LIFE | 10 Ways to Invest in Yourself

Image Source: Facebook user Heather Santobiz

Everyone wants a fatter purse. Most people want to get rich fast; hence, a lot still get scammed even if they already know it's a scam. But, instead of fattening other people's purse and not getting anything or after benefiting from it, just walking away and getting a lot of enemies, why not use your money to make yourself a better person? Why not prevent greed from taking away what you have - the respect from people around you and human dignity.

Feeling like you're still finding your way, stuck between running after your ideals and trying to get away from the mud of reality? Why not make yourself better by achieving small accomplishments whatever they are?

Haven't you felt much better after investing an extra hour of sleep after a week of work load hell? The most and best important place to put your money and your time is you.

Listed below are ten (10) tips I searched all over the web to help you improve yourself. Hope this post enables you to love yourself more. Definitely, it's worth every single peso!

1. Your health is your wealth.

Eat well. Sweat out the stress; isayaw po ang problema hehe. If thriftiness gets in the way of your plan to go spelunking in one of Bulacan's hidden caves, maybe you could do a substitute like exercising at home or doing yoga or hiphop abs hehe. 

Unwind and/or contemplate; it pays to reward yourself sometimes po. Ako, when I know I've accomplished something good I reward myself by watching a good movie hehe while eating cupcake as I lay on the bed in a rainy weekend hehe.

Sleep sakto! :) For adults, it's around 7 hours. Or go for some naps in the middle of your work. Meet up with old friends; hang out with barkada, 'cause sometimes our friends are our dampeners - our stress relievers.

These simple, yet sometimes difficult tasks to do are what boosts up your health which, as defined by the World Health Organization, is:

a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

2. When you are stuck with deciding which you'd like to do first, do that one thing that matters most to you.

If you're still unable to come up with a decision, stop and make a criteria for decision-making hehe. Grade your decision based on this criteria. Prioritize which ones you'd passionately do first or you'd find easy to do - it depends on how you act on it.

3. Don't be scared to say no.

A lot of things are going on every day. And if you focus on doing the things that would improve yourself, make yourself better, that would mean having to do a rain check to an invitation to a drinking session for cooking first time for your sister. Sometimes, you just have to say no.

If you set that tonight you should have done finishing your third English conversational learning lesson, then make sure it's done before say, practicing swimming at the pool (if this is your lesser priority).

4. Learn something that interests you or do something that you would love to do, when given the time. Ako, I always wanted to learn how to program and make some codes (kasi I figured it's fun if one day I'd have an app of my own, or at least know how to do part of it during my free days).

5. Know your strengths and use them to your advantage.

Ako, I see my time as my strength. I take it as an opportunity to really grow and learn fast. In one programming language I am quite hooked on, I am already 39% done after two days (of course, it's not continuous po, as I allocate maybe 1-2 hours). 

I also utilize another portion of my time to write about things that make me happy like #AlDub (haha), The Voice Kids, stocks, some weird news, flash reports (that seem important to disseminate) or even viral topics.

6. Manage your weaknesses. 

One aspect of my mine that I see weak is my focus. I am sometimes lost at things to do because a lot of them keep running simultaneously in my mind. So, what I do is that I write down all the things that I want to do for the day and allot a specific time for siesta or procrastination so that my gaunt mind would be able to stave itself off too much exhaustion and get back to a better focus. 

7. Read, listen, watch stories from inspiring people.

I prefer reading online than reading hard prints. As of the moment, I watch TED Talks in Youtube, but when I want to kill time, I watch funny pranks. Who doesn't love laughing right? 

You can also download applications or tools that can increase your productivity. There is this app called Forest that once installed and opened will grow from a small seedling while you are doing something productive.

You may opt to listen to trending happy music of any genre on SoundCloud or Spotify as well. Or just go with instrumentals that give calm to the mind.

8. Take calculated risks. Beat your past self. And take everyday as your last breath.

I really see routine stuff as inapplicable to me. I want to do something at least every week. I want to expand my horizons. Last night, I stretched my limits by walking hundreds of meters of walkway to the mall instead of taking the cab or riding a jeepney. It was definitely one of my longest walks in life.

Nakatipid pa ako! Siguro yung hindi ko talaga magagawa ever is pumila sa LRT o MRT from the ground floor at maipit nang maipit sa loob ng tren habang rush hour hoho. Medyo naharass na din ako dun every once in a while; nakakatakot, pati mga lalaki nahaharass na.

When you think that this day could be your last, you would really be able to use your time wisely. :)

9. If there are things you really dislike but you must, just do it.

Sometimes there are things that are really hard to do, no matter how much we try to love them. Ako, ayoko po talaga ng naghuhugas ng pinggan kahit 2 spoons lang yan. But then  I realize if I won't do it, the germophobe in me will be unleashed and the dirty dishes would make me worry more, so I just end up having to do it. I also think of it this way; if I won't clean up, bacteria and other forms of microorganisms might just dwell and multiply extra fast. Scary.

10. Time is still gold; block out time for yourself.

I may have mentioned this in some bullets but it's really important to keep in mind the essence of time. Every hour you spend procrastinating steals you an hour to have a chat with your siblings.

Be kind with everything else, from hugs to compliments, to advice and even love. Yihee. You're here in this world to enjoy life whatever setting you are in. Sabi nga ni Powell Davies ('di ko actually siya  kilala haha), "life is a chance to grow a soul."

BONUS. To sum it all up, magpapapatawa po ako, JAPAN:

J - just live, laugh, love, learn, take risks, prioritize, accomplish, listen, empathize, ask, give, forgive, thank, remember, fail, rise up, and then fail again, and then rise up stronger,

A - and lastly,

P - pray

A - at

N - night hehe

Source: INC

P,S. I was just kidding about Powell Davies po hehe. Hope you enjoyed reading this post po!