Your days begins with the unwelcome screech of the alarm clock (in my case it’s a chirpy sounding melody on my phone). You struggle to prop one eye open, and then the next. You consider hitting the Snooze button – perhaps on some days you give in and give yourself ten more minutes dozing. You struggle out of bed and into some form of life for the next 16 hours. You then crash back into bed again and mentally tick one more day of breathing off your quota. If this sounds like you, then it’s time to have a leap of faith.

No, I’m not talking anything religious here. You might already have faith in some higher being. But, what you really need to have faith in is you.

My life fell apart in late 2012, as a result of a mix of my own stupidity, and some callous actions by others. I struggled through 2013 and into 2014 in a terrible state, both mentally and physically. If you look at my post How Life Coaching Changed My Life Forever, you can see how I aged and let my physical appearance deteriorate.

But, as that post described, I was lucky to meet Larry, and as a result began my process of reinvention.

However, reinvention can at times be a slow and daunting journey. I know I will get there, but I still have a long way to go yet, before I can call myself a success. One of the reasons for this is my own self-doubt and negativity. One thing I often lack is faith in myself.

You may wonder why I consider myself capable of giving advice on this website when I have yet to go through the full reinvention process myself. My answer is that I have at least travelled part of the journey, and I am still travelling it. I have learned from my reinvention experiences so far and can help others along that same trail. As my journey extends, so can the help and advice I can give my fellow life travellers.

One of the first things I did as part of my own life coaching was to set up a website which I called A True Survivor. That name reflected my position at that time. I had broken through the barriers of the dim, dark and foreboding days, a time when I had tried to kill myself and a good friend had to physically stop me. I was now determined to survive and rebuild.

I haven’t touched A True Survivor in some time, and indeed I am about to shut it down (hence I haven’t linked to the site in this post). It time to move onto the next step in my reinvention.

I have survived. But there is no point in treading water. I still seem to be surrounded by the makings of a soap opera, but as Larry says to me, I need to have a leap of faith. I have to believe in myself to move forwards, beyond day-by-day survival. I need to have a leap of faith that I can begin thriving.

Yes, I still have short-term issues to sort out. Finding somewhere to live, as the house I rent has just been sold, would make a good starting point. But I feel certain that things will work out. My leap of faith tells me that there is only one way to go, and that is forwards.

So keep your eye on The Reinvention Men over the next year or two, as I move from being a true survivor to a true thriver. As I move forward, I will have more to write about, more tips to give, and more advice I am able to share, using my life experiences.

photo credit: kt.beyondperception Icarus via photopin (license)