When we hear the word ‘investment’ we typically think of money or some form of capital. Rarely do we think about ourselves as investments. But we are and it’s up to us what to do with it. Our body, mind, and spirit all need different types of investments.
I’ve been thinking about investment a lot lately. Past investments, present investments, future investments, failed investments, and successful investments.
This year I had goals of investing in my body. I bought protein powder so that I could gain weight, I signed up for a gym membership, I bought one of those Ninja blenders to drink smoothies every morning with my protein powder, and I made a schedule to eat every three hours. But I’m failing in that investment. I stopped taking the protein powder because it was giving me headaches and making me sleepy. I cancelled my gym membership because I wasn’t going to the gym at all and I stopped eating every three hours, even though my alarm on my phone still goes off every three hours reminding me to eat. The only thing I still do is drink a smoothie every morning.
I invested in my education so that it could take me to a greater place in life. I have a bachelors degree in religion with a minor in communication studies, a masters degree in communication, and a certification in broadcasting. It cost me $115,000 in loans. It’s an investment that hasn’t paid off yet. Hopefully it will. My education is an investment to the future I want for myself. It’s the bedrock on which my dream of a career in broadcasting, ideally, will be built upon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because I can be cynical at times and I hope that my investment wasn’t in vain. I sometimes fear it was a failed investment.
I also invest in relationships. I saved over $1000 last year for savings then I blew it all on traveling to see friends and family. My love language is quality time and it’s hard to express that long distance wise. So I went to visit my friends to solidify my friendship with them. To say ‘I love you’ in my own way. If a friend texted me this week and said they were in town or they wanted to hang out I will stop everything to be with them. It’s my way of saying, ‘hey, I love you. You’re important to me.”
Another investment is my spiritual life. If I’m broke and see a book about spiritual discipline and Jesus I’ll quickly take out my credit card and purchase it. Trust me, this has happened to me several times. It opens my eyes to what my priorities are. I have so many books and study bibles about the spiritual life from a Christian perspective. Investing in my spiritual life is important to me and seeing the development of a richer life in knowing Jesus makes me happy.
My mentor is a life coach and he talks about how people don’t like to invest in themselves when they hear how much it will cost. He likes to invest in seminars about living the best life, well being, possibility, and self help. That’s his bread and butter. He believes it will take him to the highest being he can be. The other day he encouraged me to invest in something called the Landmark Forum. It’s a three day seminar that opens your eyes to your possibility. It cost $600. Right now, that’s not the type of investment I can afford. I declined my mentor’s invitation to invest in it and he reminded me that it cost to make investments that will pay off in the long run.
I hear him but I’m not at a place where I’m willing to make another costly investments. Maybe because I don’t believe the forum is necessary in my life or maybe I’m waiting to see if my other investments will pay off but for now I’m being very selective in the type of investments I make. Whatever investment I make in the future has to truly resonate with my being.
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