The Greatest Investment

One of my mentors told me something I’ll never forget. In the quest for getting better, there are many things that people start (or stop) doing.

“The greatest investment that you’ll ever make is in yourself.”

Regardless of what profession that you go into, the investment that you make in yourself is going to directly impact your efficiency, your output, and your creativity.

The Irony:

The irony for many athletes when they want to get better is that they start working on the “outputs” (lifting weights, shooting more free throws, working out more, taking more swings in the batting cages, running more routes, etc.).

This is the wrong approach.

Inputs always affect outputs. It’s not the other way around. This is the king of all principles.… What you reap is directly related to what you sow.

If you want to become a better athlete, you need to work on becoming a better person.

If you want to become a better leader, teammate, coach, etc., you need to become a better person…. you can do this by investing in yourself.

So how do you invest in yourself?

Physically:

Taking care of your body with appropriate rest, nutrition, hydration, etc. is imperative. The purchases, time, and attention that you give to your body is very important. The sleep that you’re getting, how you control your breathing, the timing of your exercises…it all matters. You need to be intentional!

Mentally:

One of the fastest ways (and one of the greatest return on investments) is reading. Anytime you read a book, you are able to digest in hours what it took the author decades, even a lifetime to master. Along with reading, any type of continuing education is absolutely paramount when it comes to investing in yourself. Education, in any form, increases your capacity to think, reason, and to problem-solve.

Spiritually:

Our spiritual state affects every other element of our existence. When we are built up spiritually, it allows us to be effective as human beings. The Bible tells us (from the Old Testament to the New Testament) that we should study and meditate on the Word of God. Furthermore, when we hear the Word of God, and we actually do it, we are called wise.

When we are intentional about the inputs, and we invest in ourselves, we become better athletes, but more importantly, we become better people.

Your Friend,

Josiah