I visited with an old friend the other day, someone I hadn’t seen in a long while. What struck me, aside from the joy of catching up, was how wonderful she looks, how upbeat she is, and how easily she laughs. Despite her share of personal and professional challenges she moves through life with spirit and grace. She’s not about yesterday, she’s about tomorrow. Her demeanor, sparkle, and interest in possibilities provide the inspiration for today’s post.

If you’re about as exciting as last year’s news, reinvent yourself. Coming soon to a company near you… a re-energized employee who wants to learn, to lead, to create and invigorate those with whom she works and for whom she serves.

Refresh yourself. Look at your work and your work place from the perspective of a new employee who wants to make a difference and believes that she can. Become someone who sees challenge as positive, opinions worth weighing, and teams worth joining.

Reinvest yourself. Do more of what you do best and less and less of what you do least well. Apply a positive attitude to an already competent aptitude. Give direction where it’s needed, credit where it’s due, and forgiveness when it’s the best of lesser options.

Why bother? A little reinvention can go a long way in securing your job, your self respect, and your confidence. If you are as you’ve always been, with the same perceptions, perspectives, and predispositions, you may be too predictable, and as a result, invisible.

“Sarah working overtime? That’s nothing new. She always works overtime.”

“Tom’s complaining about production? Tom always complains about production.”

What’s new with you?