3 Ways To Invest In Yourself In 2012
Kent R.
I was just reading, in Money magazine, that it's a good idea to invest in your career development. Of course, I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly. The more "on purpose" we are in all aspects of life, the more fulfilled we'll be. Truly, life is too short to be spending the bulk of your week doing something you don't love and/or doing it in a work environment that is toxic. As you assess what you'll focus on in 2012 and what the year ahead will look like, I urge you to take steps to get your career on track. Here are three tips.
Figure out who you are
Chances are, if you're off track, there's some dissonance in your personal or professional life – a gap between what you should be doing and what you are doing. If that's the case, commit to taking steps to figuring out who you are and what you're meant to be doing. Here's an exercise to get you started.
Regularly brainstorm what energizes you. When you have a choice of what to do with your time, what do you usually do? Think about this – and jot down notes – nightly or weekly. Use what you uncover as guideposts to lead the way.
Reject negativity
You can't move ahead if others are holding you back. Evaluate the quality of people that you spend time with. Who lifts you up? Who makes you feel like crap? Commit to investing in relationships that energize and inspire you. Similarly, promise yourself that you'll shed unhealthy people from your life.
The same goes for you. Do you keep your own negativity in check? Do you invest, mostly, in positive, proactive thinking? If not, change that!
Slow down
In this new world economy, most of us forget to take our foot off of the gas. We have so many obligations that it's a challenge to just keep up with day-to-day life, much less move ahead. Commit to investing in peace. Make a deal with yourself that in the year ahead, you'll take time to slow down – that you'll take time to simply be.
When you give yourself the space – the room – to breath and rest, you also give yourself the capacity to accept new ideas. Your next big thing may be out there, waiting to avail itself to you the moment you sit still, doing nothing, for 15 minutes.