Most of us tend to tolerate - for a long time - that feeling that we need to reinvent our lives.

Why? Lots of reasons…..
• Who wants to sign up for disruption?!
• Our lives are filled with a lot of interdependent, moving pieces, so it gets complex. When you change one area of your life, like work or relationship, it almost always affects the rest of them in a significant way.
• Then there is that thing that is like clearing clutter. Have you ever cleared one room of your house and suddenly it makes the rest of the rooms look worse? Sometimes when we make a major change in one area of life, it not only affects the other areas, but it highlights what might not be working in those other areas.
• You want to get clear about where you are going before you start (more about this one later).
• People may be depending on you to keep your steady course.
• (I’m sure you can think of a few dozen other compelling reasons, too.)

So, there’s the cost of reinventing. Sounds pretty steep, doesn’t it?

What about the benefit side of the equation?

We all know that there are a lot of very compelling benefits to reinventing, once you get to the other side of the initial disruption. (It’s like starting a new exercise program. If we could magically transport you to a point three months out, you would probably be a pretty happy camper. But think about starting to exercise tomorrow, and it may be a different story!)

What’s the immediate payoff to reinvent your life?
• Just beginning to think in terms of possibilities may inspire you, especially if you’ve not allowed yourself to dream for a while. Most of us are out of practice on dreaming.
• Energy! When we start being honest with ourselves about where we are, we free up a tremendous amount of energy that we were using to “stuff” the real truth and to justify where we have been.
• It’s a relief to take the first steps on the path, because motion usually feels better than inaction.
• Once you take the first steps, the “landscape” looks different, and it usually looks better than you had imagined it to be. You can see new possibiilites that weren’t visible before. You have new information.
• (What are some other ones, for you?)

Only you can decide how this cost/benefit analysis shakes out for you.

In the end, most of us wait until the pain of our current situation exceeds the anticipated pain and disruption of change. I did.

But the question I would like you to consider is: What is the true cost of waiting?

It never really occurred to me to ask myself that question. I was too focused on the cost of making the change. I think it’s an important question.

START HERE:
• Action: Do a cost/benefit analysis of reinventing, for you. Consider all aspects of your being: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. This isn’t the whole picture, but it can give you some good information that you may not have been aware of before now. Food for thought.
• Insight: What’s your tipping point? How will you know when it is time to reinvent?

Feel free to share your tipping point, your costs, and your benefits with other reinventers. We can all learn from each other, be inspired by each other, and support each other. Just click on the Add a Comment link.

Filed under: Being a Reinventer on February 7th, 2007