How to reinvent yourself

Being alive means being in a constant state of growth. If you stop growing, you die. This is true for the tiniest animals to the tallest trees.

Humans, though, take things a step further: our lives have to progress in some way. This is part of what gives our lives meaning. When we do not see any progress, we feel stuck and unfulfilled.

One way to achieve this sense of progress in life is by reinventing yourself. Reinvention sparks change and leads to opportunities for growth. Which in turn, makes us “feel alive.”

It is important to point out at this point that reinventing yourself is not about seeking something to conquer or working towards a certain reward or achievement. When you seek an achievement, there is an end goal you can see. You work towards it, win the trophy, then you are done. If you are not careful, it is easy to end things at your goal and stop growing.

Reinventing yourself, on the other hand, is open-ended. There is always room for expiration and growth. This is what you want for your life because it means you’ll always be growing into a better and better version of yourself.

So, how can you reinvent yourself?

1. Start with solitude

There are a lot of benefits to taking stock of your life in solitude.

Note that solitude is not the same as loneliness. While there are negative feelings of sadness that come with being alone and lonely, solitude is intentional. You want to be alone and are OK with it.

Solitude has been shown to help people gain a sense of freedom. It is also a great way to explore your creativity and to learn more about yourself. Solitude is also tremendously beneficial for intimacy and spirituality.

As little as 10 minutes of solitude a day can do you a world of good. Just sit by yourself in silence, away from distractions like your devices and other people. During your time of solitude, try to figure out why you want to reinvent yourself and how you are going to get there.

2. See yourself outside yourself

While this may sound confusing at first, it makes perfect sense when you really think about it.

Think of yourself as a potter or sculptor. Your life is the rough piece of stone you are carving. Any bits that don’t belong need to be chipped away or shaped and changed. There is no emotional attachment to this process: if anything doesn’t belong in your life, be deliberate about making the change.

In this way, you are a masterpiece in progress. If there are things about your life that you do not like, there is no point in getting emotional about it. Stop beating yourself up or obsessing over your flaws. Be like the sculptor and just get to work on it.

3. Find the habit associated with the thing you want to change

You need to tackle the problem at its source. When doctors treat the symptoms of a disease without tackling its underlying cause, chances are the disease may go away momentarily, but it will probably be back because whatever is causing it still remains.

Now, say you want to lose some weight. You may do all the ab workouts you like, but you will probably see very little progress if the cause of your weight problem is your poor diet. Once you acknowledge the fact that your poor diet is the problem, that’s when you’ll start seeing real results.

Therefore, if you truly want to reinvent yourself, find the habit associated with the trait you want to change, then change that habit. You will see bigger results faster.

4. Constantly look in the mirror

Self-reflection is extremely important: you need to constantly take a step back and reevaluate things.

You can’t always be on “go” mode. It’s easy to turn into a raging bull going off track to wherever, forgetting what your goals were in the first place. When you take a pause and ask yourself some tough questions, you will be able to reroute yourself and get back on track towards becoming the person you want to be.

5. Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth

If everyone around you says “yes” to everything you say, you are either perfect (in which case, no need to reinvent yourself!) or you have surrounded yourself by the wrong people.

If you want to grow, you need to have people who will challenge you and question your actions. Never underestimate the value of someone who will always tell you the truth. It is this tough feedback that will allow you to grow on a personal level.

6. Do not be afraid to take risks

Growth is about change. And change can be a scary thing. Continuing to be the person you are is easy. It is comfortable. You don’t have to lift a finger to do it. However, you will never become who you want to be by doing it.

Real change starts when you are willing to take a risk and do something you are not comfortable with. Take a leap of faith and go boldly into the unknown. Then you will start to see a whole other side of you. And that’s how you reinvent yourself.

Final Thoughts

Reinventing yourself is all about changing the parts of you that are no longer serving you. This can be anything: bad habits or traits, your relationship, or even your job or profession. If you feel the need to reinvent yourself, you are looking for a way to change your life.

At the end of the day, you need to understand that reinventing yourself will not happen overnight. It is something you are going to have to work on for a long time until it becomes part of you.