4 Things to Invest in other than Money

Money forms a very significant quotient of our lives. Early saving and investing are things we are taught to do early on to have a comfortable life. Let’s read on and find out four things other than money that we should invest in to have a beautiful life.

Mental Health

It was Jim Rohn who said in his book, The Art of Exceptional Living, “I used to say, ‘If you will take care of me, I will take care of you. Now I say, ‘I will take care of me for you if you will take care of you for me.’”

This quote very much summarizes how important it is for us to take care of ourselves to be able to have meaningful relationships.

But we all have moments when the pressure at work overwhelms us or arguments with our loved ones take a toll on us. It is for these moments, necessary to learn to deal with stress and setbacks. Take a quick body scan to see in which areas you might be holding the tension, then take slower and deeper breaths to bring your awareness to that part of the body.

Hydrating yourself (preferably with a warm beverage), going for a 10-minute walk in the open, or talking to somebody about it to get a fresh perspective also helps.

Other than managing stress well, good mental health is promoted by habits like not comparing ourselves to people who have had fairly different circumstances in life, not worrying unnecessarily about the past and handling life as it unfolds.

Another key to having good health is not suppressing emotions. Emotions are the indicators that tell us what is going on inside our brain and should be read well and understood well.

People

We are social beings, and we depend so much on people for all the affirmation. If you are anything like me, spending time with people, exchanging ideas, and getting to know a different perspective fuels you through the day. We need people to celebrate our achievements and also to share our sorrows.

The sense of connection that we feel with somebody is something that we crave, don’t we? Thus it is important to maintain quality relationships with people who understand our language of love. Something worth knowing could be the fact that Dan Chapman explained in his book, ‘The 5 Love Languages'. He explains that words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, physical touch, and acts of service are the five ways in which people expect to receive their love. Knowing the love language of your loved ones can help you to strengthen the bond.

Health

If the past two years have taught us anything, then health is important. Not having good health impairs our ability to enjoy anything else in life.

While the impacts of not having good health are so serious, the approach to keeping yourself healthy is very simple. These days more and more people are turning to social media as their go-to source for information on how to adopt healthier habits. But the problem is that there is a large amount of conflicting information on several food groups. Eating fresh foods, having a variety, and eating minimally processed foods along with some form of daily physical activity and adequate sleep are the keystones to being healthy in the long run. While our intentions may be pure, it is important to keep in mind that nobody is perfect and thus it is okay to indulge in every once in a while if we are eating well most of the time.

Growth

We are always growing. As we go through our lives, we come across things that pique our curiosity. In response to our curiosity, we try to learn what is going on beneath and hence we grow.

We all have professional goals in our life and if you feel overwhelmed on your journey to success, then maybe you need to reconsider the definition of success you subscribe to. In the video, here, Earl Nightingale tells us that we are successful at each step we take realizing Earl tells us that we are successful at each step we take towards the realization of our goal. This shifts our focus from things we cannot control to things we can control.

In my personal life, I consider learning and exploring new things like growth. For this, prioritize creativity and play. Elizabeth Gilbert said in her book, ‘Big Magic’ ‘If I am not actively creating something, chances are I am actively destroying something, myself, a relationship or my peace of mind.’ Creativity has its benefits. It helps us to think differently, problem solve differently, build resilience and confidence.

A side effect of emotional growth is that a person begins to know himself better. Reading your emotions, and feeling them for what they are not labeling them as good or bad is the most crucial step that one can take towards developing emotional intelligence.

Good physical and mental health, meaningful relationships, and constant growth that is fueled by the innate curiosity in ourselves make life worth living. Acknowledging the importance these things hold in making us happy will make us more mindful of the choices that we make each day.

I hope you found the article helpful!