What it Means to Invest in Yourself

At the beginning of the year after joining The Knowledge Society (TKS for short), there were so many amazing opportunities available 🧠. Some included giving Ted Talks, speaking for IBM, working on hackathons, and different exciting challenges! Of course, any opportunity I saw posted I said yes to. Taking on every opportunity wouldn’t seem like an issue… right?

Well, this was not the case. Through the program, I have been able to meet the coolest individuals, but subconsciously, I was comparing my skills and work to theirs. I thought to myself, that I needed to invest more in myself, to “be as good as they were”. For me at the time, this meant to do any hackathon posted, or volunteer for any opportunity that arose. I believed that by doing so, I would catch up to everyone else 🏃‍♀️.

Just last week I had a meeting with someone who was working to use artificial intelligence in healthcare. She mentioned something that resonated with me, which was:

“Investing in yourself is picking and choosing opportunities that serve you overall ”

You may be thinking, “well wouldn’t any opportunity where you get to learn something be serving and helping you 🌱?”. The answer to this is yes… and no. Participating in hackathons and taking on a bunch of work is great because you get to network, learn something new, and challenge yourself. The issue stems from the things in your life you’re pushing aside, to complete the work.

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Now that I have time to reflect I’ve had to ask myself: Is my life getting better from signing up for every opportunity, and taking on a lot of extra work?

The answer was no. My life was not getting better… at all. In my case, I was never able to spend time with friends or even join my family for dinner 🍽️. I wasn’t appreciating the little things anymore, or as strongly holding on to my values. Everything else in my life I cared about, such as family, friends, exercise, my faith, etc. I pushed aside just to do work because I felt like I had to prove myself to everyone else, and I thought it was serving me. During this time, I was staying up until 3 am doing work, and not signing off the computer for 8 hours after I would start 💻. To put it simply, my work routine was mentally draining.

Throughout these few months though, I was able to network, and learn about the things I was interested in, however my work routine didn’t allow for the growth available. I wasn’t balancing the things that were important to me. It was either all work, or nothing, and “nothing” wasn’t an option. Balance with work is still a skill I’m working on, but as we’re constantly trying to think forward, it’s important to remember…

“We’re here for a good time, not a long time” — Trooper

So while you’re hard at work, make sure you take a moment to appreciate the little things, and not to take life so seriously ✌️.

Here are two equations that help visualize the importance of balance.

1. Work + work = not sustainable

2. Work + life = sustainable

Option 1 is what I’ve been doing the past few months, and the result is that it isn’t as good as you would expect. Option 2 is much more sustainable and the true definition of investing in yourself.

Not in your work, but in you as a person 🧠.

Work is only part of your life, and if you let this take up your whole life, believe me, it’s not going to feel good. If you let yourself live your life, and put work in the passenger seat, not the driver’s seat, you’ll live a much more fulfilling life. This is why:

If you take “work” out of option 1, what are you left with?

1.

Work + work = not sustainable

______ + ______ = not sustainable

As you can see you’re left with nothing.

If you take “work” out of option 2, you’re left with the rest of your life, including relationships, other interests, and other things you care about.

2.

Work + life = sustainable

______ + life = sustainable

If you were to invest in something, which do you think you’ll get the most out of?

Option 2. Therefore we need to reimagine what investing in yourself looks like.

Adding more “life” to your equation:

For the past few months, I’ve been living like option 1, but I’m working to change that to option 2. Here are some action items I’m taking to add more “life” to my equation:

1. Picking and choosing work that has a great R.O.E (return of effort).
2. Whatever happens, have dinner with my family
3. Go outside for at least 30 minutes a day 🌳
4. Do at least one thing for myself that isn’t working (ex. exercise, walk my dog, read, look at the sunset, etc.)

I love the sunset ☀️. I love it because it’s always there. No matter what happens during the day, the sun will always set, and the sun will always rise. Remembering this has helped me through a lot of challenges, and it’s something that grounds me when I get too carried away by what happens in my life.

I encourage you to find something like this in your life because it adds more “life” into the equation.

If you take anything from this article, it would be to rethink what investing in yourself means. If you’re getting work done, great… but if you’re not happy, and aren’t cherishing your relationships, it’s not making you a better person. It’s not serving you. Work is great but at the end of the day, when all your work is done, what other aspects of your life did you nourish so you aren’t left empty.

What I have been finding helpful for recovering from burnout is being more intentional about living in the moment. No matter what I did to manage my workload, there would always be something due, long term and short term. Even in the moments when I wasn’t sitting down the pen on paper working 📝, that’s where my mind always was, so whatever was happening externally… internally, I was stressed, and overwhelmed. Being more intentional about living in the moment has taught me that there is time for work and time for life. When I’m working, that’s where my focus should be, but when I’m doing other activities, my attention should be on what’s currently happening in the moment.

Two quotes that resonated with me:

1. Don’t hurry anything. Don’t worry about the future. Don’t worry about what progress you’re making. Just be entirely content of what is.

2. Don’t stress over past mistakes because there’s nothing you can do to change it. Focus on taking steps in the right direction, right now.

^ In another context, the right direction isn’t pushing aside other things you care about for work. Rather, it’s about finding that balance that nourishes all aspects of your life.

I’m going to leave you with one more thing…

“Memento Mori”

Memento Mori is a Latin phrase and reminder that we are mortal, and will die one day. It may seem morbid, but it symbolizes life 🕊️. I was so focused on the future, and working because I thought it was helping me, meanwhile, I wasn’t enjoying myself or appreciating how much of a miracle life is. Remember to enjoy yourself, have fun, and add more “life” into your days. Investing in yourself is more than work. It’s living. Do things in your life that let you live more 😊.

xo, Nancy Shnoudeh