Seasonal Transitions Aren’t Just for Trees
When I think about changing seasons, I almost always imagine trees. Deciduous (aka “leafy”) trees are such clear examples of what it means to live through different seasons, remaining alive, yet expressing themselves very differently in each of those seasons. The bright green of new growth in spring… The full shady canopy in summer… The explosion of color followed by the drying and shriveling in autumn… The quiet strength in winter. Each season is unique, yet the tree is still the same tree through it all.
Trees aren’t the only living beings who go through seasons. We do too. Some examples:
Expanding your family through marriage or a new child
Shifting to an empty nest after launching all of your children
Coping during and after a divorce or loss of a loved one
Reorienting after losing a job or moving into retirement
Navigating a change of home, job, career, or lifestyle
Managing a serious health problem
Serving as a caregiver to a loved one
This list could be longer, but I think you get the point.
At any time in our lives, we may be living through a seasonal transition: a significant, transformative period in life characterized by distinct changes or shifts in various priorities in our lives. These may bring about substantial shifts in our thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions, leading to uncertainty or instability.
Living through seasonal transitions impacts how we navigate our day-to-day lives, and also has implications for larger questions in our lives. We’ll touch on both here.
Day-to-Day
If you’re in the midst of a significant seasonal transition right now, you’re likely feeling the “pain” most acutely in your productivity and how you steward your time.
Even when the change we’re experiencing is a good one or a desired one, change slows us down. Our brains need time to process all the new things, and our emotions have their own timeline for bubbling up and expressing themselves. We’ll likely need to reset our expectations of what we can accomplish in a given period and perhaps revise our understanding of our own needs during this time.
Some practical tips to consider:
Fewer projects: “Projects” aren’t just work tasks; projects can be anything in our lives that we want to accomplish. And while completing projects can help us feel a valuable sense of accomplishment, during the acute seasonal transition, we might need to be very conservative about the quantity and scale of the projects we can accomplish in a short time.
More margin: How much “margin” (aka “white space”) do you need right now on a daily or weekly basis? We each have a different threshold of “scheduled stuff” that feels good for us. But we do well to remember that during significant seasonal transitions, we might need more white space than we usually do to manage our stress.
Take focus challenges seriously: Consider this question: “What feels more life-giving to you right now – longer blocks of time to work on projects, or smaller?” During the transition, our ability to focus changes. It often decreases. What’s the best way for you to manage that? Is it to give yourself longer blocks of time to do a project, to account for difficulties concentrating? Or does it work better for you to create shorter “project blocks,” and allow yourself to change focus more often? There’s no right answer; there’s simply your answer.
More self-care and soul care: When we’re in the midst of a significant seasonal transition, self-care and soul care become more important than ever. But we need to plan them into our days and schedules, otherwise, they’ll be easy to overlook. Consider the routines you’ve had around self-care. During this season, do you need to push to maintain those routines or do you need to modify them? We might find that shorter, more frequent blocks of time for self-care work better during some seasons than longer blocks.
More time with life-giving people: We are created to be in relationships with others, and especially as we navigate transitions, it’s important to stay connected with those who fill us. It’s worth taking the time to consider: Who are the people in your life who bring you the most life or soothe your aches the best? It’s ok if they aren’t “the usual suspects.” When I was walking through some intense grief a few years back, I reached out regularly to a friend with whom I had a strong connection, but who was not a friend I interacted with regularly. I just knew that she was the one who could walk with me best, and I permitted myself to choose her as a partner during that season.
Larger Questions: Self-Identity
Seasonal transitions tend to be defining experiences in our lives. They often change the trajectory of our lives. And in doing so, they impact the core of who we are. As a result, after one or more significant seasonal transitions, we may find ourselves uncertain about our self-identity.
In short, seasonal transitions may prompt the question, “Who am I now?”
Maybe you’ve had this experience… You knew who you were at one point. You had clarity about your needs, values, gifts, and interests. But life changed. Priorities changed. You changed. And while parts of you remain the same, you’re a living being who is growing and changing, and so it can be easy to live through several seasonal transitions and then find yourself a bit adrift.
This happened to me when I lost my job 4 years ago. As I discerned a new professional path, I also needed to re-discover who I was. A full description of that process and what I found would take up several blogs-worth of content, but the most important thing I’d like to share here was the value of doing the work.
I knew myself well. But it turned out that I’d grown and changed quite a bit over the decades, and there were new developments to integrate. I also discovered that some aspects of my personality weren’t new but felt new to me. It turned out that as I’d matured, I had developed the awareness to see them more clearly.
Thank goodness that I’d chosen life coaching as my professional path, so “doing the work” of self-discovery was part and parcel of moving into that profession. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to do a “life refresh.” I hadn’t realized how much I needed it, and I see now how much more joy, energy, and purpose I unlocked by doing that work.
But what about you?
When was the last time you refreshed your life?
When did you last really clarify your specific needs in life or your core values? When did you recently deeply consider your unique strengths and the purpose they equip you for? How long has it been since you re-examined your life and created focus on your key priorities?
If you’ve lived through a significant seasonal transition, and you’re feeling like you’re not quite sure who you are anymore, I want to assure you that:
It’s pretty normal, and you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just part of the growing and living process.
You’re not alone.
You’re not doomed to that uncertainty forever. You can “find yourself” again.
An invitation to “find yourself again”
Luckily, I chose life coaching as my path, so now I get the honor of helping other people experience a “life refresh.” And I want to extend this special invitation to you.
I’ve put my background, skills, and training to good use and created a program that empowers you with clarity and focus about who you are and how you want to live. I can guide you step-by-step as you build that vision into your life today – and every day after.
It’s called Real Life Refresh, and enrollment’s now open. But it won’t be open much longer, so now’s the time to make a choice. Do you want to take some steps to “refresh” who you are and start moving forward in a purposeful way? Or do you want to keep meandering in uncertainty? The choice is yours, but you only have until Thursday, March 7, 2024 to decide.
Seasonal transitions can create uncertainty and instability in our lives. They can also be the catalyst that propels us to take action to re-discover our sense of self. What would that make possible for you?
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