When do we know it’s time to reinvent ourselves, to move on to another adventure or challenge?

For me, it was sometime in my 40’s. At that point my son was in the 8th grade, in a gifted magnet, and he was assigned a project, to create a special Time magazine edition featuring a historical figure. He decided on Leonardo DaVinci. (Full details with photos of his artwork are on my blog, Rev Liz Writings).

I became involved in photographing Leonardo’s work, helping with the layout, editing, etc. It was an “A” project for him, and a wake-up call for me that I needed to be using my time and talent out in the world. My son was individuating, I needed to step up and into a new role. Full time motherhood was not needed; I could begin to focus more on myself.

Being past 40 and receiving negative feedback on a few interviews, I ended up taking a clerical assistant position (which given my education, felt beneath me) at the nearby state university, and from there I moved into a master’s program in counseling at the same school. I was basically working through my mid-life crisis, and I came out the other end with a degree in educational psychology, guidance and counseling, plus a post-master’s certificate in career counseling and development. I worked several years in career development and vocational rehabilitation.

We often need to reinvent ourselves, depending on our stage of life. As we live longer, we may experience a number of reinventions. There’s no point in looking back and obsessing on missed opportunities or poor decisions.

The present is NOW. We can ask: what can I do now, with the resources that I have available? How will the state of my health, my finances, my relationships, my talents and abilities fit into my decisions? Perhaps there is something I always wanted to do in the past, but never pursued due to time and responsibilities. Is now the time to step up and into some new adventure?

Make a list. Exercise your idea muscle, as one of my favorite authors, James Altucher recomends. Perhaps out of a list of 100 possible ideas, one will resonate. And then get going. Be proactive. Develop a plan to implement the idea.

Know that we stand at the point of limitless opportunity; see it and grasp it, and see how our innate creative expression can impact this crazy world we live in. Let our natural dynamism flow. Let’s be Senior Dynamos.