Kiran Athar
No matter how old you are, itโs never too late to invest in yourself.
And as a woman, there are so many things we can do to make our future selves proud, healthy, and fulfilled!
Below, Iโve listed 18 ways to invest in yourself as a woman. I hope by the end of the article, you feel inspired to pour attention and love into yourself!
1) Look after your body
The number one way to invest in yourself as a woman is to look after your body!
Hereโs the thing ladies, we may feel invincible growing up but after a certain age, youโll find that just sleeping in the wrong position can leave you with aches and pains for the rest of the day!
Thatโs why you should start now. Look after your body by:
- Eating nutritious food and drinking plenty of water
- Exercising (not only to keep healthy but for those yummy feel-good hormones!)
- Pamper yourself regularlyโฆyour skin will thank you for having a routine in place!
- Sleep wellโฆthis is something most women do better than men, but then again, most of us need that little bit extra snooze time so embrace it!
If you follow the above diligently, your future self will benefit and youโll have fewer issues as you age!
2) Donโt forget about your mental health
But physical health isnโt the only important thing to invest in, so is your mental and emotional health.
Thatโs why itโs essential to treat your mind kindly.
Recognize when youโre stressed or on the verge of burnout. Donโt ignore your anxieties.
Give yourself a break when you need to and spend time doing things that make you feel good! Your mental health will affect everything else you do in life, so donโt overlook its importance!
3) Keep expanding your skill set
Next up on ways to invest in yourself as a woman is expanding your skill set.
Hereโs the thing – we can never know too much! And the more you learn, the more youโll reap the benefits such as:
- Having increased focus and motivation
- Opening up new opportunities
- Increased confidence and self-esteem
So, whether itโs learning how to play a sport or taking a course in coding or crochet, there are a million and one things out there to be discovered. Go, explore, and have fun in the process!
4) Own your finances
Following on from the previous point, you might want to take a course in managing finances too.
The truth is ladies, weโre not taught how to manage our money properly. School does the bare basics but itโs up to us to take ownership over:
- Learning how to invest
- Saving
- Budgeting
- Getting out of debt
- Staying safe with our finances
The sooner you can own your finances, the better. Not only will you reap the benefits in the future (letโs face it, pensions arenโt getting any better), but youโll find yourself enjoying life more right now!
5) Travel, travel, travel!
Now on to something you can enjoy more of once your finances are in place:
Exploring the world!
This is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to invest in yourself as a womanโฆwhy?
When you travel, you donโt only meet new people from other cultures and walks of lifeโฆyou find yourself too.
Especially if you travel solo. Youโll discover your capabilities, experience things youโd never even imagine, and find a source of self-confidence which is super empowering!
Now, if the idea of solo travel scares you, thatโs okay. Take it slow, try a weekend away in your own country, and work up from there.
6) Choose your friendships carefully
We all know how important having good friends is.
But did you know that who you hang out with will most likely impact your future self?
Let me explainโฆ
If you hang around with negative, toxic people who donโt really care about you, it can majorly affect your self-esteem and how you view yourself.
On the other handโฆ
If you have a group of supportive, loving friends who cheer you on and encourage you to be your best self, youโre more likely to believe in your potential and achieve your goals.
So, the moral of the story? Be picky and invest only in good friendships!
7) Learn how to set healthy boundaries
And in those friendships (and romantic/familial relationships), itโs essential to have strong boundaries in place.
This is another important way to invest in yourself as a woman.
Without boundaries, people think it’s a free for all. They can treat you unkindly or disrespectfully and there are no consequences.
Errm…I donโt think so!
If you have any self-respect, you need to get firm with putting limits in place with everyone who is in your life. If theyโre genuine, theyโll respect your boundaries!
8) Push yourself out of your comfort zone
Another way to invest in yourself as a woman is to get out of your comfort zone. Put simply, you need to start challenging yourself!
Go on that solo trip, take up a gym class, or try a cuisine youโve never tried beforeโฆwhatever it is, the more you expose yourself to now, the more youโll thank yourself later!
Not only will you get to experience new things but getting out of your comfort zone is AMAZING for personal developmentโฆso challenge yourself to try one new thing every week!
9) Get good at using your voice
Weโve come a long way from the saying, โWomen should be seen not heardโ, but that doesnโt mean women are always treated 100% fairly and equally.
Weโve still got work to do.
But on a personal level, one thing you can do for yourself and others out there is to use your voice. Youโve got opinions? Say them louder for those in the back!
Do you have ideas at work? Make them heard.
The point is, thereโs power in your voice. Use it. When you get to 80, youโll look back and smile at all the times you stood your ground!
10) Keep your social media usage in check
Talking about opinions, another way to invest in yourself as a woman is to keep your social media usage in check.
I know – the cute cat videos and plant/decor inspo is tempting, but thereโs also a lot on social media that can make us feel bad about ourselves. Filtered faces and fake lifestyles – you donโt need to be exposed to that 24/7.
So, set limits. Itโs okay to browse your favorite accounts every now and then but if youโre spending hours every day scrolling on your phone, youโre missing out on real life!
11) Read as much as you can
And if you now find yourself with free time due to less social media time, why not try reading more?
This is a fantastic way to invest in yourselfโฆ
Fiction books expand your imagination and help with creativity. Theyโre also an effective way to unwind and detach from reality for a little bit.
On the other handโฆ
Non-fiction books will teach you anything youโre interested in learning about! Whether itโs history, autobiographies, or how to set up a passive income, thereโs no shortage of information to be found offline.
12) Start a side hustle
Talking of setting up a passive income, did you know that starting a side hustle is another great way to invest in yourself as a woman?
Just google โpandemic side hustle storiesโ and youโll be inundated with incredible (yet โnormalโ) men and women who turned their free time or passion into something profitable.
And who knows? One day this side hustle may turn into your main source of income, or at the very least, pay for your holidays every year!
13) Develop your hobbies and passions
Another way to invest in yourself as a woman is to develop your hobbiesโฆ
Some people are good at keeping up with playing tennis or painting on the weekends, but some of us really struggle to fit our hobbies around work, kids, household chores, and everything else life throws at us.
Thatโs why you need to carve out time. Send the kids to grandma’s for the afternoon. Block this hour or two off from work and turn your phone off.
Whatever you choose to do during this time, know that youโre contributing to your mental, emotional, and even spiritual well-being by connecting with things you love to do!
14) Consider therapy
Even if you donโt think you need it.
The truth is, weโre all carrying around things from our childhood and past experiences. Some have it worse than others.
But going to therapy gives us a chance to unpack that heavy backpack of pain and trauma, and organize it in a way that it doesnโt hold us back from living a fulfilling life.
Itโs probably the best gift you could give your future self.
15) Learn to love your own company
When was the last time you spent some one on one time with yourself?
If you want to invest in yourself as a woman, learning to love your own company is a MUST.
Honestly, itโs a game-changer. No more waiting for friends to be free to go out, no relying on your SO to accompany you.
If youโve never done it before, start now.
Take yourself out for a coffee, or sit quietly in nature somewhere (without the distraction of your mobile phone). Get to know yourself – you may be surprised at what you learn!
16) Do one thing you love every single day
I know what you might be thinking with this one – how does it relate to investing in yourself?
Well, the reason Iโve mentioned this point is simple:
Life is too short.
We spend the vast majority of it going to school, working, paying bills, and being stressed. But thatโs not all there is to life and we know it.
So – eat the chocolate bar youโve been craving, go and watch the sunset every evening, dance in your kitchen, and just do whatever makes you happy while you still have the health and energy to do so!
17) Let go of negative habits
Now, if you truly want to invest in yourself as a woman, itโs time to have a long, hard look in the mirror. What negative habits could you leave in the past?
Whether it be:
- Smoking/drinking too much
- Abandoning your body through lack of self-care
- Being pessimistic/always looking for the negatives
- Neglecting your mental health
Itโs time for you to think about how these bad habits will play out in 5, 10, or 15 years’ time.
They may be manageable right now, but will they be in the future?
18) Set goals and get organized
And finally, if you want to invest in yourself as a woman, you need to have GOALS.
But that doesnโt mean you need to stress yourself out and get rich. Goals can be things like:
- Letting go of bad habits, one step at a time
- Aiming to read one book a month
- Increasing the amount you travel
- Reducing your social media usage to an acceptable amount
- Creating a group of good, supportive friends
- Learning a new skill over the course of a few months
See what Iโm doing here?
If this article resonated with you, youโll need to set goals to put the points Iโve mentioned above into action.
But hereโs the thing – start small. Rome wasnโt built in a day and you wonโt change overnight, so give yourself time.
But do set goals and stick to them. Make them achievable and bite-sized and in a year youโll look back and realize just how much your life has changed!
