(I authored this series [Pts 1-5] for Osiris Magazine in 2010)
Why reinvent yourself? Isn't that a bit of a daunting task? And how will you know when the task is complete? What will you lose (and whom); and what is to be gained?
With all of those questions to be answered, are you tired already and ready to quit before you begin? Take heart and breathe...it's not as hard as all that. We're going to eat this particular elephant one bite at a time.
Reinvention is happening all across America, and perhaps the world, because the state of the economy has so altered the status quo. The terrain has changed so drastically, and what was once a fairly straight path in whatever chosen career or chosen lifestyle has become a path that zigs and zags.
For some of us, it's a very scary reality. For others, it's the chance of a lifetime -- a chance to venture down the road not taken, that perhaps you were discouraged from exploring before because it wasn't "practical".
So, let's look at this reinvention rationally and begin to dissect it in as painless a way as possible. Now I know that there are those who might be a little (or a lot) skeptical that this can actually work for you and possibly turn out to be an absolutely marvelous change in your life. I'm asking yo to just keep somewhat of an open mind.
As human beings, we tap into a very, very small portion (approximately ten percent) of our abilities and capabilities during our lifetimes. Now many of us are being forced to see what else we can accomplish. Yes, you are much greater than you have given yourself credit for. You can accomplish what the Universe has set aside for only you. No one else can do what the Universe and God has decreed that you do, because only you are perfectly equipped for it.
Have you ever taken the time to list the things that you have a great affinity for? It doesn't matter if someone else thinks it's stupid. This is about you, not them. Let them concentrate on their own list (or not), but don't allow someone else to derail you. This is your life for you to live.
Alright. Can you find or create a niche that would enable you to make a living and a life doing that for which you have a true affinity and in which you find marvelous delight? If the answer is no, that's okay -- don't throw in the towel...because this thing speaks to your heart, and you might just have to pursue it on the side and accept heart payment for a little while; and that's good, because paying your heart is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
If you were to see yourself pursuing this work of the heart full time, what would you look like pursuing it? What would you wear? How would your hair be styled (or not)? Would it be a solitary venture or would you spend a lot of time with other people; and if the latter, what kind of people would you choose to share your space? Where do you see yourself pursuing this dream? These are the kinds of questions to answer as you move toward your reinvention.
No, they aren't lightweight questions, are they? You want heavy questions so that you can make the very best of tapping into this other facet of who you are, for even though the conventional term is reinvention, it's really just revealing more of who you already are and releasing that more into the world.
Okay -- we have a place to begin, so let's get busy. We'll explore this further next session, and in the meantime I would like to leave you with this:
One of the greatest feelings in life is the conviction that you lived the life you wanted to live -- with the rough and the smooth, the good and the bad -- but yours, shaped by your own choices, and not someone else's. _____Michael Ignatieff
