Enough Already: It's Time to Show Up and ReInvent Yourself

Everyone is using the word REINVENTION. Many have told me not to use it because everyone else is using it. “It’s over-used” they say; or “it’s trite.”

Well, that might be true. I mean, it’s on TV when you watch the General Motors ads. I’ve seen it in the NY Times and the Wall Street Jou
al. Because things are different now, everyone is taking a stab at ReInventing…..

So, why am I using it?

Well, I’m very UNCONVENTIONAL. I tell it like it is. I call a dog a dog. I don’t call it a cute little, furry creature that yaps .. I call it a dog. I say it like it is. In the world of change, I call it change. No excuses, no explanations. Truth!!! I’m not being negative .. I’m just being honest.

Here’s a truth: THINGS ARE DIFFERENT. THEY WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE THE WAY THEY WERE. WHAT USED TO WORK NO LONGER DOES.

I feel like I need to shout it through a megaphone from the rooftops so you’ll hear me.

People are running around screaming, “the sky is falling.” Or, they’re doing the opposite and shoving their heads in the sand and pretending that everything is okay…just the way it was.

Here’s another truth: IF WHAT YOU USED TO DO IS NO LONGER WORKING … THEN IT’S TIME TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!!

Companies that are dying do not know how to do things differently. They continue trying to stick a square peg in a square hole .. rather than creatively figuring out how to put a round peg in a square hole. They go back to the drawing board, analyzing why things might not be working, spin their wheels and then often DON”T do anything different.

The same is true for individuals. People are being laid off and then they’re immediately out there on the pavement looking for the next job … to do the same kind of work, only not realizing that there aren’t very many jobs. But, they have the “job” mentality.

Please don’t get me wrong. I know that we live in a society that requires us to earn money to pay bills, eat, have shelter. I know that money is the means to survival and for most individuals I know that the path to money is work. I also know that we all have different skill levels and often options are limited.

I also know, however, that many people have “settled” for what they think they know and what they’ve always done and can’t even see that there might be other options. They also, in their jou
ey to survive, forget that life is about more than just going to work and earning a living. They’ve grown far away form some of their originating notions that included desire, passion and a search for fulfillment. They’ve taken to working in fields that their parents prescribed or that they universities told them would be secure. They stayed in these endeavors for many years while, often, secretly, yearning for something MORE or DIFFERENT.

All I want to do is to open the box, open the wrapping we’ve kept ourselves tied in with and start examining what else might be possible. If there are secret yearnings trying to jump out, then let’s look at them, examine what they’re made of, search for ways to maybe, just maybe, let them come forth.

I’m inviting you to WAKE UP …. Declare if you’ve had ENOUGH of the Status Quo or whatever else you want to call it. I’m inviting you to tap back into what you used to dream about being or having and see if it’s possible now.

My all time favorite childhood book is The Little Engine That Could. I especially like the part where he is pulling himself up the hill and declaring, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can….” I think you CAN … at least take a peek, have some considerations.

Are you someone who sits and WAITS or someone who TAKES ACTION? Do you slide your toe in the cold water and slither down a bit at a time OR do you just jump in? Are you prone to do what others tell you to do or think you should do OR do you declare for yourself what direction you choose.

Are you ready to Re-energize, Re-generate, Re-purpose? Are you read to at least consider ReInventing? If so, I’ll show you how!

First … you have to:
1. Show Up,
2. Be Willing,
3. Give yourself permissio

Then, you’re ready to Jump in and go through the 6 Step ReInvention Program.
Here’s the first two steps:

1. STOP doing what you no longer need to/ want to be doing.
Look all over your life, OR if thinking of work … look all over your workplace. You are wasting time and energy doing things that no longer work. You are distracting yourself with unnecessary activities. You’re also probably gossiping, wasting time and whining. STOP!

2. START doing what you want to be doing!
You’re forgotten what’s really important to you AND you’ve stopped being true to yourself. It’s time to take your dreams back. First, sit down someplace quiet and make a list of everything you used to LOVE to do when you were a child, a teenager, a young adult … and yes, even now. All the things that are fulfilling and bring a smile or make your heart sing. All those old dreams that got shoved away and are sitting gathering dust in some old closet in the basement. Yes, look at them. Take them out. Remember...then, put the list away for a day or so and then go back and remember more.

Here are a few ideas: writing, painting, drawing, sledding, skiing, playing games, fencing, tennis, building things …. You get the picture. Remember them all.

Then, make a list of a few things you will START to do .. that are different from what you now do all day long.

That’s a good start. It will stir up the pot.

When you’re ready for more …. Let me know and I’ll be back with more steps … there are 4 more steps in the program!

Enjoy the jou
ey!

A

Fry
ann@annfry.com
www.annfry.com
The Unconventional Speakerr
The ReInvention Expert