How Are You Investing in Yourself This Year?
Last week, on a particularly busy day, I do what I always do when I want to complain to someone I know he will listen to: I called my dad. I’m lucky that our relationship is such that I can speak out about work or daily life in New York, and he will listen carefully and offer his father’s pearls of wisdom or stories about how he was 20 years old and how he is understood it. , without (too much) judgment.
This time, after the usual 10 minutes, when I was explaining that I had no idea what was going on in my life, he didn’t tell me to shake it up and get back to it, he asked me how I was investing in myself from Work. What did I do in my free time just for me that would allow me to focus on the things I love and hone skills I don’t already have?
Good question. Earlier this year, I participated in a writing workshop with other women from different fields led by a writer I have long admired. It cost a few hundred dollars, which made me nervous at first, but when the day was over I knew it was worth it.
I haven’t done anything like this for a long time, mainly because I told myself that the money could be better spent elsewhere. But my dad reminded me that now is the best time to invest in myself, in what I just like . I’m young, single, and renting an apartment in New York City, which means I have as little “real” responsibilities (other than work and billing) as possible, and I have access to seminars and classes in just about any field in a semi-finished product. reasonable cost. Why not set aside around $ 1,000 a year to find out a few more things that interest me?
Of course, investing in yourself isn’t just for 20-year-olds living in urban areas. Everyone can benefit from prioritizing and learning new things once or twice a year if they have the means to do so. For me, that means finding another writing workshop and design course for beginners (and reuniting with the impressive women I met earlier in the year). For you, this could mean programming classes, learning to play the piano, or hiring a coach. If you’re not feeling inspired, you may just need to call the person who will nudge you a little in that direction – dad, sister, best friend, whoever.
So in 2018 you have five months left. How will you invest in yourself?