In this world of hyper change, it’s easy to fall behind. Reinvention is no longer something we do every three or five years after a major life shift — a divorce, a layoff, a move across the country. It’s become a daily activity, and it touches everything: relationships, health, livelihoods, hobbies, finances, beliefs, values, spirituality. The list doesn’t really end.
The problem isn’t usually motivation. Most people know which corner of their life has gone stale. The problem is the first move. So here are four reinvention jumpstart tools you can apply to any area that needs a burst of new energy.
1. Opposites Brainstorming
This is a great tool when you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to move forward.
Take a sheet of paper and at the top write the opposite of the goal you want to accomplish. For example:
- How to gain weight (if you want to lose weight)
- How to stay stuck in a dead-end job (if you want to find a more satisfying one)
- How not to meet Mr./Ms. Right (if you want to find a new partner)
Now quickly jot down every idea you can think of for creating this negative outcome. It’s oddly fun — and your brain is far more fluent at describing failure than success.
Once you have a long list, take a fresh sheet and rewrite each answer as its opposite. If you wrote “Don’t have an up-to-date resume” as a way to stay stuck in a dead-end job, the opposite becomes “Have an updated resume.”
The result is a full page of positive action items, ready to use.
2. Chunk It Down
One reason we procrastinate on reinventing an area of life that needs an overhaul is that the whole thing feels too big. When you hit that pothole, chunk it down and start with smaller nuggets.
A personal example
When I became newly single, the thought of attending a local singles event had me searching for a paper bag to breathe into. So I chunked it down. My first nugget was to go and stay five minutes — difficult, but doable.
Slowly I extended the time and added a new activity at each event. Soon I wasn’t just staying for the whole thing and enjoying myself, I was looking for more types of singles activities to try.
If this resonated with you, here’s where to go next:
3. Open the Door Labeled “Not Me”
It’s so easy to define ourselves so narrowly that we quietly eliminate opportunities that would have enriched our lives.
Take a second look at the statements that shrink your choices — the ones that start with I’d never, I only, I don’t, I wouldn’t, or I only like X. If we want to create and enjoy something different, we have to be willing to explore something different.
Make a list of the things you’ve said you’d never do, then start opening a few of those doors. Some you’ll close again. Others will surprise you with treasures you didn’t know were in the house.
4. Embrace Improvisational Creation
It’s easy to map out a reinvention plan and follow it when we know the route and the destination. But what about the times when we don’t know where we want to go, let alone how to get there? That’s when improvisational — create-as-you-go — reinvention becomes the answer.
Begin where you are and initiate one immediate next step. Through trial and error, let the following steps reveal themselves one at a time. Keep going step by step, and backtrack to an earlier point whenever you hit a dead end.
Improvisational creation doesn’t move in a straight line. But it does get you out the door, which is where destinations are discovered.
Ready to keep the momentum going? Here are a few more reads to help you along the way:
Closing Tool Tips
Change is going to keep accelerating around us. The ability to reinvent yourself is one of the new lifetime skills we all need. Enjoy the experiments that fall flat, because now you’re a little smarter. Celebrate every new gem you add to your life.
And as you use these tools, remember: the possible destinations are endless, and we never really stay at any of them for long. So play as you reinvent yourself, and enjoy the present moment. It’s about the ride, not the arrival.
Your reinvention doesn’t stop here — dig into these next: