Hey there,
I am the middle of an overhaul.
An oil change.*
A reinvention.
Necessity, she is my mother.
My girl is in 11th grade, and she doesn’t need me in the same ways she used to. We are actually going on our first college tour next weekend.
I have separated my home and office for the first time, and I am cultivating new friendships and rituals. Sally and I now do a workout and steam every Friday morning. Yes, I make time for that.
I am finding a deeper, purer, truer voice in this next book I am writing. Even more exposed, more true to my calling, more me.
And with this reinvention, I am finding that I can lose my sense of groundedness.
I am flying with enthusiasm one minute, and wobbly as un-jelled jello the next.
I know you know the feeling. How do I know?
You are a woman. We reinvent continually. Cyclically. Every month, shedding the old, welcoming the new.
Different from men.
Ever-changing.
That is our nature and our obligation.
Reinvention does not mean what you had was bad. That’s the mistaken thinking of the patriarchy. Reinvention means that we are paying attention and we are continually crafting our lives to be even better for ourselves. And when a woman pays attention and makes it better for herself, she makes it better for everyone in her world.
Reinvention is a topic that is current for every single woman on this planet right now.
Whether you’re reinventing yourself
… after a relationship,
… after a divorce,
… after losing a job,
… or maybe you just want to expand and have an even more amazing job,
… maybe you are a mother and you are re-entering the workforce,
… maybe you want to be a mother,
there’s reinvention all over town.
So, today, I want to give you a few pointers on the path of reinvention and get you started towards the incredible feeling of being the powerful source of creating whatever you want to create with your life.
Because, you know, you can do that.
You are capable of creating your destiny.
I believe in you, utterly and completely.
And so, here they are, my six steps to assist you on your journey to reinvention:
Step 1: Reinvention is always initiated by unhappiness of some sort.
Locate your despair and use this womantra, “I am a sexy, hot genius for creating ___.” Blank could be “the end of my marriage,” or “getting laid off,” or whatever that is for you. And you want to celebrate anything that’s making you miserable right now.
Step 2: Create a desire list.
Give yourself time to invent and imagine that life that you want to be leading.
Step 3: Tell everyone your desires!
Turn on your listener with your enthusiasm and believe in yourself.
Step 4: Play dress up.
Dress up as whatever you want to reinvent yourself to become. So just like when you were a little girl, do it right now. You may even have to go shopping, but it’s worth it. You become what you can imagine.
Step 5: Lunge at anything that has even the smallest tug of interest to you.
This is really where you get to pay attention to your pleasure. You have to lunge with your whole heart and soul. Don’t be afraid to move blindly towards the light. Be willing to experiment in a new direction. For example, you suddenly decide, “Oh, you know what? I’ve been wanting to take that dance class,” or “I’ve been wanting to take that cooking class.” It’s going to lead to somewhere fabulous. Follow that divine instinct that’s yours.
Step 6: Finally, each day, be willing to use the tools of bragging, gratitude, and desire.
These three are the holy trinity, and these practices will give you much more clarity about what you want and really assist you in creating the incredible “What’s next?!” that you are about to step into.
*Can you tell I have been on a couple of dates with a Nascar driver?