Five Ways To Invest In Your Own Growth

Easy ways to feel better, be better, and live better.

Living things don’t just sit there and do nothing. They grow. Maybe slow, maybe fast… but they grow.

Even if you think you don’t have any need to grow right now, you will. And you’ll feel the better for it. And if everyone gets in on the act, well… how awesome would that be?

Here are five easy ways to invest in your own growth — ways that may even inspire growth in others.

It’s what I call a win-win-win.

Take In Something Educational

This really is one of the best times to do this. I can’t think of another time in history when so much information has been available to so many people with so much ease. What’s more, is that the range of choices for how you can learn new things has never been better.

Whether you’re a reader, a listener, or a watcher, take advantage of the opportunity to learn something new. I start every day with a podcast — rotating between topics from business to history. Before going to bed, I read a few pages or chapters from a book (right now, it’s about whaling ships). E-books and online content are great resources as well. I don’t have as much time for TV documentaries as I used to, but I like to replay an old episode of the James Burke docu-series Connections on YouTube every now and then.

The idea is that there is a lot to learn and a lot being offered out there. It takes almost no effort to be a part of this new era in learning, and you have everything to gain.

Start a New Hobby

When was the last time you engaged in a hobby? It’s surprising how many people let things like that fall aside as they get consumed by work and other life demands.

The thing is, all of those demands can be a bit much over an extended period. You need a way to blow off some steam. You need a bit of distraction, so you don’t burnout. And, perhaps most importantly, you want t to have something that can be both relaxing and engaging.

Cooking works for a lot of people. As does building models or learning a musical instrument. I like to fish, and I enjoy my weekly game of Dungeons & Dragons. None of these hobbies have anything to do with what you or I do for a living. That’s the point. But they keep our mind and imagination active, but without the demands a job might have.

You can learn and relax at the same time. Neat, huh?

Start a Side Hustle of Any Size

Maybe a hobby isn’t enough for you. That’s fine. Many people benefit from stretching themselves in other ways, and that’s where the idea of a side hustle comes in.

Look, whether you’re selling insurance, teaching at the community college, fixing cars, or managing a fry station, I bet you’ve had an idea for a business — small or large — that you’ve always wanted to try. Maybe you’ve got a cool, unique concept for clubwear, or you have a good eye for photos and want to sell some stock photography on the side. Maybe you’ve built a better mousetrap, and maybe you’re working on a webcomic about super-smart mice.

A side hustle is a fun way to see what you can do when you try to sell an idea. You can take it seriously, or you can do it just for fun. Share your thoughts and creations with the world and see if anyone’s willing to pay you for it.

You may be pleasantly surprised.

Meditate 15 Minutes a Day

This doesn’t have to be some fancy Zen monastery type of thing. Meditating 15 minutes a day can be as simple as sitting on your couch with the TV off and simply being quiet.

Really. Slow down. Stop and breathe. Think calm thoughts or don’t think any thoughts whatsoever.

We are so obsessed sometimes with either constantly working or constantly being entertained that we rarely take any time at all to just sit with ourselves for a little while.

Take those fifteen minutes and try to find a quiet, comfortable place to just breathe. If you can do this within view of a sunrise or a sunset, all the better. But don’t stress out over it.

Relax and remind yourself that life is not a race.

Visualize Success

Success can mean different things to different people. But it also seems like an end-result, not something that is part of the process of investing.

Well, yes and no. Sure, success — however you see it — is a goal, but it can be a process at the same time.

Here’s where we delve into a bit of metaphysics. While I’m not a huge proponent of the idea of “magical thinking” and that simply wishing makes something so, I do believe that visualizing positive outcomes helps fine-tune the mind to recognize things like opportunity. The more you get into the habit of imagining yourself getting the most out of life, the more you will see chances to turn that into a reality.

It might be becoming more sensitive to job opportunities or enhancing a relationship, or just meeting some really cool new people.

Imagine happy, be happy.

I know, I know… it sounds silly. Maybe even insultingly so, but what have you got to lose? Bad attitudes become self-fulfilling prophecies. Getting into the habit of visualizing that which can make you happy or successful will make you more open to those moments that can make it real.

It’s worth a shot.

The Destination Is the Journey

That’s my fancy, needlessly-confusing way of suggesting that the process is more important than the goal. And that the act of growth is its own reward.

Taking charge — taking control — of your life can feel very satisfactory. Look around at the people you see who are the happiest or the most satisfied and see if you don’t recognize some of these investment strategies in their life.

Investing in yourself will yield better returns than you imagine.

Cheers!

Thank you for reading. I’d love to share more with you via my Bi-Weekly Word Roundup newsletter sent to subscribers every other Sunday. It will feature news, productivity tips, life hacks, and links to top stories making the rounds on the Internet. You can unsubscribe at any time.