Keep Treading Water
You’re always becoming.
A framework from The Reinventor’s Mindset™ by Ashton Jones
What is Keep Treading Water?
This is the ninth and final framework inside The Reinventor’s Mindset. It addresses the moment after the finish line - and argues that transformation doesn’t have one.
You wake up one day having done the thing. Become the person. But the finish line you crossed has already moved. That’s not failure. That’s the design.
The Stoics had memento mori - the reminder of mortality that sharpens every day. The Buddhists call it samsara - the endless cycle of becoming. Different traditions. Same truth.
Identity is not fixed. Hold it lightly. The person you’re becoming is still taking shape. So is the person you were.
The Insight
Transformation doesn’t have a finish line. The practice of reinvention is the life itself.
The Unfinished Self
You’re never trapped in who you were. Every identity is provisional. Every chapter is a draft. The person you’re becoming is still taking shape. So is the person you were.
The Question
“What are you still transforming?”
Why it matters?
Every identity is provisional. Every chapter is a draft.
The conditions that created the need for transformation keep changing. The organisation evolves. The market shifts. You grow. What got you here genuinely won’t get you there - and that’s liberating, not exhausting.
The Stoics had memento mori. The Buddhists call it samsara. Different traditions. Same truth. Identity is not fixed. Hold it lightly.
How do you apply Keep Treading Water?
Write down one transformation you thought was complete. What happened after the finish line? Where are you holding your identity too tightly? What version of yourself are you defending that no longer serves you?
Name one identity you’re ready to release. The naming is the beginning.
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FAQ
01.
Is Keep Treading Water saying you can never be satisfied?
No. It’s saying satisfaction and transformation aren’t opposites. You can be deeply content with where you are and still be becoming something new. The framework rejects the idea that arrival is the goal. The practice of reinvention - the treading water - is the life itself.
02.
What are the nine frameworks of The Reinventor’s Mindset?
The nine frameworks are: (1) Commit Before You’re Capable, (2) Become By Doing, (3) Cold Clarifies, (4) Find the Current, (5) Pay the Price, (6) Radical Ideas Demand Speed, (7) Prune the Tree, (8) Lessons Live in the Landing, and (9) Keep Treading Water. They are organised across three parts: Self, System, and Self in System.
Ashton Jones
Transformation is a learnable skill, not a personality trait. I build new things inside systems designed to stay the same – and I teach others to do the same.
Copyright: © 2026 Ashton Jones. All rights reserved.
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