring you fulfilment in life? That is to say a happy and contented feeling? You want to become a multi-millionaire? Good on you - there's nothing wrong with that at all. However, is this going to give you fulfilment or are you soon going to be looking for the next adrenaline rush or the next million pound drop into your bank account? Or are you going to invest in yourself (and others)?
Fulfilment in life very much depends on your core values. Core values are the things that influence our thoughts, behaviours, actions, and reactions and I'll be talking about these in the next blog. For now though they include (but are not limited to) : Discipline, Accountability, Diligence, Integrity, and Honesty.
We are here on this planet for a very short time, in comparison to the age of the Earth that is! We are here to make a difference and I don't mean in the esoteric way just by existing. More importantly though we are here to be happy/fulfilled. Take a minute now to think about what makes you truly happy. Now take a minute to think about things that would make you happy. Finally take a minute to think about what you have that can make other people happy.
Did you struggle with this little exercise? If so the chances are that you have never really given it any thought. Or maybe you realised that your list contained a lot of material things (nothing wrong with that of course) and it made you think that there needs to be a little more substance to your life. Maybe you wanted to learn how to do something or develop a particular skill. Maybe you wanted to help yourself in a personal development or alternative health way.
Let's say that you've always found yourself thinking in a negative way, you're always beating yourself up, you have no self confidence and you don't treat yourself in a compassionate way. You feel that this holds you back from getting promotion at work or finding a loving relationship. You do a search on "How to become more positive" and you find an award winning ten-week course on Living A Positive Life with each session being 3 hours long. It's got 1000's of 5 star reviews and verified testimonials from attendees. The video of some of the sessions looks right up your street and you know that it's going to be just the ticket! You go to book a place and find that it's going to cost you £500. What do you do? Do you leave that page cursing the cost of it or do you sign up for it? If you sign up for it - well done, you've invested in your self! If you curse it...how much do you want to invest in yourself? In other words how much do you want to improve your life and how much is that worth?
Ask yourself the question how much is too much? It's kind of a trick question actually because it's all subjective isn't it? But if you truly want something you'll find a way to afford it. Maybe you'll stop having a takeaway every week and just have it three out of four weeks, saving the money from the weeks you don't have it and putting it towards your Personal Investment Fund. There are many ways forward and it is not my intention to talk down to you; I'm just trying to get you to see that if you really want something, you'll do anything you can to do it. However, you must be sensible about it - don't remortgage the house so you can attend a once in a lifetime weekend seminar for £4,500 but by the same token don't become a person who baulks at the cost of something when its value is actually immeasurable.
I've used this course as an example but maybe you want to invest in yourself in other ways. Investing in time for yourself is very important otherwise you just become a robot who does the same thing day in day out. Maybe you've always wanted to learn to sew, paint, draw, make things from wood, bake...etc.! Invest in yourself! Once you've done that you can share your new found skills or passions with other people so you invest in them and so it goes on! This ripple effect where we constantly learn, develop and share from each other is amazing!
You are your greatest investment because as you grow and develop as a person (and you really don't ever stop doing that) you have more to offer the world - even if that is actually only one person. By investing in yourself and passing that on you create the ripple effect I was talking about. You can't take it with you, so why not invest it in something truly worthwhile and make a difference.