Continuous Reinvention

In a recent blog post I lamented that acceptance is the final stage of financial independence. No matter how hard you try to protect yourself with money, your suite of armor is porous. All of ours is. We can only contain and control so much in our lives. We are at the whim of change and happenstance. Both the richest and the poorest face this same uncertainty.

Yet, to say that we are helpless is also far from the truth. Whether in the midst of tragedy or, for that matter, in the doldrums of a particularly calm period in our lives, there is certainly something we can and should do on a regular basis.

I’m talking reinvention

Seasons Change

Seasons change. Bones get old. Children grow up and move out. Jobs pivot or suddenly disappear. Early retirement is chosen or forced. We leave the accumulation phase and start to draw down. There is no end to the upheaval of life. The only true certainty is that life will appear different tomorrow than it does today.

To deny this fact would be to stick your head in the sand, hold on tight, and hope that things will be okay. And of course, they wouldn’t.

The antidote is both simple and difficult at the same time. You have to reinvent yourself.

While we have no control of all the externals in our physical and mental environments, we do have the power to decide in which manner to react. Reaction, in fact, is the one pure individual and unique ability that resides solely in our bosom.

Will you have the fortitude?

My Journey

When I look back at all that has changed in the last decade, I am astounded at how different the optics are now compared to what I thought they would be.

The career by which I have heretofore defined my lifes worthiness is fallen to the way side. I spend hours at home writing, recording and editing podcasts, and preparing for public speaking events.

The former homebody, I now find myself travelling to personal finance events around the country. My friendships are different. My interests have pivoted. Even my vocabulary no longer sounds the same.

I have pivoted. Reinvented. And hopefully reinvigorated.

It wasn’t always easy. I frequently failed. And I am still trying to find my way through the darkness even now.

But I had no choice.

It Wasn’t Working

Life wasn’t working. Not in the horrendous, tragedy laced, epic failure way. But I had found myself dreading work, losing sleep, and feeling lost in a sea of purposelessness.

I scratched and scraped. I banged my head against the wall. And finally, I started to reinvent myself.

It started with financial decisions. I discovered financial independence and the tools I needed to free myself. While very helpful, this was almost a false reinvention. I couldn’t redefine my life based on money goals.

It just wouldn’t be that fulfilling.

But the true reinvention came with writing, and creating. With learning to take the skill of communication (which always lit me up more than doctoring) and find ways to grow and expand. With dialing back work to an enjoyable level, and dialing up other creative interests.

Not Over, Not Even Close

As blissful as this may sound, it is no less fraught with hardships and change. My dream hospice job (the one part I wanted to hold on to) has crumbled before my eyes. My beloved podcast will soon be down one host.

My kids are growing, my joy ebbs and flows, and the rush of newness and oldness intertwine to create something completely different.

And I will have to reinvent. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon.

Reinvention is inevitable. It is continuous.

It is the key.