Alright we’re back with another ABCs of health and we’re talking about investments, and not the financial kind, we’re talking about investment in our health. The reason why I wanted to talk about investment for letter I is because especially as women, and then when motherhood comes around and you start pouring so much of yourself into your family, it is very easy to lose sight of the fact that investing in ourselves is not simply something that we do for self-care, or we do because we to look good. Investing in yourself is what gives you the opportunity to invest in others, it is only by filling your cup that you can pour into others.
An investment is the process of putting something into, in this case, yourself so that you will get some sort of result, and the one investment that you can do that will always have a good yield, that will always have a good return, as an investment in yourself. Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, relationally, it’s very important that we understand that investing in ourselves and growing who we are is not something selfish, it is at the centre of being able to pour into others and to give to others. If I want to be a better friend, a better wife, a better mother, a better entrepreneur, a better anything… I need to be the best of myself, and grow as much as I can.
Again, our bodies reflect what we do with them and what we put into them, and this isn’t just physical, this is mentally and emotionally as well, and our mental health has so much to do with our physical health as well. So this investment in ourselves, it’s about saying: how do I find who I am, and how do I become an amazing me, because in giving myself time, in spending time with myself and investing in my physical health, eating foods that balance my mood, eating foods that give me enough energy, eating foods that go through my body in a way that’s important and positive, in doing these things I will also automatically have more to give to others. When I filter what kind of information I digest, what kind of news I read, what kind of accounts I follow, how long I stay on the Internet, on social media, when I filter how these things come into my brain, what I pour out into others is different. When I choose what reading material I’m going to have, when I choose the people I’m going to surround myself with, all of this interferes with how I pour into others.
Investing in yourself is something that nobody can do for you.
We have this body, in this life, and it goes by fast. Life goes by so so fast, so it’s important for us to remember that investing in ourselves is something that nobody else can do. As much as we try to give to others and be there for others, you are in your body in this moment and that is what you can invest in, so that you can touch other people’s lives, so that you can impact other people’s lives, but you can’t actually do their life, just like someone can’t do yours. So investing in yourself means that you are taking the time to grow yourself so that you impact the world and the people that are closest to you, and the people you love so that that impact is positive and lasting.
I love how Andy Stanley puts it, he says I am not responsible for filling anybody’s cup, I am responsible for emptying mine. I love that concept because it says I am responsible for emptying mine and giving my best, and what is my best? My best comes from my investment in myself, it’s how I eat, it’s if I take time to move my body, it’s what I read, it’s how I meditate, it’s my time with Jesus, it’s my time with the things that that bring me joy and fuel my soul, it’s doing work that I love, it’s so many things that come into investing in yourself.
If you’re going to live a life that leaves a legacy and impacts people, you need to make an investment in yourself and learn who you are, learn who you want to become, to look and really go through your thoughts and your concepts and who you think you are, what you think you believe. Go through these things, comb through them and find your core, your essence and how you want to live a life that you will be proud of in the end. That will pour into others. You cannot give from empty, you can only give from what you have, so invest in yourself.
Practical ways to do this are self-care, investing in yourself. This does NOT have to mean pedicures and haircuts. It drives me crazy that cell self-care is so associated with shopping and manicures and stuff like that. Yes that can be self-care, that absolutely can be self-care, but investing in yourself means that you are going to invest in the quality of your relationships, you are going to invest in the quality of the information you consume, you are going to invest in the quality of the food that you eat – eating good food if self-care, eating food that fuels your body and that gives your body nutrition for your body to perform well, that is self-care. Eating only junk food or eating only whatever is leftover because you don’t have time to think about yourself, that is not self-care, that is not loving others, so eating well, that is self-care, and moving your body… listen for health purposes you only need 30 minutes of exercise that is 2% of your day. Let’s run this to an hour so that you have a shower, and you have some time there to meditate, read a good book, or read your Bible, whatever it is, let’s throw in an hour. An hour of your day is not too much for you to be the best version of yourself, so that you can impact the world with something amazing. So go invest in yourself, make time to find that person, and make time to pour into that person so that you can leave a legacy in your life that will impact others in a positive way.
Keeping it simple,
Aline