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I have been hearing from so many women lately about their objections to investing in themselves spiritually. Truthfully, I am a little sad each time I hear a faithful woman tell me her thoughts about why she can’t invest in herself spiritually.

I know how much help, direction, comfort and healing they could receive if they were able to overcome these thoughts about investing in themselves spiritually.

I think these thoughts come not only from our natural man, that of course doesn’t want us to grow spiritually and closer to God, but also from our culture. The culture of pull up your bootstraps and do it on your own. The culture of just do more and everything will work out. Or, the culture of financially investing in yourself being something that is selfish, wrong or not necessary.

I see so many women who continue to allow these thoughts to be barriers for them and miss out on the opportunity to let Christ help them in their lives. Before we dive into these thoughts a little more I want to get on the same page about what investing really means. 

What does it really even mean to invest in yourself. The definition of an investment is to expend with the expectation of a profit in return. Or in other words, to devote time, energy or effort with the expectation of a result. It can also be defined as to buy something that will repay the cost.

So to invest in yourself spiritually would mean to put in time, money or energy with the expectation of a spiritual return or profit on your investment. What would a spiritual investment look like?

It could be anywhere from engaging in simple spiritual habits daily, like scripture study, meaningful prayer or learning to “hear Him" more in your life. It could even be paying for resources like a book, study guide, Come Follow Me aids, courses, or lesson guides.

A spiritual investment could even be paying to attend a conference like Time Out For Women or BYU’s Women's Conference, or hiring  someone like a coach or a therapist to help you receive a profit of spiritual growth and connection to God in return for your financial investment. 

As you hear these options you might already have some of those natural man thoughts or pressure you hear from the culture you are accustomed to. So read on and you will learn more about those thoughts and why we would want to invest in ourselves spiritually. 

"If we don’t invest in our ability to receive revelation we won’t survive spiritually in the coming days."

~Russel M. Nelson

We often talk about our physical health. And thankfully, conversations of mental health are beginning to happen more regularly. Yet we rarely talk about our spiritual health—which might be one of the most important health aspects to talk about.

It doesn’t seem odd to invest in yourself physically or mentally, but for some reason investing in yourself for spiritual reasons can feel different. As a mental health therapist I can tell you that all aspects of your health affect you! 

If you’re struggling physically that will affect your mental and spiritual health. If you are struggling with your mental health that will affect your physical and spiritual health. That is one of the reasons as a therapist and a coach, I focus on all aspects of  women's health when I work with them.

If someone comes to me for help with their spiritual health, I am always in check with their mental, emotional and physical health as well. One of my main missions with my coaching business is to help faithful women remove internal battles that keep them from connecting to God, themselves and others.

So let’s dive into the top 3 categories of thoughts that keep women from investing in themselves spiritually. I want you to see if these thoughts are keeping YOU from investing in yourself and growing spiritually.

 #1   "I don’t have enough time.”

Listen, I get it! Most women have a ton on their plate and I am not discounting that nor encouraging you to forget all your responsibilities and just read your scriptures or go to the temple. 

What I am saying, is that learning to seek personal revelation by investing time can help you gain access to the source that knows exactly where you need to be focusing your precious.

Why not learn to access that knowledge through revelation? President Nelson has said that when we receive revelation we can “be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own.”

If you are struggling to get things done, prioritize your day or know how to help others, revelation is the most effective way to turn that around and receive the powers of heaven in your day. 

Sometimes we need to slow down to speed up.

When you slow down and learn to hear Him more in your life or learn to remove internal battles that are causing you to block revelation, then you will be able to speed up. This is because God will help you accomplish more than you could do on your own.

So, I have a challenge for you.  Step back, take a look at your life, and ask yourself...

• What is overwhelming that I can’t take off my plate?
• What CAN I take off my plate?
• Is there a way that I could invest more into my spirituality?
• Can I take time to learn how to "hear Him" more in my life?
• What can I do to learn how the Spirit speaks to me?
• How can I yoke to the Savior for strength beyond my own?

The investment to slow down and take the time to learn these skills will net a profit you couldn’t even imagine in your life. 

 #2   "Should I be spending money on this?”

Investing in yourself and your spiritual growth financially may seem counterintuitive since we don't pay our leaders in the church. Listen to some of these thoughts that others have had around investing financially in their spiritual growth. You might have these thoughts as well.

• I shouldn’t need to pay someone for this I should figure it out on my own
• I just need to kick it into gear and do this on my own.
• How come I need help with this?
• Why am I struggling with this?
• Is it wrong to pay someone to help me with my spiritual growth?

These are all valid points! And you're not alone in them. Other women have had these thoughts as well. Investing financially in your relationship with God does seem odd. 

But think about it, you already probably have. Maybe you have went to Deseret Book's Time Out For Women Conference.  You invested $89.00 to listen to speakers talk about how to connect better to God. 

Or maybe you have attended BYU Education Week or Women's Conference and invested $85 into that ticket. Or maybe you have gone online to Amazon or Deseret Book and invested in study guides, Come Follow Me subscriptions or books to help you grow spiritually.

Most women are already investing financially in their spirituality in MANY different forms WITHOUT guilt or trying to do it on their own! 

There is transformation in the transaction. 

When you invest financially in something you commit yourself to a process. You are more likely to put in an effort to complete the transformation. 

Think about all the free things you have received in your life. Do you value them as much as you value something you paid for? When you value something you are also more likely to invest more. 

Investing in a coach or a therapist to help you spiritually is not much different than attending a conference to have someone help you spiritually. Am I right? Which leads me to the last thought that keeps women from investing in themselves spiritually.

 #3   "I should figure it out on my own.”

Now don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely invest in yourself spiritually all on your own. And you should. But over the years, as a mental health therapist, I have seen many women try to do it on their own. They struggle with always feeling behind, overwhelmed and not good enough. 

I see them trying to do more and more to feel “good enough”. Sadly, the more that they do the more the feel guilt, confusion and exhaustion. Sometimes doing it all on your own can feel like you are running on a hamster wheel going nowhere. You just keep piling more but it’s not being effective and becomes overwhelming.

Learning from others who have had the same struggles and figured it out, can be helpful in your personal process. Or talking to people who can work with you and your individual circumstances will help you find strategies that work for YOU. 

Working with others allows them to see your blind spots that you can’t and thus help you identify solutions that work for your personal circumstances. That is something you might not get when you attend a conference, right?

All I am saying is keep an open mind to allowing others to help you with your spiritual growth.  Please don’t let those pesky thoughts keep you from a closer connection with Christ. 

An investment in yourself is something your future self will thank you for!