On Re-Invention Of The Self

The thought occurred to me that it might be time to re-invent myself.

We all go through periods of micro reinvention.  We sometimes call it "getting a new hobby" or "In A Relationship" or  "Out Of A Relationship" but in each case, they involve changing something about ourselves and our presentation to the world. 

On even rarer occasions we go through major reinventions, where our lives and ourselves significantly change.  This is as varied as "becoming a parent" or "getting married" or "finishing school" or even something as mundane as "purchasing a house".  These are more much more significant in that large portions of our lives have to shift to accommodate the new change.

But these all have one thing in common:  the reinvention is almost invisible to us, brought on by events which in some measure we have chosen.  The idea of consciously,  out of the blue for no reason reinventing ourselves, is a much more difficult and perilous thing.

Difficult?  Changes that take place in the middle of normal living can be tough to sustain.  There is no precipitating event to kick them off nor a continuing event to keep them going until they are on auto-pilot.  It is only the force of will that is going to keep them in place and moving forward until they become automatic.

Perilous?  Change is always difficult on everyone around you when it comes, and especially when it seems to come from nowhere.  Sometimes reinvention comes simply because it has to - as the title of one too many books and articles has stated, "What Got You Here Will Not Get You There".  Sometimes this is self evident to everyone, but sometimes (more often than not, I am coming to believe) we are the only ones that realize it.  We can try to explain it when something is noticed which is different about we are making the changes - but I wonder if someone else can truly understand a change taken for the sake of the change itself.

What would re-invention look like for me?  I am not terribly certain at this point.  But the one thing I do understand is that it cannot just happen on a whim.  That is the sort of thing that will never sustain itself.  Without a plan of what you want to change and why and how, it just becomes a disjointed exercise that does not accomplish the underlying goal:  to change for the better.

But like the flashes of lightning in the clouds not so distant, change is coming.  I just need to manage it rather than get washed away by the storm.