Have you ever reached a point at which you just wanted a different life? Sometimes we find ourselves at the end of our emotional rope, and there aren’t “tweaks” big or bold or strong enough fix everything that is going wrong. Maybe it’s not even things going wrong; maybe it’s just a lack of traction, your wheels are spinning and you’re expending energy and not making progress toward any of the things that matter to you. Nothing’s working. Nothing feels right. You feel defeated. What’s the point? What can you do? Answer: reinvent yourself.
What’s Reinvention?
When we talk about reinvention, we’re usually talking about making significant changes to your life, your personality, or your career. The point is to improve or adapt to new circumstances. Reinvention involves self-discovery, identifying your personal goals, values and passions. It can be a path to personal growth, allowing you to evolve and adapt. Reinvention can help you be more resilient in the face of challenges and changes. You use your experiences to shape a new path or a new identity. When you work through reinvention, you will be empowered to take control of your story. You will be making conscious choices to align your life with your genuine desires and aspirations.
When Should I Think about Reinvention?
Reinvention sounds like a one-and-done event, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not, fortunately. It’s a process that you’ll do over and over throughout your life. If you looked at your past with a magnifying glass or microscope, you’d almost certainly find that you’ve done it at least once. Thinking of reinvention as something you’re always doing will encourage you to adopt a mindset of lifelong learning, and being open to change.
Why Should I Consider Reinvention?
When you go through a career change, or a shift in personal relationships, or some other significant life event, you may feel the need for a reinvention. By embarking on an reinvention journey, you can respond positively to those changes and turn them into growth opportunities. Reinvention can be challenging, because you’ll have to step outside of your comfort zone and face unfamiliar things and uncertainties. When you take that leap, though, you’ll find opportunities for a more fulfilling and authentic life.
How Should I Start a Reinventive Experience?
Some paths to reinvention are as simple as trying something new, like a hobby or skill, or learning about something new and different. In the process, you may find that you have some talents or passions you hadn’t realized you have. You can get inspiration by walking through a different part of town and looking at the shop windows, or going with a friend to one of their hobby or interest meetings. You might pick up a brochure from a local community college, maybe not with the intention of taking a class (but maybe it goes that way after all), but looking through the courses may trigger an interest in something you hadn’t considered before.
I Don’t Need a Major Change, But I Need Something
Maybe you’ve just had a bad day or didn’t handle something very well. Maybe there’s one particular thing that you want to change. That’s also reinvention. You can reinvent yourself into the person who {fill in the blank for the characteristic you desire}. For example, “I am someone who doesn’t take offense easily. I consider if a comment is out of character or perhaps poorly expressed, rather than automatically thinking everything is an attack.”
Exactly how to undergo a major reinvention is beyond the scope of a blog post, but often a small change leads into a large lift-and-shift. We got our first computer in 1998, and I loved learning how to make it run better, and solve problems that came up with it. After the birth of my last child, I went back to work as a secretary, which wasn’t a bad job, but I knew that the income potential was limited. I acquired a certification that demonstrated that I was qualified to be a computer technician. It still took another year before I received my first job offer in Information Technology, but it did happen. I’ve undergone a couple of shifts since then. I’ve gotten a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, and I’ve moved into a position that uses a fresh technology that I have to learn from the bottom up. I’ve developed a passion for blogging and another for photography, and the photography is leading to a small business selling prints of my photos. I daresay that I’m not finished reinventing myself.
What Are You Waiting For?
Every day is an opportunity to reinvent yourself into a better version of who you already are. Take stock of where you are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. What’s working well? What needs tweaking? You don’t have to “change” if “change” is too hard. Become someone different by reinventing yourself, as little or as much as you want or need. What’s next for you? Drop a comment below and set your intention for your reinvention – then go do it.