That Actually Pay You Back in Money and Happiness
Some of the biggest impacts are made with simple ideas. When it comes to what you and your body are capable of, some simple and thoughtful ways to invest in yourself, your time, and your consciousness can do wonders for increasing your potential. Here are five tips:
Pursue Knowledge
Henry Ford said, “Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” There are many reasons to continue the pursuit of knowledge as an adult. For one thing, the world is never going to stop changing, and if you stop changing, then you turn into that person who hates all the young people and can’t stop talking about how things were better back in their day. This can happen to you at any age.
Keeping an open mind and a humble heart, knowing that no matter how much you’ve done in your life, you don’t know everything, can keep you vibrant and interested in the world. This sentiment, in turn, keeps you a vibrant and interesting person.
Pursuing knowledge is an essential part of staying alive and lively in this world.
Seek Peace and Love
This may sound cheesy, but finding a sense of internal peace and approaching life from a position of love will help you be free from a variety of afflictions, such as the need to be right, the need to be the best, worry over things you can’t control, frustration over your failures, etc.
It’s important to approach peace and love first within yourself. These aren’t things you can find outside of yourself and bring inside. Instead, you have to be at peace and be loved in order to share those things with others.
As Wayne Dyer asserted, “You can’t give away what you don’t have. If you don’t have love for yourself, then you can’t be loving to others.”
Prioritize Sleep
You should get more sleep…but you know that already. However, did you know that Harvard studies estimate the economic costs of adult insomnia in absenteeism, workplace accidents, and lost productivity are up to $400 billion? Sometimes, putting a price tag on something validates it as an actual problem in our minds.
However, you’re worth more than money, and prioritizing sleep is a way you can support yourself and give yourself the best chance at succeeding in your goals possible. With workloads seemingly beyond the capacity of a 24-hour day, even without sleep, the only one who can look out for you is you.
Here are a few tips for managing work expectations and sleep:
- Communicate with your boss. Sometimes, we put these expectations on ourselves, and others follow suit. If you need to make some changes in how much you give to work, it’s a good idea to speak up and talk to your boss about realistic expectations.
- Keep work off your private phone. Don’t connect your email or your Slack. Don’t answer work texts outside of working hours.
- Take your PTO. If you’re in America, you get some of the lowest paid leave allowances in the world, so take every drop of it.
- Create a pre-bedtime switch-off routine. This would be a zero-screen zone. Maybe you can do some light yoga. Read a book (not in bed) or take a hot soak in the tub. Focus on the act of preparing your body for sleep.
Make Space for Creativity
A man named Rob had a son who loved history and video games. That was all well and good, but as the son got closer and closer to graduating, Rob became more insistent on him finding a career path that could pay the bills.
The boy insisted he was going to major in history. He wanted to be an advisor on historical accuracy for video game producers, an idea so hyper-specific that it made Rob slightly nauseous. He would just keep his son’s bedroom ready and prepare to support him for a while longer because, obviously, the boy was going to have to learn about life the hard way.
I’m sure you can guess where this is going. The boy is now living in the Mediterranean doing exactly what he dreamed of, and Rob is so happy to be wrong!
Sometimes, pursuing your irrational passions pays off. That creative part of you that gets excited and obsessed about something is one of the things that makes you unique. It’s where you house that special thing that only you have to offer the world.
Make time for pursuing your creative passions. You are on this planet for a reason! Pursue it with a passion. It will ultimately pay off! I can’t tell you when or how…but it will.
Partner with Supportive People
When I say surround yourself with supportive people, I don’t mean surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear.
There are a few episodes in the HBO Show, Succession, where one of the main characters is trying to orchestrate a corporate takeover. At first, he hires the very best lawyer and the very best social media advisors. But as soon as those people disagree with him, he either fires them or bulldozes them. He can’t handle feedback, surrounds himself with yes-people, and, as a result, fails.
A supportive person is there for your best interests. They don’t criticize, and they don’t placate. They just care – and they tell it like it is! And you care in return. It’s important to nurture those relationships and learn how to give and receive feedback. This is how we grow.
Bonus Tip: Visit the Lab
Sometimes, you get stuck in a rut, or you can’t figure out how to move forward. If that’s the case for you, consider joining us at Growth Maker’s Lab. You’ll not only get coaching, but you’ll also get a community of those supportive people I just mentioned. Getting feedback from others who have your best interest at heart can help you see how you’re showing up in the world and identify areas you may want to work on.
We’re ready to support you in all your goals. Reach out to GML today.