Why it’s so powerful to invest in yourself
Have you noticed that July was full of awareness days for fun, sweet and tasty things? It’s been ice cream month AND picnic month, chocolate day, doughnut week and so much more! Just so many ways to treat yourself! And of course, all useful content for social media calendars and marketing messaging too… But why do we, as grown women, need to treat ourselves at all? Aren’t treats for children and animals, to persuade them to behave a certain way?
Here’s my take on it.
Mindset work takes commitment
I’m a passionate advocate for working on your mindset. It will help you grow your business, improve your confidence and might even get you stuck in a positivity rut! And that mindset work is hung on a frame of habits. You need to set goals, align with them and get into a positive vibration, but the leg work is done by setting good habits. Here are just some of the habits it’s good to learn:
- Remembering to be grateful
- Viewing everything through a positive lens
- Connecting with your vision of the future
- Writing or speaking affirmations
- Rewarding yourself for successes
Forming good habits takes time
Have you heard the idea that it takes 21 days to form a habit? Well, in reality, it could take even longer than that! According to a study by the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes people between 18 and 254 days to form a habit depending on their personality. They also found it takes around 66 days before a behaviour will become automatic. So, if you’re relatively new to mindset work then make sure you give it time. I find my clients notice a difference quite quickly, but it’s sticking with it when you’re under pressure, things are tricky, or you are busy which is key. Forming good habits can be quite a drain on our energy, and it’s vital that you reward yourself for success.
Learn to associate success with feeling good
Giving yourself a reward, whether it’s small or big, will release dopamine into your body. That in turn makes you feel good, so you associate success with feeling good. That makes the hard work for forming and sticking to these habits worthwhile for that little dopamine hit. And don’t wait until you’ve achieved the macro goals to reward yourself. Make sure you think of little ways to celebrate when you’ve ticked the smaller jobs off your list. After all, don’t each of those then lead to you eventually smashing your bigger goals?
Of course, how you reward yourself is totally up to you! One of the biggest rewards I ever gave myself was buying my dream car when I reached a business goal. For others it might be buying that handbag, going for a posh meal out or booking a spa day. When you’ve nailed smaller tasks a good reward might be 15 mins watching funny cat videos on YouTube, taking a bath or setting aside an hour to read a book?
Invest in yourself for the ultimate reward
I also see investing in myself and my business as another way of treating myself. Since I first discovered how transformative it is to work on my mindset, I have always worked with a coach. Sometimes I’ve even worked with several coaches, each with their own zone of genius, at the same time. I no longer look at what I pay them as a ‘cost’ or ‘charge’, it’s 100% an investment, it’s about investing in me, my company and the future impact I desire to create. It makes me so happy to know that I’m constantly learning and growing, and I know it translates into huge benefits for my clients too. The process of finding and learning about coaches sets off that dopamine in a big way, so it’s definitely working! Have you thought about how you can invest in yourself to get closer to the future you desire?
A chance to invest in yourself for FREE!
If you’d like to benefit from all the learnings that I’ve gathered from running two highly successful businesses and working with multiple coaches, why not join my next FREE virtual retreat? It’s a fantastic way to take that first step to invest in yourself. In the G.O.A.L.S Method from Tara Punter Coaching, I’ll share everything I know about mindset, marketing, sales and business success PLUS how you can start setting and smashing goals with ease, flow and consistency. It’s taking place on Facebook from the 2nd to the 9th of August and you can sign up here!