Continue to reinvent

Continue to reinvent

There’s a lot of wisdom in the idea that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There’s just as much wisdom in the idea that, like a shark that keeps moving in order to make sure the “O” (oxygen) part of H2O flows through its gills, it’s necessary to change if you want to grow.

Sometimes, the best way to climb out of a dark hole is to reinvent yourself. Sports and entertainment celebrities seem to understand both this concept and the time it buys to fine tune the reinvented life they hope to create. When bad behavior leads to bad PR, flip the disaster into reinvention and check in to a treatment center or make a big donation to the cause that supports whatever you dissed. Explain what you’ve learned from the experience and how your enlightenment will result in a new you.

Although that tune seems all too familiar these days, that particular model of reinvention can still create something positive when you approach it with sincerity. In fact, the most common reason given for a major change is a personal tragedy. However, bankruptcy, a failed business and getting fired are devastating situations that more frequently result in someone giving up than reinvention.

Despite what every self-help guru of the moment might tell you, our culture – business or otherwise – does not celebrate failure nearly as much as it should. Handled the right way, a major failure delivers a more valuable education than any college ever will. And by “handled the right way,” I mean using failure as a launch pad to success. Knowing what you did wrong is your first class ticket to a gold-plated reinvention.

You have to play the long game in life if you want to get anywhere. You don’t invest in the stock market to get rich quick and there’s no quick way to be the best you. You have to be willing to indulge in self-analysis to get a sense of what about you should be kept and what should be discarded. If you aren’t who you want to be now, do the work to reinvent yourself. Start with your favorite catchy saying (like dress for the job you want or fake it ‘til you feel it or be the change you want to see) and build from there.

Rock bottom isn’t where reinvention starts or ends. Because the world is changing faster than most of us can keep up with it, standing still is almost like going backward. Keep it moving, folks, or you’ll get run over. Nobody is suggesting you shed your skin every three months and present something completely new to the world. The real you will always be at the core of any reinvention. Refusal to evolve is another issue, though. The more rigid you are, the less likely you are to benefit by the positive changes in the world and the less likely you are to affect positive change yourself.

Test the reinvention waters if you’re not ready for a full makeover, but don’t be afraid to try the outrageous, the silly or the sublime. Whether you crawl out of a dark hole or just feel like something new, reinvention can be the catalyst for great things.