My laptop gives me the blue screen of death 3 times a day, which is pretty terrible when you run an online business.

I’ve been talking about investing in a new laptop for a few months, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger, claiming I “didn’t have the money right now.”

Meanwhile, I had almost no problem dropping $200 to take my husband out to a celebratory sushi dinner.

Isn’t that so ass-backwards? I mean, I should be the first person investing in ME.

Well, after a planning session with one of my coaches and mentors, I finally got over my laptop investment hurdle and got a new one.

Here’s the thing: I needed permission to invest in myself. I needed someone else to validate that I was worth it.

How silly is that?

And this problem isn’t unique to me... by a long shot.

I talk to smart and successful women all the time who tell me they want or, more commonly, NEED to do something to improve their current circumstances, but they “can’t afford it/can’t take time off work/can’t leave their job/don’t have time/can’t <fill in the blank>”.

As a woman, it’s frustrating to see. But I GET IT because I do it, too.

What will it take for us to realize that we’re worth it? That investing in ourselves is the only real way to move closer to our dreams? That we non-challantly waste our time and money on things that don’t serve us instead of going after what we really want?

As I thought about this, the engineer in me came out to play, looking for a step-by-step solution. And, sure enough, one exists. Here are the four questions you need to answer to move from avoidance to action when it comes to your own self worth.

What do you need in your life to take it to the next level?

(i.e. What kind of investment do you need to make?)

Let me be clear: this investment does not have to be financial. It might be an investment of time, love, or energy.

For me, it was a silly thing like buying a laptop. For you, maybe it’s a vacation, time with a coach to get clear on what you need, or an afternoon with girlfriends, cocktails, and Lifetime movies.

What’s your relationship with money?

Let’s make something very clear: We all have money issues. Most of them stem from how we were raised and our earliest money memories, but not all.

Do you think money is hard to get?

Do you think you need to save it?

Do you think it’s fleeting?

Do you feel like you’ll never have enough?

Do you need to work hard to earn money?

Does it come easily to you?

Clearing these out of your system isn’t an easy process and I’m not going to delve into how to do that here (it really deserves it’s on post or series). For now, I just want you to be aware of what limiting money beliefs exist for you.

What needs to happen for you to make the leap?

For me, I needed permission (and permission from someone who is only a peripheral in my life might I add). If that’s you, too, I give you permission to jump.

But it might also be something totally different for you.

Maybe it’s a phone call with a close friend. Or your mom. Or both.

Maybe it’s checking your credit card balance.

It might be reading an affirmation before you start your day for a week.

It might be saying a prayer.

It could be anything. Get super, crystal clear on what it is.

When will you do what needs to happen?

In coach-speak, what’s your next logical step?

Once you identify what it is, I want you to write out a clear statement on when you will do that thing. Remember, you’re not committing to your actual investment, just the thing that will get you there.

Now, I want to hear from you. Do you struggle to invest in yourself? What’s one key thing you took away from this post that you will implement immediately?