Invent Yourself Then Reinvent Yourself

The concept of the New Year's resolution has never really appealed to me.  The few times I did make any they were trivial in nature and ultimately failed precisely because of their triviality.  Resolving to quit smoking or lose ten pounds or be nicer to people starting the first of January are fine goals in themselves, but they never carried enough gravitas for me to treat them seriously and incorporate them into the fabric of my existence in any real or meaningful way.  Simply put, when it comes to change, that's not the way I roll.  

For me, change is not, and has never been about a small adjustment or a minor improvement.  I don't care much for baby steps or tweaking or tuning or fiddling.  I have never experienced change as a minute effort to improve tiny things within myself to push myself closer to some notion of personal perfection, but rather as a monumental effort to reinvent major aspects of my life to push myself closer to some notion of rebirth.  If I put my mind to change, I'm not interested in making a better me, I'm interested in creating an entirely different me altogether.  This is the inflection point in which I find myself now.  After considerable thought and rumination, I have come to the realization that the time has come (or perhaps that time is long overdue) for me to reinvent myself once again.  Fully.  Completely.  

Interestingly, as this realization began to dawn on me over the past few months I happened to stumble across a poem "No Leaders, Please" by one of my  favorite poets, Charles Bukowski.  The poem has since become a source of inspiration for me in my need to reinvent myself.  Having said that, I think the poem can be an inspiration to anyone regardless of whether they are contemplating any changes or not.  If nothing else, it serves as a simple yet forceful reminder of the innate power within us all to create more sincere and meaningful lives for ourselves while we still can.


"No Leaders Please" - by Charles Bukowski 

invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
don’t swim in the same slough.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself
and
stay out of the clutches of mediocrity.

invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
change your tone and shape so often that they can
never
categorize you.

reinvigorate yourself and
accept what is
but only on the terms that you have invented 
and reinvented.

be self-taught.

and reinvent your life because you must;
it is your life and
its history
and the present
belong only to 

you.