Reinventing Myself

I was reading a book the other day...yes...actually I read an entire book...all 127 pages...even the credits...(and I thought I would not read a book again until I was retired...nonsense)and I read it in 30 minutes...I could not put it down...I wish all books were as easy to read as this one...it was called "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be"...the book was authored by Paul Arden, a creative genius who had worked at the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency for many years...this little book captured my 49 year old attention span...it struck at my heart strings...being the creative person I am and have always wanted to be...I should have had a career in advertising...wonder where I would be now if I had pursued a career in advertising?

I especially liked Arden's words on creativity..."Creativity is imagination, and imagination is for everyone," he says...and he provided a wheel to help me understand my life's creative circle...I read through each age group in the circle...and thought about my life's creative circle...

Age 0 - 1 -- Nothing (nope, I was nothing from mid 1957 until that fateful day of January 8, 1958 when I was born...born into my creative circle.)

Age 1 - 3 -- Minimalism (I think I must have shown signs of creativity at an early age...will have to ask my mom about my pre-school days...although I don't think I ever went to pre-school...there were no pre-schools back in the late 50s and early 60s...I think my mom likely gave me a few Crayola crayons to draw with...I loved Crayola crayons...loved to get a new box of pointy crayons.)

Age 3 - 5 -- Fantasy (I always played dress up...dressed up in my mom's pointy shoes...dressed up in my mom's clothes...liked to dress up with her costume jewelry and pretend I was a fancy lady.)

Age 5 - 10 -- The Beginnings of Copying (I did copy pictures from magazines...and I liked to draw...even if I wasn't very good at it...I would make collages from all the magazines we had around the house.)

Age 10 - 15 -- Art Becomes Grown Up (I think this was the age when I started to sew and make real clothing...this may have been the age when I decided I was going to be a famous designer...which never came to fruition.)

Age 15 - 20 -- A Need to Change the World (Yep, that was me...I was going to change the world...no wonder I went to work on the McGovern presidential campaign.)

Age 20 - 25 -- Beginnings of Political Awareness (No wonder why I stopped working on the McGovern presidential campaign...or any political campaigns.)

Age 25 - 30 -- Maturity (Yep, I was maturing...I got married at 25...I had my first kid at 28...that sent me into rapid maturity...nothing like becoming a parent to send a person into rapid maturity...being responsible for another human being...buying a house - I wasn't totally mature...I only bought a townhouse...I bought the entire house later in life.)

Age 30 - 40 -- Hell Bent On Success (Yep, that was me in my 30s...I was "hell bent on success"...I was heading up the corporate ladder...climbing my way to the top...I didn't get all the way to the top...but I was still determined to do it with two kids...and a husband...and a house...I was on auto-pilot...it was full speed ahead.)

Age 40 - 45 -- Repeating Success (I was on auto-pilot...hard working...persevering...full speed ahead...that was me...climbing my way to the top.)

Age 45 - 50 -- Trying to Keep Up With the 25-Year Olds (That's me...I went on the treadmill the other day and I just could not keep up...no more running for me...but how do I walk fast and keep up with the 25-Year Olds who are running?)

Age 50 -- The Watershed (Yes, Arden is right...I'm going to hit the "watershed" soon..."the parting" or "divide" as it says in the dictionary...wonder what life will be like after I hit this divide...what new ventures will I have...what new people will I meet...how will my life change...how will I change...what will I change???)

According to Arden's "Life's Creative Circle" aged 50 - 60 is titled "Reinventing Yourself"...I really...really...really, really...really like the sound of those words...that's what I want to do...RE-IN-VENT MY-SELF...my WHOLE SELF...wonder who I'll become...think I'll bring back some of that creativity that's been brewing inside me all these years...it's time to crank up the gears...get those rusty parts moving that have been dormant...it's time for a complete REINVENTION.

Judi

P.S. - Arden's "Life's Creative Circle" did not end at 60...the rest of the years were too far out...but here's what I have to look forward to:

60 - 75 A Gentle Decline Into Senility (See why I stopped focusing after the first half of the circle?)

75 - 85 Youth Regained (So I'll have about 15 years of senility and then I'll get my youth back.)

85 - 100 Inhibitions Lost, Don't Give A Damn, Me, Me, Me (Life's sure like a circle...it's back to being a teenager again at 85+.)