I love strategic planning, because being strategic is about finding purpose and fulfilling it.
One of life’s miracles includes the power of personal reinvention. It’s the opportunity to hit life’s reset button in order to find and fulfill fresh purpose.
Personal reinvention is a strategic choice to create a renewed approach, mindset, or direction, with the intent to purposefully impact the future. Personal reinvention can unleash an explosion of ingenuity, a rebirth of joy, and a resurge of optimism.
Are you ready to reinvent one or more areas of your life? Now may be the perfect time.
Whether you make a big change or a simply a tiny tweak, personal reinvention can feel rewarding, especially during this time of COVID-19, when so many things seem out of control.
I’ve researched many types of personal reinvention. I’ve also examined leaders, celebrities, and ordinary people who are admired for their own, unique personal reinvention.
Here are just a few areas for reinvention. As I wrote this article, I personally discovered the power of starting with the words “I can.”
Spiritual well-being. I can find courage, strength and hope by deepening my faith and relationship with God, my personal higher power.
Personal purpose, journey and adventure. I can revisit and renew my personal purpose or personal mission statement. Answer a few pivotal questions in this mini-survey.
Learning. I can discover many new online and in-person resources for learning. I can grow new skills and transform my ability to make a difference in our world.
Showing Up (including health, wellness and style). I can live a life of health and wellness. When I choose to, I can refresh my personal style, and reinvent the way I show up in my world. I can live my best and most vivacious life as I express myself by showing up in daily life, as a human being. My presence has the power to inspire everyone in my life.
Courage, optimism, and inner resiliency. I can resolve to build my personal capacity, elasticity, adaptability, adjustability and recovery during times of change, setback, and adversity.
Friendships. Friends can either encourage or discourage my personal reinvention. I can deepen the positive friendships in my life. I can eliminate or minimize negative relationships. I can surround myself with true friends who encourage my personal reinvention.
Career and work life. Whether my lifework changes often, or my lifework is focused in the same field for many years, I can choose to grow my expertise. I can pursue lifelong learning. I can reignite my zest to stay in the game on my own terms, rather than be defined by everyone else around me.
Creative drive. I can be driven to be creative and innovative. I can nurture my creative drive by living a life filled with curiosity. I can say “yes” to engaging in new opportunities that align with my interests and personal purpose.
Here are three American heroes of personal reinvention and their primary reinvention techniques.
- Ben Franklin (Learning) who represented the United States during the Declaration of Independence, was an individual of diverse interests. He was an entrepreneur. He invented an amazing array of products such as bifocal glasses, the famous Franklin cast iron stove, and a musical instrument.
- Harriet Tubman (Courage, Optimism, and Inner Resiliency) escaped slavery in 1849 to become a leading abolitionist. When she made the decision to flee her life of torture, her courage and heart for others grew. She later risked her life to return and lead hundreds of enslaved people to freedom.
- Madonna (Showing Up) is not only a singer, songwriter and actress – she’s been a pop-culture icon since the 1980s. She reinvents her personal style and stage presence every few years, surprising and delighting her audiences.
It’s never too late for personal reinvention! Using the “I” statement, just say: I will and can reinvigorate my life’s journey and when I do, I will and can make an even bigger impact in my world.
