Seasons Change

It always surprises me when we are weeks into December, the weather begins to get very cold, we are all anticipating snow, and yet; it is still FALL. In the Midwest the seasonal shift between Fall and Winter is one of those weird in-betweens when we aren’t sure yet which wardrobe to have readily available in the closet or weather we should take our coat as we leave the house. This seems quite representative of life seasons doesn’t it? Those times of life where you are: raising a tween, in your first year of a new job, in the last year of your career, ending or starting-up a new relationship, finding the balance at that particular moment of life between work, family, friends, etc. These transitional seasons can be really hard if you dislike change or are unsure about what is on the horizon for the season to follow. They can be just as hard if there is nothing particularly difficulty occuring but rather life has become mundane and monotonous.  Seasons will change whether we are prepared or not.  Choosing to position ourselves towards thriving makes each season not only more bearable but more beneficial.  Over the next few days I am going to share a few tips for how to transition through seasons of life like a rock-star.  Let’s do this!

1. Find Your Word-

Whether we know it or not we are often operating our lives by a theme word mantra. Your mantra right now may be: “busy”, “rushed”, “driven”, “overwhelmed”, “lost”, or it could be “peace”. Take a minute to consider what you often tell people when they ask how you have been doing. Is that representative of most days in the past month or two? Has that been your word? Consider your inner dialogue. What have you said to yourself most recently? Is that your word?

We can operate haphazardly or intentionally. When I think of living a haphazard life I often think of the Pretty Woman scene where Vivian (Julia Roberts) says “I would say I’m a kinda fly by the seat of my pants gal, you know, moment to moment, that’s me.”. That really wasn’t Vivian as we know but it was who she was being at the time from her perception. Her word was “fly by the seat of the pants”. She wasn’t really being intentional with that though. If we want to navigate the often winding streets of life we must be intentional with the directions we take.

So, I recommend you consider where you want to be 1 month from now. If you have a particular goal you are working towards include that. If not, one month from now what would be a great day for you? Okay, now think of a word that represents that. It can be a phrase if you need but keep it short and simple. For this season, focus on that word in whatever you do. My word currently is resilience. When I take steps backward from goals I am currently working on I remember that I am resilient. I may fall down but I bounce right back. I do not stay on the ground. This season of life for me is aimed at RESILIENCE. What is your word for this season?  Choose the route you will take through this season by choosing the word that will guide you and keep you on course.

Taking the Next Step: 

To take this tip further, share your word with a close friend and ask them to help you stay accountable to your word throughout this season.  You can also create self-reminders of your word by saving it to the lock-screen on your phone,  writing it on index cards and posting them in prominent places where you will see them daily, and by writing your word in your journal daily as a physical reminder of the intention you have set.  Try these for one month and note the outcomes.  When we do more of what works we get more of what works.