Understanding the seasons of life
Seasons are normal to most people’s lives
Unless you live on the equator where the temperature remains about the same all year round, you will understand the natural rhythm of seasons – spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each season has characteristics that are reasonably predictable. E.g., summer is holidays, autumn is harvesting time and when the leaves change colour, spring is about new beginnings after the ‘death’ of winter.
We also refer to the various stages of a human lifecycle as seasons – baby, child, pre-teen, teenager, young adult, adult, middle aged, retired, elderly. These are all seasons of life with their own characteristics. They are times in our lives and there are appropriate activities associated with each.
Understanding the season you are in is crucial to living a happy life.
If you are a married couple with pre-school children, there are activities appropriate for that season. There are unique pressures to handle. It is important to live a life that has some structure that helps a young child feel secure. If you try to fight against the season and make life too busy by doing too many things outside the home, then young children will often become anxious and the pressure on a young couple will multiply. If both the mother and the father want to pursue their careers and outsource the role of nurturing their children, then there will be consequences to that.
If you are in the early stages of building a business and demand that the business provide a financial return to you too quickly, it can hurt the longevity of the business.
If you have been in a role for many years, there comes a time when it is appropriate to move from actively doing the hands-on work, to start to mentor those around you. That way everyone benefits. Those who share their experience and have a heart to invest in younger people are invaluable to their organisation. Unfortunately, older employees and business owners can feel unappreciated and threatened rather than valued as they age. If we understood the seasons, we would all be better at making this happen, and everyone would benefit.
Knowing the season you are in enables perspective.
There are many seasons in life. Every season requires fresh vision. You need to know clearly who you are and what it is you want to achieve in this season. Some seasons will be all about establishing your business and weath creation. Others will be more about seeing your children to independent young adults. There will be times you need to invest in your own growth and development. Other seasons will be about giving back and making a difference.
It makes a huge difference if you have clear vision for the season you are now in. If passion has dropped and you feel like you are going through the motions, it is likely a signal that you need to take some time out to renew perspective and refresh your vision.
In your working life there will be many seasons
Our adult working life is more than one season. Even if you stay in the same role for 25 years, you will go through several seasons. Every 5 – 7 years, and sometimes sooner, you need to re-envision your business and your life. E.g. I remember when my girls were 5, 7 and 10. Finally they were all at school. My wife and I began to realise that we only had another 8 years before the eldest would be heading to uni or starting a career and possibly leaving home. It changed our vision. Up til then we had been totally focused on establishing the work we were doing, and just making it through as a family with young children. Now we became determined to put aside some extra money to have some great holidays and life experiences together.
This kind of reenvisioning needs to happen in businesses and in careers. Sometimes it will lead to a change of job, career or even city. Often just a change of emphasis and adjustment of direction while you stay in the same role, makes all the difference. It allows you to be refreshed and clear headed for a new season.
Post-pandemic is an important time to re-envision your life
I have noticed this year that a lot of business owners are needing to re-envision their world. The last 3 years of pandemic dominated disruption have been exhausting, and for many more about survival than pursuing vision. A lot has changed around us. New technologies are kicking in. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is suddenly in everyone’s view. The world feels different and people’s aspirations have shifted. Demographers are working hard to understand these shifts.
It is important that you and I do the work on ourselves to make sure we know who we want to be and what we want to achieve in this season.
An experienced mentor can help you clarify vision.
I find that business owners can be unsure about the season they are in. They often cannot articulate their vision clearly. They can usually tell me what they do not want. But the human brain needs the positive. It cannot process vision in a negative way. I.e., If you focus on what you do not want, you tend to get it.
I enjoy helping businesspeople do this important work on themselves. To know their season and clarify their vision. Once vision is clarified and able to be articulated clearly it is much easier to develop a workable strategic plan. It is also much easier for the people on your team to catch your vision and find their part in helping bring it to reality.
If you would like to talk more about what season you are in and your vision for your business and your life, please book a call with me here. I am happy to invest 30 minutes with you to understand your situation and help you towards some effective next steps.
Don’t delay
If you do not have clear vision for this season in your business or for your life, do not wait another day. An old proverb wisely says, “Without vision people live carelessly”. Foggy vision is dangerous. Don’t wait any longer. Let me help you re-envision your world and get your focus and your energy restored.
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Over the years I’ve written many articles about life and the seasons in it! Here are a few of my favourites to help you integrate your work into all other parts of your life.