Energy Is Currency: Why Investing in Yourself Pays the Highest ROI

Faith is a funny thing.

We like to think of it as something we give to others—trusting a client or boss will pay us fairly, believing a friend will show up when it matters, or assuming our goodwill will eventually circle back. But if you’ve been alive for more than five minutes, you already know: that doesn’t always happen.

Sometimes we give loyalty, and what we get back is silence.

Sometimes we show generosity, and what we get back is entitlement.

Sometimes we put in hours of work, miles of patience, gallons of kindness—and the return is… well, less than the market rate.

That hurts. It makes you question whether faith is worth giving at all.

But here’s the thing: while people can (and often will) let us down, there’s one kind of faith that rarely does—the faith we invest in ourselves.

The ROI of Self-Investment

The language of faith isn’t all that different from the language of economics. When you trust someone, you’re essentially placing a bet: you’re investing emotional capital, time, energy, even reputation. And like the stock market, some bets pay off, and some… crash spectacularly.

But when you invest in yourself—your skills, your health, your creativity—the payoff, over time, compounds. Warren Buffet once said the best investment you can make is in yourself, and he wasn’t just being cute. A 2019 meta-analysis published in Nature Human Behaviour found that individuals who consistently engaged in self-improvement practices (learning, exercising, reflecting) reported higher life satisfaction and resilience over a 10-year span.

That’s not just return—it’s dividends.

And the beauty of investing in yourself is that it doesn’t depend on someone else recognizing your worth. No client has to “get it.” No friend has to reciprocate. It’s you, building equity in you.

Why We Crave Faith from Others

Of course, it's not that faith in others doesn’t matter. We are social creatures. Neuroscientists at UCLA found that social rejection lights up the same regions of the brain as physical pain. Which is why when our faith in others goes unrewarded, it cuts so deep—it’s not just disappointment, it’s neurological bruising.

That’s also why, when someone does reward our faith—when a client keeps their promise, or a friend shows up—it feels transcendent. It reaffirms our belief that trust is worth giving. And I believe people deserve to have those moments. They deserve to see their faith rewarded, at least sometimes. Otherwise the world becomes too cynical to function.

The Greatest Reward

But here’s the punchline: the most transformative faith is not external—it’s internal. It’s the late nights you spend learning a skill that no one asked you to learn. It’s the discipline of taking care of your health before your body forces you to. It’s the quiet persistence of believing in your vision when no one else claps for it.

Because when that faith pays off—when you see yourself grow, when your resilience surprises even you—that is the greatest thing in the world.

So yes, sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded. But the faith that matters most is the faith you place in yourself. Because when that is rewarded, you don’t just win—you become the kind of person who can keep believing, keep building, and keep becoming.

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✨ Kieran Khan is a writer, journalist, radio host, entrepreneur and agency founder. He is also a certified wellness coach.