I was an academic failure, but I never stopped learning, I never stopped investing in myself. Every day of my life I strive to improve myself.
Investing in yourself is the best investment anyone can make; whether it is academically, physically, emotionally, or socially. Whatever amount of time, energy, and money you invest in yourself, you will get back many folds.
There was a time in my life when I was on the route of self-destruction, but I hit rock bottom and I decided to get out of my pit by investing in myself. Here is how I did it and how you can do it too.
Make sure you get a full night’s sleep
So many people neglect their sleep and it’s one of the easiest hacks to do. In interview 101, Dr. Sophie Bostock shares some tips on how we can improve our sleep.
Sleeping well is a superpower. It can help you:
- reduce stress
- improve your memory
- improve your immune system
- lose weight
- put you in a better mood.
What I try to do is to organize my life so that I get as much sleep as my body needs. I do some reading before going to bed and I don’t make any appointments until 10:00 am.
If you have to wake up early due to work or other commitments, just make sure you go to bed earlier.
This may sound extreme to many people, but getting rid of your TV is a super hack; you will have one less thing keeping you from going to bed.
Read every day
Reading is the greatest magic trick ever. Imagine Albert Einstein traveling through time and space to teach you about science? Or Dr. Martin Luther King teaching you about civil rights? That’s the power of reading. You get the greatest teachers in history, condensing their whole life of knowledge into a book to make it available to you, all of that for $20 or $30 if you buy the book or for free if you borrow the book from the library.
When you read your communication skills improve; your vocabulary increases, you understand more complex ideas and with time you begin to create your own set of more complex thoughts. It’s an amazing miracle.
Exercise regularly
Our bodies were created for movement; they were not created to be sitting in front of a computer screen or a tv set. By doing daily exercise, your body is doing what’s it’s supposed to do, move, walk, run, lift things.
We have a misconception that doing exercise means going to a gym and doing our exercises there, but that’s not true, I haven’t been a gym member for a couple of years and my exercise still gets done. 2o minutes of fast walking counts as exercise. If you make sure you do your fast walking every day, you have accomplished your mission. If you have some light weights and a yoga mat you are all set.
Have a rich social life
Some people are always surrounded by family and friends and have no time alone and some people have very little social interaction. If you always have people around you, you are good, but if you live by yourself, you have to make an effort to meet people.
More and more people are suffering from loneliness. Loneliness has been linked with depression and is thus a risk factor for suicide. You can avoid loneliness by being part of a social club. In my case, I am part of Toastmasters International (a public speaking club) and I attend several networking events throughout the year. In addition, I have a few friends with whom I meet regularly with no agenda other than to spend some time together.
Take a breather
People take a certain pride in their busyness, but this could be counterproductive. If we don’t take regular breaks we can end up burning out, it happened to me at one time. I used to work 10 hour days, six or seven days a week and then one day I wasn’t able to do it anymore and I closed my business.
By taking regular breaks you can stay in your career or your passion much longer, you can be more creative, and you can work with more enthusiasm. Make sure you have empty gaps in your agenda. You don’t have to monetize every second of your time. By leaving some time on the table, you will be able to enjoy life much longer.
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