We are the part of what we’ve met through life. From birth we’re subjected to external influences starting with parents and siblings to friends, society and mainstream media.
As we grown and progress through the process of enculturation, we naturally form a certain believes and habits controlled by our minds and habitual thinking, which we usually aren’t aware of.
Before long we become people who are deeply rooted in their ways, believes, doctrines and values. But did we become who we are by design and if so whose design, our’s or society’s? That’s right, most of us are the product of society we are born into and live most of our life.
Our surroundings and company of friends and acquaintances we keep have a tremendous effect on each one of us. While all of this is perfectly normal, the question is are you happy with who’ve you become and if not, who would you like to be instead?
If you aren’t happy with who you are, it’s never too late to reinvent yourself and become the person you’ve always wanted to be. Sure, it takes strong resolve and persistence but it’s doable and well worth it in the end. Here’s how you can go about reinventing yourself in matter of months.
1. Know thyself
Before all else, know thyself. In order to truly change your ways and be on the way of becoming the person you always wanted to be, you’ve got to know yourself. Start by self-inventory of your skills and talents to identify your true strengths and innate abilities. While you’re at it, be brutally honest with yourself and spell out all the things that are enjoyable to you and make you happy as well as those that you dread doing and perhaps make you miserable or not so happy.
2. Visualize the new you
Armed with complete knowledge and understanding of your innate talents and abilities, likes and dislikes, you’ve got to clearly visualize the person you want to be. Is that person self-employed, married with kids, obsessed with healthy diet and exercise who loves reading and giving back to society or perhaps that persons is employed in a fortune 500 company as a senior executive who works 60 hours a week and aspires to be a millionaire? You’ve got the point – try to be as detailed as you possibly can and have fun doing it, for after all you’re creating the new you.
3. Know your time
Next, assess your day-to-day routine to understand how you spend your time and what activities you’re engaged in on a daily basis. Do you start your day with a glass of fresh juice and bit of cardio or coffee and cigarette – perhaps neither; how do you commute to and from work; how do you spend your free time after work and during weekends?
Time is the most precious resource you possess, no matter how wealthy you may be. How you spend your time is of utmost importance, more important in fact than how you spend your money. Wasted time can’t be recuperated no matter what, while the money mistakes can be corrected. Make use of your time and let it be your ally on your reinvention quest. Eliminate all trivial and damaging activities which aren’t conducive to your coveted goal and replace them with the ones that will help you become the person you want to be.
4. Conduct the GAP analysis
How does your current state of affairs compare to the one you desire? Are your skills and talents align with those of the new you? What’s missing and how big is the gap? What can you do and how to bridge the gap?
Any change requires a fair bit of effort and this is no different. You may have to put in considerable effort over a prolong period of time to get to where you want to be but as stated previously, in the end it will all be well worth it. So, conduct a thorough GAP analysis and make detailed action plan on how to fill any of the gaps that may be standing between you and the new you.
As we are the creatures of habit and psychologist tell us, habits are formed over 3-4 weeks of continuous repetition, all you’ve got to do is put your plan to action and persist at it without deviation for 21 days. Thereafter, the new you will slowly start to take shape and all you have to do is feed it continuously with more of the same until you wake one day in a near future, completely reinvented.
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