The best investment you will ever make (A short guide)
"Reverence of your own mind and the value you give to it will make you acceptable to yourself."
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.16
Self-love is the most important investment we will ever make in our lives.
I truly believe that.
Seriously is there anything more valuable?
The peace and sanctity that comes from a mind free of chaos and doubt—that is heaven on Earth.
Consider the opposite for a second...
Jealous
Indulgent
Easily agitated
I'll be happy when...
Never feeling enough
Anxious and full of fear
Constantly second guessing
That to me is hell on Earth.
For the majority of my adult life I had ticked every one of those boxes (and sometimes still do).
It sucked.
I constantly look around me to see a world full of people still doing the same thing in a quest to obtain approval from someone, anyone!
→ Family
→ Strangers
→ Colleagues
→ Social circles
→ Their inner child
And for what? Just to keep it up perpetually in hope that the attention will sustain.
The cycle is endless and exhausting.
In the introductory quote from Marcus, he talked about making you acceptable to yourself.
So many of us are not.
We hate ourselves, or some part of ourselves anyway.
Self-love and self-acceptance are the answers to so many of our problems.
Go back for a second to that sage piece of advice that every best friend has spruiked since the beginning of time... "you wouldn't treat me like that, so why do you do it to yourself?"
Every best friend was right... kinda.
In that instance, it is referring to an outward projection of an inner thought...
"What would a best friend do in this situation?" etc...
The inference is that you simply turn that energy around to point back at you, but you can't receive that energy if there is a shield of self-loathing blocking it.
What I am saying is that if the inner realm is love and self-acceptance, then that projection is second nature.
We've all been that person.
Perfect wisdom shared with our closest allies. Wisdom that we seemed to constantly misplace when we needed it most.
Even the bible was onto it...
"Love your neighbour as yourself”
—Leviticus 19:18
You can't truly be selfless...
You can't truly love your neighbour...
If you do not love yourself.
Because true love is not done just when things are easy, true love is done when things are hard.
Especially when they're hard.
When your chips are down and you still have the energy to turn to your fellow man and lend a hand, that is true love, that is true acceptance of self.
If you have nothing and you can still give some of that away... this is true love.
Life shouldn't be so hard.
But we make it so, by seeking the acceptance of everyone but the only person that matters...
Ourself.
Make it easy. Invest in yourself.
Watch your net worth skyrocket and see the value you can add to a world that needs you.
With gratitude,
Sav.
If you like my content and want more, there's 2 ways to go deeper:
- Lil Gratitude Journal: My gratitude journal has been carefully designed for the busy modern-day creative/entrepreneur. It's efficient, effective and affordable (and makes for a great gift).
- My podcast: All of my ideas and thoughts are usually turned into visual treats as well. Check out the full playlist of The Sav Show if you're more of a visual person and consider subscribing.