As I see it, life is short, and there will never be anyone closer to you than yourself. For these two reasons, I am always a big proponent of investing in yourself: time, money, other resources, you name it. If it makes you happy long term, it is probably worthwhile.
In recovery in particular it is important to give yourself a chance to try new things. Whether that's counselling, fencing or intuitive painting, chances are that without an investment of either time or money, and most likely both, you won't be seeing the change you desire anytime soon. After all, as the saying goes, we need to do things differently in order to see different results.
Everything is easiest, of course, when money is more or less freely available to pursue your interests and hire supports, but even when it isn't, there are things you can do for yourself that are mostly free, like taking a conscious break, going to bed early or getting up earlier, making regular snacks a priority and keeping in mind that everyone who is trying to sell you something is profiting off your self-doubt one way or another.
Spending money intentionally revolves around asking yourself what makes you happiest and then arranging your finances to fund as much of it as possible - in the order of priority that you assigned.
In fact, this is precisely why I encourage all my clients to self-schedule their appointments in a way that makes sense to them - to their recovery, their state of mind, their finances. I am well aware that enlisting the support of a counsellor or coach is a big investment, and I want that investment to be as intentional as possible, because I believe that the more motivated someone is to be in a session with me, the better the results of our work together.
The good news is that often, in the early stages of recovery, funds will free up that in the past would have been spent on engaging in unhelpful behaviours. Have you ever tallied up what your unhelpful behaviours cost you in an average week, month or year?
If you were to invest that same money in yourself in a way that would help you be happy long-term, how would you spend it? What would you save for?
Personally, I find that spending money on education, travel and self-development satisfy me the most long-term. Food, of course, is high on my list of priorities, too, as I now recognize it as a crucial factor in my overall wellbeing. In its absence, I get hangry, and, in reverse, food I enjoy eating generally puts me in a good mood.
So, depending on where you are currently at in your recovery journey (start, middle, or finish), what would it take to maximize your resources?
And what skills do you already have that you could monetize, specifically with the purpose of spending the money on something that helps you grow as a person?
As per usual, I hope this was helpful, and if you're interested in finding out more about how I work, feel free to book yourself in for a free intro chat during my Open Office Hours. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!