By Betty Ige
Everyone’s measure of and path to success is different; however, a person can make steady progress towards success by making great investments in their own mind, in their own self. In making investment in one’s self, the major goal should be to become a better person. Making investment in one’s self becomes imperative when we understand that the material things we have are ephemeral. Money, beauty, relationships, property, and physical strength among a host of other acquisitions come and go but the sacrifices we make in building up the intangible aspects of our lives will say it all on the day of reckoning. Here are strategies you can use to work through an investment in yourself:
Deal with negative emotions. It’s important that you deal with your negative emotions, habits and behaviours such as anger, envy and jealousy, fits of rage, resentment, comparison spirit, procrastination, compulsive spending, inferiority feelings, and entitlement mentality. While some negative emotions may seem justifiable, the truth is that such emotions if not handled will become a roadblock to inner peace and progress.
Plan. Take time to look inward and review where you are coming from, where you are now and where you are going. Your life should not be a passive affair or a case of what will be will be. A passive person is someone who wants something good to happen, but who just sits still and waits to see if it does. In other words, a passive person is not disciplined enough to plan and invest in himself or herself. There’s no effective life balance in passivity. God has given us the ability to plan and to rely on divine guidance.
Stay big on continual self-improvement. Don’t stop growing. This is because anything that stops growing dies. Make personal development in every area of your life – spiritual, professional and career, mental, vocational, physical, social- a priority. Examine your life and do the needful.
Identify your goals and objectives in order of importance. If you do not make the effort to know what your goals are, it will become more and more difficult to make quality and timely investments in yourself. Also a lack of directional purpose will leave you open to become a dumping ground for the schemes and leftovers of other people. Write yourself detailed and achievable goals and work at them.
Learn to recognize opportunities. Opportunities abound around us but it takes discernment and clarity of vision to see them for what they are; that is why it takes the prepared mind to see and recognize opportunities even when other people are blind to them. Train your mind to see opportunities.
Activate your power of choice. Choose a path, learn the ropes, and work hard at it so that that you can produce useful results. Remember good intentions do not translate to actions. In other words, what you have in mind to achieve is not the same as visible results. Learn to do fewer things but more of the things that really matter. Focus on your highest value activities and on delivering results.
If you want to succeed at reaching your goals, you’re supposed to invest in yourself. There’s a limit to the input other people can make into your life. Ultimately, the responsibility of investing in yourself is one that will continue with you throughout life; hence, you must focus on strengthening and developing yourself for your good and the betterment of those around you. Do what needs to be done now. Why don’t you begin today to make that great investment in yourself, in your mind, in your life? Today is an opportunity to deliberately step out and move forward with the goal of succeeding through quality investments in yourself.
