Dare to... Reinvent Yourself

“Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, don’t swim in the same slough. Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself and stay out of the clutches of mediocrity. Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, change your tone and shape so often that they can never categorize you. Reinvigorate yourself and accept what is but only on the terms that you have invented and reinvented. Be self-taught. And reinvent your life because you must; it is your life and its history and the present belong only to you.”  ~ Charles Bukowski 

Reinvention means to change. It means taking something that's already here and making it look brand new.  It always amazes me when I meet people who are resistant to change. In many ways, that’s like being resistant to life itself. You see, life is in real time and by definition, that involves change. Many people go through a reinventions several times over their lives... leaving a job or a relationship, moving, losing a loved one, all signs that a change is needed, all major shifting in one's life, over time. We have to take control of who we will become or risk never reaching our full potential. But you have to choose reinvention.  You have to be willing to reinvent yourself.  Sometime the road isn't clear, but you may have to forge a new path deliberately and with vision. Don't just sit and wait for your future to find you because you could be waiting in vain, sadness and depression could set in or you could get tangled up in a bad situation.

You know you need to make some changes.  You know it's time, but you're having so much trouble moving forward partly because you have no idea what it is you want to move towards. You're stuck thinking about your past, when you should be thinking about your future. When you realize you're the master of your fate, and the captain of your soul, then you'll know that you and only you can control your future, instead of letting the pain of your past control you.  Here are three simple, but effective steps to help you reinvent yourself.

1. Write it down and make it plain.  When you write notes it helps open your sensory faculties. It awakens what's really deep inside of you.  You gain a better understanding of what you have set out to do.  All you have to do is imagine the people, places, or situations that you need to leave behind and bring into view the future that you want.  Don't get me wrong, you do want to take a moment to quietly or silently appreciate all that came before, and with gratitude, politely turn (this is the moment) and walk away, into your future... then begin to write the way you imagine your future to play out; where you see you living, how you spend your days, your friends, job, etc. Make your future come alive. 
2. Surround yourself with visual reminders of the life you’d like to create.  You've heard of a vision board, have you? A vision board is a very creative visual tool used to help you clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal.  And, is used to display images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life. It can actually be card board, digital, or even miniature versions, in 3D, to actually place in your home or office, for inspiration.  A new job, new home, location, weight loss or whatever the goal, just put the objects or images someplace where you’ll see them every day. It can be anything that reminds you of what you’re moving toward. 
3. Make a workable to-do list of tasks. Now that you have a vision of your future, it's time to focus on the things you need to do to create your vision... looking for work, meeting new people, a new home, new location, etc.   There are a couple of reasons you need a to-do list.  First, you need a to-do list to help prevent your vision, your dream, from slipping away.  You prevent this by establishing your list.  It's important to be specific, but don't worry about trying to meet all of the tasks or checking them off one by one with check marks... that's not the purpose.  A to-do list helps you emphasize your highest priority of tasks, preventing you from dropping any major balls.  Secondly, having a to-do list helps you set your mind at ease that you know what your responsibilities are.  So make an organized list of all the things you need to do to make your vision come alive.  Schedule the time for when each task needs to be completed and what you need to make it complete. Then do it and commit to keep doing it, one day at a time. 

Reinvention isn't easy nor always smooth. When yo become familiar with what you have, it could be hard to let go, sometimes, even of things that causes pain or of things already out of grasp.  As a child you may have reinvented yourself countless times... from very young to a teenager, then young adult, making changes as you acquired new knowledge and having new experiences, for these things shape your perception of yourself and the world.  Now you may struggle because of what you already know, but don't let that hold you back from trying new things. Choose courage instead of letting your fear choose your future for you.  As success coach, Steven Chandler said, “Do it badly; do it slowly; do it fearfully; do it any way you have to, but do it.”   

Every morning or evening, close your eyes, and see the new you walking toward your dreams. Each time you find yourself slipping into old habits of procrastinating on a task that might help you advance in your goal, review your to-do tasks, make changes, step by step, and get back on track... action is the key word.  Every day, go back to that vision of you walking towards your future.  Now go and create a vision for your future... dare to.