The Best Investment You’ll Ever Make (And Why It Grows With Compounding Interest)

Sep 9

We hear a lot about smart investments - stocks, retirement accounts, real estate. But here’s a truth I believe even more deeply: the best investment you can make is in learning who you are.

Not the person you’ve had to be to survive, not the version of yourself that knows how to fit in, but the you underneath all that. The one who has preferences, quirks, values, rhythms, and joys that are uniquely yours.

Why This Matters

For so many people, especially women, minorities, and neurodivergent folks, learning to fit in wasn’t a choice; it was a necessity. Fitting in meant safety. It meant keeping your head above water in environments that weren’t built with you in mind.

But sometimes this is exactly why people end up living lives that look great on the outside but feel miserable on the inside. You can have the career, the relationships, the opportunities, and still feel disconnected, restless, or even numb. It’s what happens when you build a life around what you were told should feel good, but it just… doesn’t.

That’s where belonging comes in. Belonging isn’t about meeting external expectations. It’s about knowing yourself well enough to create a life that actually fits you.

The Power of Compounding Interest

Think of this like compounding interest. The sooner you start, the sooner it grows.

When we leave wounds unhealed, we lose time. We repeat the same cycles. We keep saying yes when we mean no, we stay in jobs or relationships that drain us, we miss out on presence because we’re stuck in old patterns. And years can pass that way, years where life felt more like survival than living.

But when you start to learn the tools now (awareness, boundaries, compassion, curiosity), you don’t just change this moment. You change every moment forward. Every choice you make from that deeper understanding of yourself is an investment that builds on itself.

And here’s the best part: it feels good. There’s nothing like stepping into a moment that would have completely derailed you before and realizing - whoa, I’m handling this differently. Instead of spinning out or shutting down, you notice yourself making choices that leave you proud, reassured, even grounded.

You might not know exactly where you’re headed yet, but you can feel the difference in how you’re walking the path. These new choices - the ones you didn’t even know you needed in the past - are the proof that you’re moving in a direction that feels more like you.

It’s not uncommon to hear regrets from our elders:

“I spent too much time working.”
“I held a grudge over something small and lost years of connection.”
“I was so worried all the time that I missed being present.”

These regrets come from realizing too late how much time was lost. But you don’t have to wait until then. The sooner you start investing in yourself, the sooner you stop losing time, and the more life you get to reclaim moving forward.

Start Sooner, Start Now

Here’s the thing: the best day to start this work was years ago. The second-best day is today.

Because now is the soonest you can start. The sooner you turn toward yourself with curiosity and compassion, the sooner you begin to take back your life — not the one you thought you should live, but the one you want to live.

Moving Forward

Therapy can be a space to slow down, tune in, and discover the map you didn’t know you were missing. It’s where we can explore who you are beneath the roles, patterns, and expectations, and practice what it means to live in a way that actually feels like you.

If you’re looking for therapy in Golden, Colorado, I’d love to walk alongside you. Together, we’ll explore your story, your values, and your sense of belonging - so that your investment in yourself continues to grow, with interest, for the rest of your life.

Reflection Prompt

Take a moment to consider:

Where in your life are you still fitting in instead of belonging?
What small investment in yourself could you make today that your future self will thank you for?