Have you ever noticed how you can get used to almost anything?
A nagging pain in your back. Poor sleep. A job that pays well and appears more stable than others but leaves you feeling empty.
We adapt. We adjust. We convince ourselves it’s fine. “Don’t be picky. That’s just how it is.”
But here’s the thing about adaptation: it’s silent, almost invisible.
You don’t feel like you’re paying a price because you’ve stopped noticing the price exists.
Until one day, you look up and realise…
How much time has passed.
How much energy you’ve spent managing a situation instead of changing it.
How much of yourself you’ve had to compromise.
In this episode, I talk about the costs you might not be calculating when you stay sitting on the fence.
When you think it’s not worth investing in yourself. Whether that’s a course, a coaching programme, therapy or a personal trainer. Anything really that helps you build the career and life you actually want.
4 Invisible Price Tags of Silent Adaptation and Postponing Investing in Yourself
When public sector leaders consider investing in themselves, they often ask the same question: “Is it worth it? What will I actually get out of it?”
It’s a fair question! You’re used to ensuring tax payer money is spent wisely. You are careful with your own money. You want to make sure there’s value for money.
But here’s what I’ve noticed: When it comes to investing in themselves, public sector leaders tend to calculate the cost of the investment very carefully. And the benefit of the investment much more vaguely.
Meanwhile, they are not calculating the cost of NOT investing. The cost of staying where they are. Of not taking action. Of letting another year go by in a role that no longer fits.
Let me paint a picture of what that invisible price tag can look like.
Here are four invisible price tags of not investing in yourself.
Price Tag #1: The Cost of Time
One of my clients was stuck for almost five years.
She knew something needed to change. But she didn’t have a clear picture of what. So she waited.
She didn’t talk to anyone about it, not even with her friends, because she feared they wouldn’t understand why she’d want something different. After all, she had a secure job in these uncertain times.
She read articles. She looked at job ads. But she didn’t take any real action.
Five years!
When we finally started working together, she said: “I can’t believe how much time I’ve wasted just thinking about this.”
Five years she could have spent exploring alternatives. Testing ideas. Building new skills. And moving forward.
Instead, she spent five years in a holding pattern.
That’s a cost. In time, in career years, in the compounding effect of staying still while the world moved on.
How much is your time worth to you?
Price Tag #2: The Cost of Worry
Another client described the weight of indecision like this:
“I felt this constant low-level anxiety. It was always there, like a background hum. Not enough to force me to do anything, but enough to drain my energy every single day.”
That’s a cost too.
The mental and emotional labour of knowing something needs to change – but not taking action. The guilt. The self-criticism. The “I should be doing something about this” that loops in the background of your mind.
One of my clients estimated she was spending about 10 hours a week, scattered throughout her days, worrying about her career. Lying awake at night. Thinking about it on her commute. Feeling frustrated with herself. And she was less patient and present with the people she cared about.
That’s 520 hours a year. That’s about 13 full work weeks spent in worry mode!
What comes up for you, when you hear that number?
Price Tag #3: The Cost of Staying in Misalignment
Here’s what I’ve learned: When your work doesn’t align with who you are, that costs you in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.
It costs you energy because you’re using emotional labour to manage something that doesn’t feel right.
It costs you relationships because you come home drained, and you don’t have much left to give the people you care about.
It costs you your health: the Sunday evening dread, the sleep disruption, the physical tension.
One leader told me: “I didn’t realize how much the job was costing me until I left and actually felt well again. I’d gotten so used to feeling drained, disconnected, and disillusioned that I thought it was just normal.”
That’s a cost. For your wellbeing, for the version of yourself you show up as in your life.
And there is…
Price Tag #4: The Cost of Postponement
“I’ll figure this out next year when things calm down.”
“I’ll invest in myself once I’ve paid off the house.”
“I’ll do this when I’m less busy.”
I hear this a lot and I understand it. Public sector leaders are stretched thin and time-poor.
But if you don’t invest in figuring out what’s next, next year will look like this year. The year after will look the same.
The busy doesn’t calm down. The overwhelm doesn’t ease by doing nothing. You just get more accustomed to it. It will feel normal.
And five years from now, you’ll be where you are now – except older and wondering why you didn’t take action earlier.
That’s a cost too! Opportunity cost. The life you didn’t get to live because you were waiting for the right time.
What I Learned From Investing In Myself
I’ve made several significant investments in myself over the years: professional development, finance and investment courses, coach training, business mentoring.
Some of those investments cost me thousands of dollars and a fair amount of time.
At the time, I wondered: Is this worth it? Will I actually use this?
But what I discovered was this: The actual financial cost was far less than the hidden cost of NOT making the investment.
If I hadn’t invested in coach training and business mentoring when I left the public sector, I would have spent years figuring out what I was doing, second-guessing myself constantly, and worrying about whether I was making a massive mistake.
The cost of that indecision? Time I could never have gotten back. Energy spent on anxiety instead of building. Confidence delayed by years.
Instead, I had someone to guide me through the process. Someone who believed in me when I didn’t fully believe in my idea myself at the start. Someone who helped me move forward even when I was afraid.
That shortened my timeline. It reduced my worry. It let me learn from my mistakes and those of others. And this let me built my business with more confidence.
Was it worth the financial investment? Absolutely!
But more importantly, it gave me something far more valuable: time and peace of mind.
What are the Hidden Costs for You?
So when you’re sitting with the decision of whether to invest in yourself, the real question is: What are you paying right now by staying stuck, by not taking action, by waiting for clarity instead of creating it?
I’ll leave you with this: You didn’t listen to this episode by accident!
Something in you is hoping that things could be different. That you don’t have to stay in this holding pattern forever. That there’s a path forward.
Until next time: make space, rediscover YOU, and then take action.