You Have Value!

Recently I wrote an article called  Invest more than $ into yourself  because lately I’ve been giving the idea of investing in oneself a great deal of thought. I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to invest in yourself and why you need to continue to do so. However, it was this past weekend when I met up with an old friend from Laurier for lunch that I realized the “why” behind investing in yourself. You need to take care, and invest in yourself because you have value. My friend, as well as myself reached a point in our lives where we felt lost. We fell into a funk, and forgot our own value. Because of this, we started making decisions out of fear, and holding ourselves back. This only made us feel as if we didn’t deserve much. We stated to think that maybe we suck? Maybe that’s why we’re not happy? We’re not happy because we suck. Maybe that’s why we’re not where we’re supposed to be in life? Or at least where we think we should be in life.

It took some time, and in our own ways we both realized that, that is not true. From my own personal experience, I realized that I can get myself out of this shitty situation. I realized that the situation I put myself in, is not a true reflection of who I am, or who I want to be. I learned that I needed to separate myself from the situation, and understand that maybe I’ve made mistakes, and maybe I’m a little lost, but that does not mean that I no longer have value, or that I won’t be able to find my way. This is very easy to forget. It is very easy to forget that you have value, that you are important, and that you have plenty to offer the world. There will be times where you find yourself in a negative relationship, in a negative environment, or in a job that you hate. All of these situations can have you feeling like shit, and they will also cause you to question your own self-worth. For me? I found myself in a job, and in an environment that I HATED SO FREAKING MUCH!!! Not only was it negative, I found that it completely conflicted with my beliefs, and values. I started to resent my job, and I hated feeling that way. It made me question myself, my career path. I started to question if I made the right choices? Is fitness for me? Maybe I’m just not good at this?

It took me time, and moving to another small gym, before eventually I began to realize that it was the company and the environment that wasn’t for me, not fitness. Actually, I’m really good at instructing classes, and personal training. I also realized that I can’t keep selling myself short, I need to follow my original dream and start my own business. I live and breath fitness… I mean that’s why I got into the industry in the first place! It was my passion for fitness, and how it empowers me that I even started instructing classes. I wanted to bring that sense of empowerment to others. I needed to remind myself of my purpose, and that I had value. No matter how negative the situation I was in, I had to remind myself that I will be okay. It wasn’t easy but the one way that I got out of this funk, and started to believe in myself was through my own personal investment. The best way to elevate yourself and to remind yourself that you have value is to invest in yourself. Do things that make you happy, do things that give you energy. Educate yourself, read, workout, try new things, go on adventures, whatever you have always wanted to do or learn, go and do those things. These are the things that will help you create your own happiness. I am not telling you to run away from yourself, but instead to take the time to be with yourself, learn, and grow. The more quality time your spend with yourself, investing in yourself, and getting to know yourself, the more you will be able to see your own value. Once you believe that you matter, and that you have value, the easier it will be to get through tough situations. You will be able to separate yourself from the negative situation, accept your mistakes, and move on because you believe that you can, and that you deserve to be happy.

If you find yourself valuable, others will too. Treat yourself as if you have value, because you do.