The great thing about life is that as long as you have it, you have the opportunity to reinvent yourself—no matter your age. You can choose to do things differently whenever you want to take that action.
At some point there may be a realization that what you are currently doing is no longer working for you or maybe it never did; you just performed that job because it was what was handed to you and it turned out to be a pretty decent way to make money and pay your bills. Yet, you feel something is missing. In fact, you may not be meeting the goals that you know will help you realize your vision.
If that is the case, now is the time to step back and begin the process of reinventing yourself. After all, the one thing that we should keep in mind is that we only come this way once. If you are very young, that can be difficult to grasp, but it is the ultimate truth. So start today if you want to change—to reinvent yourself.
I’m not referring to minor adjustments and tweaks to your goals. I’m talking about huge upheavals; the kind of changes that are recognizable to anyone who knows you.
I’m an example of reinventing yourself. My reinvention was out of necessity: I lost my job. Pretty traumatic because leaving the job was not my choice. However, I quickly realized that I didn’t feel as bad about it as I thought I would. Sure, I would miss the steady income, but I could see that I really wasn’t ticking off the boxes to accomplish my goals and ultimately reach my vision of my life. It was time to decide what I really wanted to wake up and do every day. I could imagine nothing better than touching others and helping to motivate them to realize their dreams.
I set about taking my dreams into account and began to craft the life I wanted—to reinvent myself based on my vision.
Here is a condensed version of the steps to reinvent yourself:
1- Meditation allows you to hear your inner voice. If you are unfamiliar with meditation, there many ways to learn to be still. Do your research and you will find a method that fits you.
2- Praying is the avenue to divine guidance. In the Bible we find in Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
3-Determine what really excites you and gets your engine revved up.
4- Find a mentor to assist you and filter what you hear from others.
5- Be prepared for work.
6- Develop a strong belief in who you are and what your life vision happens to be. Remember your life, not your parents, your wife’s, etc. As in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Keep your own counsel when you have made that decision to reinvent yourself.
7- Look at life backwards. What do you think you will regret not doing the most if you don’t reinvent yourself?
8- Understand who you are. What are your likes and dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses?
9- Be alert for opportunities.
Your power to choose your direction of your life allows you to reinvent yourself, to change your future, and to powerfully influence the rest of creation.
—Stephen Covey
Don’t take reinventing yourself lightly. It’s up to you, however, to write your story—to design your goals and vision. If you have difficulty getting started, don’t hesitate to seek help. There are many sources for you to consult when you make that life-changing decision to reinvent yourself.
—
Photo: Getty Images
Also, it helps to realize that you might want to do something like this, beforehand. While you’re figuring it out, save. Call it a rainy day fund, call it whatever works for you. Don’t make plans for that money, other than a vague idea of traction control while you’re switching gears. It helps when you have a buffer like this, so you can do the whole thing right, without worrying about where your next meal is going to come from for a while.