Investing in your future through retirement accounts and mutual funds aren’t the only secure investments. The best and most secure investment is in yourself.
1. Invest in your health
As a nurse I feel compelled to say that being in tune with your health should be a priority. You’re not you when you’re sick. If you feel like something’s off, don’t be afraid to let your doctor know. Visit your medical doctor, optometrist, and dentist yearly to keep up with your health and prevent sickness. We are resilient people. It’s amazing how long someone can put up with a symptom until it worsens. Think about your physical and mental health. Have you developed bad habits because of stress? You’ve heard this before: work out and meditate regularly. The serotonin kick and your overall health will make you glad you did. When you don’t have to worry about yourself you have the time and focus to take care of your responsibilities and loved ones.
2. Invest in self-learning
There’s so much learning that happens outside of a formal education. I feel that most of my learning happened in the years after I graduated college through experiences. Deepen your knowledge in your current job or learn more about a topic that interests you. Knowledge really is power. It gives you understanding, which boosts confidence in your abilities and increases productivity. You can also read about how you can hone in on your purpose in my previous post here. We live busy lives, but think about all the downtime we actually do have to learn other things.
Guilty as charged
For my workplace insurance we’re to take an annual health survey. Lately I’ve been a wannabe wine connoisseur, drinking wine with dinner. This survey asked how stressed I feel and how many glasses of wine I drink then it told me to watch my stress levels and alcohol intake. How embarrassing. I didn’t realize how much I drank or how stressed I was, but realizing this forced me to rethink my health habits.
As for time-wasting I admit that I used to spend most of my time scrolling mindlessly through the ‘gram feed, daydreaming about new places I’d like to see and things to do. The downside with this is that I ended up daydreaming so much that I spent almost 30 minutes tapping on a smartphone. Instead of wasting time that we’ll never regain, think about how you can use that time productively. I’m a big fan of podcasts and audiobooks. When I’m cleaning, doing laundry, or sitting in traffic, I put on Dave Ramsey’s podcast or the latest audiobook I purchased.
Millennial Challenge
- When was the last time you visited your doctors? Schedule your appointments ASAP.
- Is there a certification in your job that you’ve been wanting to go for? Just do it!
- What other topics are you eager to learn about? Download your next audiobook or podcast so you can listen through your trafficky commute.