Don't Act Like Summer When It's Winter

Don't act like summer when it's winter.

Heads-up: If you jumped into 2024 full throttle, resolutions and word of the year locked in, vision boards and calendars created, ready to absolutely slay the year, this email might not land with you. I hope you will read it anyway. For the rest of us still wondering what day it is, read on...

It's winter. It technically hasn't been winter for even a month yet.

So why are we starting the new year with high energy summer vibes? You know what I'm talking about ... The "seize the day", "new year, new you", "go go go" energy ... why are we pushing toward summer?

Winter is a season for going within. Nature teaches us this through trees, among other things. In order for trees to withstand the rains of spring, the punishing thunderstorms of summer, and the transition season of letting go in the fall, their roots must be strong.  Winter is when roots are built.

For the trees, winter is a season of gentle growth, of tending to places that need to be strengthened, of replenishing its core to be prepared for the seasons ahead. This is part of the cycle. It has as much worth and value as the new buds or brilliant color leaves.  It is not lesser. It is not to be pushed through. It is not to be shortcut to get to the visible action.

Do not deny your winter.

Use this season to enter the year slowly and thoughtfully, to go deep and look around at what needs to be fortified, to be nourished by what you have already done. Summer is coming.

We need our winter to thrive in all of our other seasons.

The world will encourage us to ignore or push through our winter, as though taking it slow is some kind of moral failing. It is not.

The unfolding of spring, the brightness of summer, and the brilliance of fall need us to be strong and grounded and rested. You've got long beautiful seasons ahead of you my friend.

So, if you didn't "start strong" or have all of your plans outlined on 1/1 ... it's ok. You've got time. It's still winter after all.

P.S. I want to being transparent and vulnerable particularly in places where I know it might serve someone else.  I've heard from so many of you that you are curious about "how I got here" with some of these insights or stories. So, from time to time, I'll add a bit more to the story about my journey.  If you're interested, keep scrolling. If not, have a wonderful day! And, if you enjoy it, please let me know!

Confession: I used to be a "new year, new you" junkie.  I've hosted vision board parties, asked people for their word of the year for the first few weeks of January, and forced my family to write goals and share them around the dinner table.  None of these things are bad. But... geez. I could have been a little more aware of the people around me, recognizing that we're not all in the same place. (My 6 year old son could have told you that when I pressed him for what he wanted to accomplish in first grade. Seriously. I found his little goal book cleaning recently.)

I'd like to blame it all on the corporate pressure to perform, or call it capitalism, but the truth of it is, it was simply part of my journey. Now, I'm in a season where I can see the wisdom in winter -- and actually prefer it over the high intensity light of summer. And, I wouldn't be here without being there first. So, just know that there is no right or wrong here, there is simply your journey too.