I’ve been in hermit mode for the past few weeks. I’m sorting and packing, deciding what to sell, to gift, to toss, and what few things to keep. This is the process of reinvention in motion. A lifestyle change. A big lifestyle change.

I sold the sweet little bungalow I’ve lived in for the past 10 years. I love it, but life is taking me in another direction. I’m following a deep yearning to live a nomadic life for a while.
 
Reinventing yourself, your life, a business…or anything else is a process. If you’ve ever renovated a house or a room, you know. Everything has to come out before something new goes in. Sometimes we’re pushed into reinvention and other times we may choose it – either way, it’s a process. 

I’ve emptied closets and cupboards in every room and put it all out into the open – on the floor in the middle of the room where I can see and question everything. Imagine putting your whole life in front of you…then taking only those things that will serve the life you want to live now? 
 
The whole idea of reinvention might seem crazy to you, but to me, it’s a necessary part of life and this journey I’m on. We are meant to grow, change, and evolve, and it’s impossible to reinvent yourself when you’re holding firmly to who you’ve been. 
 
I’m looking at  books and baskets, small appliances, blankets, serving dishes and glasses, a hole punch, a hammer, a ladder, and lamps (and so much more…(eye-roll))

As I touch each one, I am truly grateful. I live an abundant life. I wonder why I ever bought some of these things like the springform pan I’ve used 3 times in 15 years. These are easy to release. Others, however, feel like old friends and that takes me into deeper inquiry. “Who am I now? Does this serve the life I want to live”?
 
It’s the same thing with beliefs and stories that have shaped me and my life. The things I think I can’t do, should do, shouldn’t do, have to do. 

When I first started this process I was looking for an apartment to rent in the interim while I ventured into RV living. I could feel resistance to this idea; I wasn’t all in on it. I asked myself what that was about. Why did I think I needed an apartment? Why not just get the RV? 

I realized the part of me that thought she wanted an apartment was looking for security in a home base. But that’s not what I truly wanted. I know my sense of security comes from inside myself – the idea of having a home base was just one more thing I was holding onto just in case. 
 
Here, in hermit mode, I am quietly present to the process, to what I’m feeling, to shedding things, beliefs, and stories about who I have been. I give myself time, space, and silence in which to do this – it’s important work. So much of what we collect is unconscious – things and beliefs. I suspect you have a thing or two (or 20) in your home that seemed important when you got it but really isn’t. 

It’s okay to slow down and just be. Once you stop rushing through life, you’ll be amazed at what you actually have time for.

Elaine Blais

I am quiet, but not idle. I continue to work, coach, and connect but on a limited basis so I can slow down and give myself the time and space to question everything as I decide what to take with me – and that includes beliefs about myself, my life, and who I am becoming. I put it all on the table to be examined with love, curiosity, and appreciation.
 
Even though I don’t have an RV yet, this reinvention adventure began the moment I decided and said yes to it. That’s how it works. You say yes to creating something new and the journey begins – one step, one decision, one belief at a time because the adventure isn’t so much about getting anywhere as it is about who you become along the way.

Is there a change you want to make in your life?

However big or small, I invite you to slow down and consider what stories, beliefs, ideas, or things you’re holding onto for someday or just in case that truly no longer serve who want to be. What are you NOT doing or being as a result? 
 
Who would you be without your story?