This week the theme has been focused on Self Improvement. It has raised some interesting discussion and comments on different social media platforms, so the blog this week gives me a great opportunity to address some of them!
Is it a Cost or an Investment?
Depending on how you answer this question is likely to influence how you approach spending/investing time, energy and money into improving yourself.
If you look at the dictionary definitions there is a clear difference.
Cost is the value of money/time/energy that has been used up and is now not available for use anymore.
Investment is when money/time/energy is given in order to gain a return. There is an expectation of something in return.
One of the examples in the dictionary for investment is the 'gain of appreciation in value'. If you put this into the context of improving our ‘self’ then any time, money or energy spent is therefore an investment if we feel we are improved as a result.
If we invest in ourselves can we be ‘worth more’?
Do we value our ‘self-worth’ more?
Why should I?
Most company’s biggest investment is their staff. It is often their biggest expenditure and therefore should be their biggest investment in time, energy and money.
We know that often that is not the case but even when it is a priority for the organisation the staff themselves do not value the time and investment into training and self-development. They will prioritise other tasks over turning up for training and development days.
This is often the case for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Taking time out of the business to work 'on' the business or 'on' themselves is often further down the list of priorities than perhaps it should be.
Invest in your people and you will see a return in efficiency, productivity, motivation, loyalty to the business.
If you invest in yourself would you see a return in this but instead of a return to the business, you work for would you see a return to you and your life?
"I’m too busy, I don’t have enough time"
What could you learn in that time you take to pause, what could that learning do to help you achieve what you want to achieve?
What are you making the priority?
It is never enough!
I think self-improvement can be addictive. Once you start to see what you are truly capable of and start to get comfortable outside of your comfort zone there is a strong chance that you will find yourself saying “well that was awesome, what is next?”.
Self-doubt reduces, confidence increases. The number of times you start volunteering for opportunities starts to increase. You will find yourself seeking out the next opportunity or the next challenge before you have even finished the one you are on!
This can be exciting, it can be challenging, in a very positive way.
Staying in the comfort zone is an option, as long as it is a conscious decision that is where you want to be.
When is a good time to start?
Now!
Tomorrow!
You don’t have to wait until next week, next month or next year.
You don’t have to wait until things have settled or that you feel in a better place.
Sometimes making a start is how you get out from rock bottom.
You can start working on yourself today.
I often hear people say “I will …when …”
When we talk about what they could bring forward and start now there are often a few things they can start doing to get to where they want to be, and waiting is just a delay tactic.
If you have said “I will … when … “then ask yourself again what could I start today?
What small steps could I take today?
How could I show up differently today to get to where I want to be?
Can’t I just be happy with who I am?
Yes, absolutely!
Yes, you can be happy with who you are. (End of sentence)
Yes, you can be happy with you are AND continue to work on yourself.
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Whether you choose to invest time, energy or money into your self-improvement Phoenix has a range of services that can help you work on yourself.
If you would like to find out more, booking in a free no obligation clarity call is a great way to take that first step.