INTERNAL INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO: PSYCHOLOGY AND ECONOMICS OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT

Main Article Content

Tetiana CHERKASHYNA
Oksana SOTULA
Kseniia MISAILOVA

Abstract

Introduction. Today, in an era of total uncertainty and rapid change, the traditional understanding of «investment» extends far beyond bank accounts or real estate. The individual themselves—their mental health, educational level, and capacity for adaptation - is becoming the most stable and high-yield asset.


In this context, the problem of investing in one's own development as a factor in ensuring psychological resilience and professional mobility acquires particular urgency.


Purpose. The Financial Freedom Forum «Investments in Your Own 'Self'», held on April 24, 2026, by the Department of Psychological and Economic Education of the Municipal Institution «Cherkasy Regional Institute of Postgraduate Education for Pedagogical Workers of Cherkasy Regional Council» was timed to coincide with International Financial Independence Day. It served as a platform for a profound rethinking of how economic categories intertwine with psychological well-being.


Financial literacy is often viewed merely as the ability to count money; however, contemporary challenges prove that true financial freedom begins with managing one's own desires and overcoming internal barriers. This research represents a synergy of expert insights, each revealing a unique aspect of building «internal human capital».


Results. For educators, who by nature are inclined to give more than they receive, financial insecurity deals a double blow. It not only restricts their opportunities for quality recovery but also intensifies feelings of injustice and helplessness. Therefore, it is no longer possible to ignore the fact that emotional burnout in education has a distinct financial undertone.


The portfolio «Investments in Your Own 'Self'» is a comprehensive strategy for managing an individual's internal and external resources. The primary objective of this portfolio is to provide the educator with the highest level of professional resilience, protect them against the inflation of mental strength, and establish a reliable antidote to professional burnout. This portfolio consists of resource, operational, intellectual and social, and strategic hubs.


Responsible investment in mental health, particularly that of an educational subject through the effective self-management of desires, emotions, and thoughts, is viewed as a strategic asset. This asset ensures stress resistance, increases personal effectiveness, fosters the development of critical thinking, enhances the level of mental and communicative culture, and improves the overall quality of life.


From a psychological perspective, investing in oneself is appropriately interpreted as an individual's conscious, purposeful activity aimed at developing their cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physical characteristics. In this context, investing in oneself manifests not only as external actions but also as the internal work of the individual - reflection, the rethinking of experience, and the formulation of new life strategies.


Conclusions. The conducted analysis allows for the conclusion that investing in oneself is a necessary condition for the effective functioning of an individual in modern society, which is characterized by high dynamism, uncertainty, and increasing demands on professional competence.


Investments in personal and professional development ensure the formation of key characteristics of the modern individual, particularly adaptability, psychological resilience, the capacity for self-development, and professional mobility. These investments possess a cumulative character and are realized through systematic activity directed at developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral resources.


Investing in oneself acquires special significance in the professional activity of an educator, where the specialist's personality serves as the primary tool of influence.

Article Details

Section
Статті

References

Kremen V. H. (2008). Filosofiia liudynotsentryzmu v osviti: monohrafiia [Philosophy of human-centrism in education: a monograph]. Kyiv: Pedahohichna dumka. 520 p. [in Ukrainian]

Maksymenko S. D. (2006). Heneza zdiisnennia osobystosti: monohrafiia [The genesis of personality realization: a monograph]. Kyiv: KMM. 240 p. [in Ukrainian]

Tytarenko T. M. (2011). Zhyttievyi svit osobystosti: v mezhakh i za mezhamy budennosti: monohrafiia [The life world of personality: within and beyond the boundaries of everyday life: a monograph]. Kyiv: Lybid. 376 p. [in Ukrainian]

Linde L., Bergström M. (1992). The effect of one night without sleep on problem-solving and immediate recall. Psychol. Res., 54, 127–136. [in English]

Jones B., Parsons O. A. (1971). Impaired abstracting ability in chronic alcoholics. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 24, 71–75. [in English]

Pontón M. O., Satz P., Herrera L., Ortiz F., Urrutia C. P., Young R., D’Elia L. F., Furst C. J., Namerow N. (1996). Normative data stratified by age and education for the Neuropsychological Screening Battery for Hispanics (NeSBHIS): Initial report. J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc., 2, 96–104. [in English]

Anandi Mani, Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir, Jiaying Zhao (2013). Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function. Science, 341 (6149), 976–980. Available at: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1238041 (accessed: 20.05.2026) [in English]

Shevchenko O. H., Maiorova T. V., Yurkevych O. M., Urvantseva S. V. [et al.] (2010). Portfelne investuvannia: pidruchnyk [Portfolio investing: a textbook] / za nauk. red. O. H. Shevchenko, T. V. Maiorovoi. Kyiv: KNEU. 407, [1] p. [in Ukrainian]

Yevtukh M. B., Pinkovska E. A., Cherkashyna T. V. (2016). Metodyky osobystisno-profesiynoho samovdoskonalennya subyekta pedahohichnoyi diyalnosti zasobamy samopiznannya: navchalno-metodychnyy posibnyk: dlya pedahohichnykh pratsivnykiv [Methods of personal and professional self-improvement of the subject of pedagogical activity by means of self-knowledge: a textbook for pedagogical workers]. Cherkasy: Vydavets Chabanenko Yu. A. 406 p. [in Ukrainian]

Savchyn M. V. (2012). Zahalna psykholohiia: navch. posib. [General psychology: a textbook]. Kyiv: Akademvydav. 464 p. [in Ukrainian]

Bekh I. D. (2012). Osobystist u prostori dukhovnoho rozvytku: monohrafiia [Personality in the space of spiritual development: a monograph]. Kyiv: Akademvydav. 256 p. [in Ukrainian]