Just as products and companies need updating to stay fresh and vibrant, individuals can benefit from refreshing or reinventing themselves occasionally.
Rebranding is about changing an image or looking at something in a new way. Rebranding yourself is less about how others perceive you and much more about who you want to be and how you want to feel about yourself.
So, how do you know when it is time to reinvent yourself? You might find yourself at a transition point in life where you feel stuck, restless, unfulfilled or out of balance. You might be feeling “there has to be more to life than this.”
Perhaps you can no longer find joy in life or have lost your passion for your work. You might have lost a job or a relationship unexpectedly and feel lost with an uncertain future. A health crisis might have hit you without warning and forced you to confront your mortality.
Times like these can shake the ground under your feet, but once the shaking has stopped it might be time to do a life audit and get yourself pointed in a new direction.
A life audit requires taking an honest look at where you have been, who and where you are today, who and where you want to be in the future.
You can audit a specific area of your life such as your career, relationships, lifestyle, health, finances or family. Or, you can take a deep look at your overall well-being, which can lead to creating the future you really want. As the old saying goes, “It doesn’t matter how fast you climb the ladder if the ladder is leaning against the wrong building.”
So here are five questions to ask yourself to get started on a life audit.
• Who am I today?
• What are my core values and does my life reflect those values?
• What excites me and where is my greatest passion?
• If there were no limits, boundaries, responsibilities or obstacles standing in my way, how would I be living my life today?
• How can I use my passion and talents to serve others and a world in need?
It is not easy to look at yourself objectively and examining your life so honestly can take you on an emotional journey. You might find it beneficial to have a trusted friend, counselor or life coach available to help you see your strengths and opportunities realistically.
Whatever life events lead you to review where you are in life and who you want to be in the future, remember that it is never too late to reinvent yourself.