Anniversary Opportunities- Thanks to Archie

As the 70th anniversary of Archie comics came into sight, its creators decided to celebrate with a new story line. Archie takes a walk down Memory Lane and encounters a fork in the road. He chooses the left path, which allows him to see his future with the rich and worldly Veronica. In a subsequent issue, Archie returns to Riverdale High and envisions a future with Betty, the girl next door. Archie would now choose one and (gasp!) get married.

This milestone story energized readers and sales. (Be looking for a movie or a new animated series, as well as best-of volumes of collected work.) Writer Michael Uslan and illustrator Stan Goldberg re-activated their fan base with a story arc all about choices and consequences. And isn’t this theme perfect for the Silver Vixen demographic?

I am thrilled at this reinvention of Archie. It points to the endlessly creative human mind that can be inspired to rework old ideas. You can gain similar inspiration by taking advantage of a significant date on your calendar. Coming up with new directions for your personal expression is as simple as celebrating an anniversary.

What anniversary is coming up in your life? The opening day (or closing day) of your business? Your retirement? A high school reunion? (My 50th is looming.) The first day you began painting, selling, teaching, ___________? You fill in your landmark event here. Whatever the meaningful event, it is an opportunity to review, reflect, and re-set your goals.

Review- Start by taking a walk down Memory Lane. Recall the fun, the disappointments, the highly charged frantic work pace, the successes. You might want to review your old date books or diary to jog some details into the forefront of your mind. I like to make lists, so my list would have two headings: great and not so great. On the plus side: creating curriculum materials, lesson plans, and designing teacher-training programs. On the negative side: endless meetings, stressful parent-teacher conferences, and on-going school activities that required a sixty-hour workweek.

Reflect- Like Archie walking on Memory Lane, you come to a fork in the road. One road goes to the choices you have made. The other… well, where does it go? Use your imagination to consider what else might have happened. Instead of earning that teaching credential, I might have gone to art school. I would have become a decorator or a graphics designer or the next Mary Cassatt. By choosing the education path, my love of art didn’t find expression. But that love never went away!

Re-set your goals- Those paths not taken, and perhaps regretted, point you towards interests that can now be formulated into new goals. Why not learn that foreign language that intrigued you in earlier years? Still love the theater? Go ahead and take acting or improv lessons. For me, having been away from school life for over ten years, I’m not interested in retraveling that path. My creativity has found expression in painting, so my next goal will be to take painting in a new direction, perhaps oils.

The new theme in the Archie comics became a game-changer for the comic series. On a significant anniversary, they re-activated their fan base with a story arc all about choices and consequences. Their timing was right for those of us who grew up laughing at Jughead, Archie, and their pals. Like Archie and its creators, we are ripe for a stroll down Memory Lane and taking a look at the choices and consequences we have made in the past and could make in the future. When we do that, we can be re-energized to develop new and very meaningful goals for personal expression. Thanks, Archie!

Mary Lou Johns is a certified Life Coach. She works with creative people to build their business, unblock their genius, and experience work/leisure balance. She expresses creatively through watercolor, knitting, and writing. She can be reached at: MaryLou@BlueSkyCoaching.com