In adulthood, we’re generally conditioned to put ourselves last. We’re taught that focusing on ourself is ‘selfish’ when really, this couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s important to remember that you matter too, and putting time, money and effort into yourself is important and necessary. When was the last time you invested in yourself? Here are three great self development ideas when you’re ready to put yourself first.
Invest in your health
You only get one body so it’s important to treat it right. Looking after your physical, mental and emotional health will ensure you can live life to the fullest. It’s so easy to fall into a rut of doing the wrong things for your body- eating foods that provide no nutrition, smoking, drinking alcohol, staying up late and not drinking enough water. Isolating yourself, working yourself too hard and not opening up about your mental health are also toxic traits many of us have. Investing in your health is the best thing you can ever do for yourself. This means spending what you can afford on high quality foods, and learning to cook so you can use the ingredients well. It means prioritising rest and sleep by getting organised with your time so you get your tasks done with enough time to relax afterwards. It means finding healthy coping mechanisms for stress rather than turning to substances to unwind. When you invest in your health you’ll look better which can improve your self esteem. You’ll feel better which can improve your mood and the way you experience the world. You’ll also futureproof your body against so many different illnesses and ailments.
Learn to drive
Learning to drive used to be a rite of passage when it came to adulthood. However, times have changed- the research shows that less people are learning to drive and those that do, often do so later. There are lots of reasons for this- many people live and work in cities where public transport is good. The explosion of ride services like Uber enabling you to quickly and easily order lifts right from your smartphone means people are able to get to where they need to go without a car. On top of this, we live in uncertain and difficult times financially, just look at the past few years for example. Life was put on hold due to the pandemic, and now that it’s mainly behind us we’re dealing with huge levels of inflation, recession, issues due to brexit and the Russia/ Ukraine war and much more. All of these things mean people have less money and therefore less to spend on driving lessons. So it’s understandable that even if this has been a goal of yours that it’s been put on the backburner. But if you’re able to save for lessons and find the time to do them, it’s such a great way to invest in yourself. Not only is it good for career purposes (many jobs will require some driving or commuting) but it also gives you so much freedom. Even if you live in a city right now, one day you might want or need to move and having the ability to drive will make that transition much easier. It might enable you to apply for better jobs further afield, and could improve your social life where you can visit family and friends more often. Once you have acquired the skill and earned your driving licence, it’s done then so even if you don’t use it for years it’s something you always have and can come back to.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone
As the old saying goes, ‘a comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.’ If you really want to level up in life, pushing through and allowing yourself to feel that discomfort is important. You might be self-conscious going into a gym for example but once you finally get there realise it’s not as bad as you thought and you actually enjoy it. You might want to start a business but be worried about failure, but pushing through and giving it a go means you’ll gain experience and skills- even if things take a different direction to what you thought. You might want to boost your confidence by taking a presentation and public speaking course so you feel more at ease in work and social situations- this post by stl explains more. Gaining new skills could be related to work or play, but pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to acquire them is a must. By putting yourself in these situations and learning that you can overcome them and get through your feelings of fear, you improve your self confidence and self esteem.
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