#7: Reinvention.
If you wish to reinvent yourself, focus on what you want not on what you fear.
After leaving behind my corporate career to be more available for my young family, I desperately wanted to embrace my new role as a stay at home mom. I tried (and failed) to fall in love with library story time and toddler music classes. The truth is the monotony of long days spent in the company of my small kids left me longing for something more.
More than anything I craved my independence, I wanted and desperately needed time and space to think and work and create independent of my kids. I felt a massive tug to do something (read: anything) to support other mothers in navigating career transitions and pursing work, not in spite of but because of their kids. But I was terrified to step into this new purpose for fear that I might fail.
Long before I found the courage to pursue entrepreneurship in the midst of motherhood, I went in search of other women who had reinvented themselves. It was their stories that gave me permission to rewrite my own story and to reinvent myself in the midst of motherhood. Without them I never would’ve found the courage to begin walking in the direction of my dreams.
Those conversations began 5 years ago and haven’t stopped, I am endlessly curious about the process of reinvention and despite my best attempts I find myself once again in the process myself. After leaving behind my corporate career I needed to reinvent myself as a stay at home mom, when that wasn’t a good fit I had to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur and when that business ultimately fell apart, I had to reinvent myself once more.
I have learned, mostly through trial and error that you can reinvent yourself as often as you want (or need) and that each attempt takes you one step closer to who you are meant to be. Who do you want to be?! Who is currently doing the thing that you want to be doing?! What can you learn from them?!