3 Ways You Can Invest Into Your Future
Investing in your future is so much more than buying stocks or starting up your own business. When you make a conscious decision to invest in your future, you are not only bettering your financial future, but improving your health, well-being, career and personal interests as well. When you invest in your future and yourself, you can then become a more experienced person overall and develop your personal and professional achievements.
One of the most important investments you can make is the one you make in yourself. Research shows that overall well-being improves when you take time to improve your life, such as exercising regularly, eating well, getting enough sleep and maintaining healthy social relationships. These habits can then translate into other areas in your life, including your financial health and well-being.
Investing in your future requires an investment in yourself. You can do this through different activities, goals and tasks. Once you invest in yourself, you’re investing in your future, and you will likely see improvements in your productivity and happiness.
Let’s take a look at 3 ways in which you can invest in your future and yourself.
1. Further Your Education
For many reasons, furthering your education and knowledge is one of the best ways to invest and better your future. Maybe you want to further your career and feel a lack of knowledge is standing in the way, or perhaps you want to bridge a gap between knowledge in a certain area of interest. There are plenty of different ways to further your education that don’t require much effort, such as attending networking events, workshops or online seminars. One of the best things about these areas is that there is almost no limit to what you can attend, and most will be free.
Furthermore, why not consider taking a class or investing in a further education route, such as attending college or university? You could also consider gaining a certificate or license related to your job, which makes you more desirable when it comes to interviews for promotions or new jobs altogether. Perhaps you want to take a completely different career path? This is something that a lot of people realise a little later on in life, so if you find that this is the case, consider something such as a nursing degree if you find this is your calling, or look at different options that you can take if you want to work it around your current job.
2. Find Balance
When it comes to investing in yourself, there is nothing quite as important as finding balance within your routine and day-to-day life. With work-life balance, there have been multiple studies that show that working long hours, in fact, doesn’t result in increased productivity. It’s much more likely that doing so is counterproductive and leads to burnout. A study recently found that after 55 hours of work, the benefits of working the extra hours were null.
Other than being more efficient, properly distributing time and energy among work, personal life and relationships can result in lower anxiety levels, less fatigue and better sleep quality, all whilst improving mental and physical health. It’s important to separate the different areas of your life so that they do not cross over and cause conflict with one another. Being able to leave your personal life at the door when you get to work and vice versa is a trait that not many people can pick up, but once you do, it is absolutely essential and pivotal to your overall health and well-being in the long term.
3. Define Your Goals
It’s only human that we set different goals and aspirations for ourselves. Still, as we mature and get older, these will obviously change and adapt to changing circumstances in our lives. It’s important to set and define clear goals, whether you desire to better your physical shape and run a marathon or get healthier in terms of financial health by paying off a credit card or working towards repaying your mortgage. Having set and defined goals can make it clearer to set out where you want to go in terms of your life.
Experts have suggested that starting with your desired results and working backwards from there is the best way to define and set your goals; then, you can also set measurable and realistic actions which you can take to achieve and reach these goals.
For example, if you wanted to set a goal to pay off your mortgage, this could involve recasting your mortgage each year. Using this approach, you can lower your monthly mortgage payments and save thousands yearly.
The key to defining your goals is to progress and fine-tune your progress by monitoring regularly. If you write out a list of goals early, you are statistically more likely to accomplish them. Some people also like creating mood boards or boards on Pinterest to help visualise and be able to see their goals and achievements in real life.
