Me and my Son Royal at Javelina Jackass 31k race. We have ran the race together every year for the last 3 years.

When you look in the mirror, do you see the person you want to be? Would you like to wake up every day and see a person that you are proud of? Do you feel excitement for your future? If you are not happy with the person you see in the mirror, or emotionally fulfilled, then it is time for a “Self Reinvention”.

In 2022 I started a reinvention journey and goal setting was an important part of the process of reinventing myself. I shared in my last blog post some tips on setting Fitness goals. I know firsthand that when you are “off track” of being the person you want to be…. the person you should be…. it can feel overwhelming on where to start a self help journey. Following these steps will help get you going in the right direction of living your best life.

I was not happy with myself and it was time to make changes to be who I wanted to be. My transformation started with writing a definition of what I wanted the “new me” to be. Then I created a game plan, set goals, and did the work to reach my goal. I am grateful for every day I have living as this new person. The new habits are now things I look forward to daily. They are the things that define me in a way that I am proud of.

****I will share more personal stuff about my reinvention story later in this post.

For now, I want to hear about your dreams, goals and the person you dream of being.

Maybe you want to:

-Be a better spouse or friend

-Excel at work

-Organize your home

-Become a stylish well dressed person

-Learn how to apply makeup

-Improve skincare routine

Now that I have successfully reached some of my goals & reinvented myself, I have started to choose something new every year to work on and grow as a person. All of the above are included! If you want to hear more about any of them leave a comment for me. I would love to share!

A mantra I have followed through my journey is

“Every day is a good day to start becoming the person you were meant to be”.

1. Ask yourself. What is the new identity you want for youself?

Write this down in a notebook. Be creative, include exactly who you want to be. This is your future. It can be a long or short description. Have fun with it. It makes me happy to think of it as creating an Alter ego. This is the dream person that you want to be! You can adjust this “New Identity” vision through out the year.

Example #1: I want to run long distances, run races, enjoy traveling to beautiful parks and remote locations.

-or-

Example #2: I want to have strong friendships, spend quality time with my family, and feel good with the people that I am around.

-or-

Example #3: I want to wake up every day and love to get dressed in clothing because everything in my closet looks good on me.

2. Write down what you think are the habits of the person you want to become. The person that you are meant to be.

What do you imagine a successful business person does daily? Or a fit athlete? A person that always looks stylish and chic? Write down in your notebook everything the person you are going to become does on a daily or weekly basis.

Example: Runner

Follow a training plan
Fuel body with nourishing foods
Research and learn about places they want to explore

Example: Building strong friendships

Surrounds themselves with quality people with similar interest
Makes time to visit and stay in touch
Tell your friends what they mean to you

Example: Feel Chic & Stylish

Has a well balanced diet
Walks or exercises every day
Is thoughtful & careful in their clothing purchase to buy things that flatter them

3. Redefine what you believe about yourself

What is stopping you from being the person that you have wrote down? Often the culprit is not believing you can be the person you dream of being. Negative self talk is brutal on self esteem. This can stop you from the ability to achieve dreams. In reinventing yourself you are going to stop negative self talk, and start adopting the habits of the person you are meant to be. Do not let old beliefs about yourself, define your future self.

Let’s say your goal is to run a race. What is holding you back from reaching this goal? Is it the way you talk to yourself?

Stop saying things like:

I do not know how to train for a race

I am not very disciplined

I am not an athlete

I am not confident

When working towards reinventing yourself start saying positive things to yourself. Our minds and bodies hear how we speak about ourselves.

Start saying things like:

I am researching race training so I know what needs to be done

I am waking up every day and making changes to be a disciplined person

I am committed to my training and believe it will pay off

I value myself and am learning things that make me feel confident

4. Take action

You have done the work to write out the clear vision of the person you want to become. Start imagining yourself as this person and how good it will feel. It is time to start acting like the person you have described. You are 100% in charge of your actions every day. Stop clinging to the old person that you were, and start doing the things that the new person you are becoming does.

There is nothing you can not do if you set your mind to it. Let’s make those dreams come true!

Personal note- Years ago I found myself needing to lose 50 pounds. That is a task that could have felt overwhelming, and it did until I defined exactly who I wanted to be, and put a plan into place. Becoming the person you are meant to be is not going to happen overnight. Be patient, never give up, keep visualizing the person you described- this is the person you are meant to be.

Example for me. I chose to value my health, lose 50 pounds, and start doing fun adventures and races again. I started with tiny actions

Week one I chose 3 habits that aligned with my future self:

Drink the recommended amount of water daily
Exercise discipline- followed a training plan that was at my true current fitness level Suggestion link
I hired a Nutrition Coach Suggestion link

Once I had these habits established I chose a race that I wanted to run, and I signed up. This was important in keeping me committed. The thought of the race excited me, which made making time for training and healthy food habits essential to me finishing that race. Goal Race Ideas LINK

I promise, there is nothing you can not do if you set your mind to it. You deserve to do this for you! Let’s make those dreams come true!

5. Stay fully committed

Making a change in your life is going to take commitment. This is something that you need to work on regularly. I promise you, it is worth it when you become the person you are meant to be. Here are a few quick tips to help keep you committed and motivated.

Do not make huge changes overnight
Start with tiny small daily actions
Choose 3 habits that align with your future self
Powerful self talk
Stop inner dialog that reinforces our old self
See yourself as a winner
Surround yourself with people that align with the new version of yourself
Put yourself in the environment that align with the person you are becoming
Create a Vision board
Curate a Playlist of upbeat music
Listen to Podcast about people that align with your vision of yourself
Read books that are helpful to your goals

6. Write down where you will be in one year

How will this feel?
What will you do?
How will this change your life?
Where will you go once you conquer this self reinvention?

Personal story

Let the pictures below tell the story of me reinventing myself.

Reinventing myself

Picture #1 This was at the start line of the Hennepin Hundred race that I direct. I was over worked, making poor choices in friendships, and not including time for myself in daily life for me to participate in the sport that I love. I was “okay happy”. I love my family and enjoyed the creativity of Race Directing, but I was not completely living the life that I want to live. This is a picture that I felt I looked good in… thinking more about this…saying I felt I look good is not accurate, I felt I was at least presentable. There are very few pictures of me at this time of my life that I liked. I use the word “liked” because it is past tense. I do not like any of these pictures now. Even with how good I feel now, it is hard for me to share these pictures of me at my lowest points.

Pictures 2 & 3

This is me after years of working on becoming the person I dreamt of. The person that I worked hard to become. The person that I was meant to be. My true self. I now run races on some of my favorite race courses, I wake up and put on makeup and nice clothes, I go on outdoor adventures, and I still very much enjoy Race Directing events for Ornery Mule Racing. I have found a way to juggle all of this. I will make an intentional effort to protect my “current self” for the the rest of my life. I want to be the person in picture number 2 & 3. I do not want to be the person in picture number 1.

Please stay in touch, I want to hear about you becoming the person you are meant to be! Leave me comments on any other subjects that would be helpful to you.