There’s no question that the Covid-19 global pandemic has radically changed our old lives for good. New ways of operating, working, living and being are now required of us. We are transitioning with some alacrity from an old familiar world into the uncertain landscape of a new world. One thing is for sure … we need to change up and reinvent ourselves so that we are ready and on the front foot for the new world to come. So, why not make good use of this transitioning era to shake up the old you and work on a personal rebirth for the fresh new territory of the post-pandemic times to come?
Here’s five top tips to help you reinvent your old self in preparation for the new. Use them as useful trigger points to help get your reinvention process off the ground! The key thing is to give yourself physical and mental space to evolve. Don’t forget that as well as changing what is, reinvention is also about creating what isn’t. It’s about gutsy innovation as much as changing up old ways!
Reflect: Leverage your self awareness. Tap into honest reflection around your strengths and weaknesses, old habits and default behaviours. Where could you ramp up your inner strengths and skillset? Where could you take the opportunity to eradicate stale and outdated habits?
Rethink: Spend time looking at what will be required of you by the new post-pandemic world… resilience, flexibility, agility, self-care and open-minded innovation are a few clues here. Think through what your old self has to bring to this new world and what you may need to dig deep to find. Where are there any gaps? Where are the opportunities for a powerful new you?
Reimagine: Look to the borders of the old world with the incoming new world. Where can you see fresh new possibilities and opportunities? Where can you innovate? How could you overhaul your old self? How radically do you want to reinvent yourself? Who could you be? What does the world need?
Reframe: Take all your fears and concerns about the current pandemic era and reframe it into a major life opportunity for you to step up and reinvent … Viewed through the prism of reinvention, what key themes could underpin this process? How can you reframe to thrive, survive and outpace your old self?
Reset: Once you have opened up a whole new set of possibilities and fresh ideas through the processes outlined above, start to boil down your ideas into the outline of a clear plan. The New You plan. Continue to sketch out these ideas until you feel ready to commit to the New You you have imagined, what you need to ramp up and what you recognise needs to be overhauled. Play with the concept of innovation and add fresh ideas into your reinvention mix. Finally, commit and reset!
One final point to remember is that reinvention is fluid. Yes, we need to reinvent and reset for the new era that is upon us but must remain mindful at the same time that further agility will be required from us to survive. We can create new life tools to support our reinvention but as we play with these out in the world, and as this highly world continues to change, at some point we must prepare to reinvent again. And, ultimately, again.