The resilience to reinvent oneself over and over again

I had a catch up with my mentor a few days ago, and she helped me realize something: In our lives, we are constantly reinventing ourselves.

We grow, we die many times, and we evolve. I read a quote from Brazilian poet, Fernando Samalot, that resonated:

I had it all wrong

It was never about going back

to a better time

or a better who you used to be

It’s about starting again

again

and again

a thousand times if you need to

however many times it takes

to shed all the versions of you

who had to die

and become soil

for you to grow

for you to see

for you to remember

for you to finally come home

to me.

to you.

to us.

to love.

My mentor and I were discussing how we are constantly reinventing ourselves professionally. For instance, from college graduate, to young professional, to mother, to new career/re-entering the work force, or redundancy. When we go from professional to mother, many women have to reinvent themselves. And in one way, they are mourning the death of their old selves. For example, when taking maternity leave, they are mourning the loss of one identity. The freedom that they had, the colleagues and friends they had at work, the environment they were in. When, and if they choose to renter the work force, it may be to a different job, career, or if the same, they are no longer the same person as when they left. It takes resilience to be able to transform, again and again. To rediscover our old selves in new environments and to evolve so that we are the same, yet different. Better, wiser, humbler, and able to be more stoic about life’s ups and downs.

For me, I reinvented myself professionally from working in international development to high end jewellery, and then entrepreneur. In the midst of this journey, I went from single, to married, to leaving an unhealthy relationship, divorced, and single again. I have had to reinvent myself through all of these different phases. I continue to die many times, and each time, it is soil, richness that helps me grow. As I contemplate my path and next steps, both professionally and personally, I am reminded that like you, I have reinvented myself many times; this time is no different. It doesn’t make it any easier or less scary, but it’s comforting to know we have done it before and are capable to doing it many times more. It will never end until we come to the end of our lives, because life is about the journey, not the destination.

This blog is to acknowledge that we are all incredibly resilient. We are constantly reinventing ourselves, dying and growing. Creating the soil we need, with nutrients and love, so that we can continue to evolve to higher and better versions of our selves.