10 Ways You Can Invest in Yourself

Sometimes we can be so focused on our finances as the key to a better life that we can forget about some of the other things that make life worth living. Sure, managing your money the very best you can, saving for retirement and working to increase your income are all super-important, and achieving financial independence can give you much more freedom to enjoy your time.

Still, it’s important make the proper emotional investments along the way to create the richest possible life for yourself. Here are 10 great ways to invest in yourself that go beyond your checkbook.

Keep Learning

Continuing education is a great way to sharpen your skills and prepare for that big promotion or new career, but traditional university work can be expensive. Your education is a crucial investment to make, but you can also think outside the box for how to get the skills and knowledge you need.

Try free online courses, or teach yourself a new skill with a trip to the library for resources. Your learning doesn’t have to be related to your career. Sometimes apprenticing yourself to a local craftsperson can provide a major quality-of-life boost as you learn to do something you’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t had the time to explore. No matter what you choose to study, keeping your mind sharp will pay big dividends in the future.

Face Your Fears

Sometimes fear can keep you from the learning and exploring you need to do to in order to move ahead. Make a goal to overcome your biggest fears once and for all. To do this, identify what’s holding you back: social anxiety? Fear of failure? Once you know what you need to work on, you can come up with a plan to face your fear. Whether you decide to sign up for hang-gliding lessons to overcome a fear of heights or take a public speaking class to become less shy, taking steps to face your fears will make you feel more powerful. That confidence boost will echo through other areas of your life in positive ways.

Stay Healthy

Good health allows you to enjoy all the other aspects of your life, from spending time with loved ones to climbing a mountain. Vow to invest at least 30 minutes per day on physical exercise to stay fit. You’ll have more energy and sleep better, which will boost your overall happiness. So much of your health is in your own hands, so taking steps to eat right and exercise has an ROI that rivals anything you could spend money on.

Take Risks

Though this may seem to contradict the previous point, it’s not about taking risks with your health. It’s about being willing to take risks that could pay off with future opportunities. Consider making an investment that is a bit riskier than your normal tolerance, or take a risk in expressing your opinion in the next meeting at work. You never know what you can achieve if you don’t stick your neck out a bit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Be Your Own Boss

One major key to achieving financial independence is to think like an entrepreneur. What can you do right now to make money on your own, without having to worry about an employer telling you what to do? Whether you have things to sell or a skill to share, all you need to do to get started is to place an ad on Craigslist and see what happens. As you build your own entrepreneurial spirit, you’ll find that opportunities keep coming your way, and you may be able to seize freedom for yourself sooner than you ever expected.

Be Kind to Yourself

Sometimes, in the quest to save our money for a rainy day or retirement, we can lose sight of the little things that can help boost our morale. It’s OK to treat yourself once in a while, whether you enjoy a gourmet meal, a weekend getaway or a new pair of shoes. A little splurge won’t break the bank and can keep you motivated to be fiscally responsible for the long haul.

Embrace Your Mistakes

Life isn’t perfect, and neither are you. When you start taking risks, sometimes you’re bound to fail. Allow yourself the space to take a breath and learn from your mistakes instead of beating yourself up. When you take the time to figure out where you went wrong, whether in a relationship, investment or work project, you won’t get stuck in a rut of repeating the same mistakes later. Your errors can end up being your best teachers if you take the time to analyze them.

Follow the Golden Rule

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Treat others the way you would want to be treated. Being kind and courteous to friends and strangers alike will make you feel good, and your positive personality will pay you back as people respond well to you in kind. There’s no quicker way to happiness than to build quality relationships with others.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

Nurturing positive relationships is important, but what about those people in your life that do nothing but make you miserable? Whether it’s a dysfunctional family member, a bullying co-worker or a terrible frenemy you’ve outgrown, sometimes you need to cut ties for your own mental health. If a toxic relationship is bringing you down, quietly walk away. You don’t have to interact on social media or accept any more invitations. No confrontation is necessary to let someone nasty slip out of your social circle.

Make Time for Creativity

When you make time for creative projects in your life, you cultivate a feeling of satisfaction in your accomplishments that’s hard to beat. Whether your enjoy building things, performing or writing poetry, your creativity is a big part of who you are as a human being, so embrace it. Cultivating your creativity can also help you to become a better problem solver and strategic thinker, and your projects could even lead you to start your own business in a related field.