From Scarcity To Intentional Self-Investments
When I was 16 I opened a Roth IRA, funded with leftovers from my $6/hour job at Dairy Queen. I spent most of that summer handing out soft serve and eating my “mistakes.” I was awestruck by the possibilities of compounding interest.
Most of my early adulthood decisions — college, jobs, and career goals — were largely financially based. It wasn’t about being rich. It was about doing what I thought I ought to and it was about feeling safe. In other words, LOTS of scarcity mindset.
Investment is defined as “the action or process of investing money for profit or material result.”
Self investment is not just a safety net or money in, money out. Nor is it just having more stuff or more/better experiences. It’s the totality of what you do with your time/money/energy, who you become and what you create as a result. Everything you do can be a self investment if you’re intentional.
Investing in yourself means:
- Prioritizing. Deciding what’s most important for you to begin with so you can apportion time, money, and energy accordingly.
- Taking action. Consistently spending time, money, and energy in ways that align with your well-being, values and goals. This includes learning and continuous iteration.
- Healthy self-worth. Believing that your desired result(s) and experience(s) are important and good not just for you but for the world in general.
- Having hope. Trusting yourself to generate the desired result(s) and experience(s) and the universe to conspire in your favor, knowing that nothing’s guaranteed.
Because intentionally investing in yourself comes from love, it’s inherently generous. It’s about taking care and as a result, creating. It’s about receiving and as a result, generously offering out. It’s not just about you. We’re inherently connected.
It’s a fail proof formula for success in a nutshell: Put love in your tank, power forward, and let the world benefit from your beauty and growth and goodness.
How and where are you investing in yourself currently? Do your investments support your desired results/experience(s)?
If not, let go of one thing that’s not adding value or take on one thing aligned with what you want.Usually both is best. You can also do a deep dive and reimagine a life where you are totally invested in yourself. What would you be doing, how would you be supported, and what would be important about that?
Intentionally investing in ourselves is a way of life and a gesture of self-trust, beginning as a gift to ourselves and ending as a gift to those we serve and influence.
If you slip… I promise there will always be Dairy Queen.
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