What Value Do You Place on Your Self, Your Health, and Your Wealth?
Most people have no problem spending £20,000 on a car, yet hesitate at £2,000 to invest in themselves.
That realisation hit me hard at the start of 2025.
I was still paying off decisions from the year before, most notably a £20,000 car. It made sense at the time. It was practical. But the truth was uncomfortable: I had invested heavily in something that began losing value the moment I drove it away.
And it raised a deeper question!
Why are we so confident investing in things that lose value, but so cautious when it comes to investing in our growth?
This is the challenge many capable and driven people face. Not because they lack ambition or resources, but because of how value is framed. Material purchases feel justified. Self-development feels optional. Comfort feels safe. Growth feels risky.
So, when an opportunity to invest in yourself appears, your internal dialogue starts:
“That’s expensive.”
“Now’s not the right time.”
“Maybe later.”
Yet those same doubts rarely appear when upgrading a lifestyle.
As I planned the year ahead, I decided to challenge that pattern.
When a course came up priced at £2,000, I paused. Not to avoid it, but to think differently. This cost was a fraction of what I’d already invested in my car. The difference was simple: one would lose value, the other would compound.
So instead of asking, “Can I afford this?”
I asked, “What will the return on investment be over the next 5, 10 and 15 years?”
This question changed everything for me.
Here’s the reframe most people miss:
Comfort feels affordable, Growth feels expensive, until you calculate the cost of staying the same.
This is the shift from playing the Finite Game to the Infinite Game. Finite purchases serve a moment. Infinite investments shape who you become, how you think, lead, and create impact long after the money is spent.
And here’s what I’ve seen time and time again:
We rarely regret investing in our growth.
We almost always regret delaying it.
This belief sits at the heart of my coaching. I work with professionals who aren’t stuck because they lack ability, but because they’ve undervalued themselves for way too long.
Ultimately, there’s a choice we all face:
- Continue funding comfort
- Or start funding growth
Both cost something. Only one compounds.
REFLECTION:
What have you invested in without hesitation? and what has the true return been on this?
CONSIDER THIS:
If you valued yourself, health, and future as highly as your lifestyle, what decision would you make next?
Progress doesn’t begin with doing more.
It begins with valuing yourself differently.
Hartley Development Coaching 
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