Hello Spring! Thank you, Winter. 🙏

Reflect, review, renew. It's time to take a look back at the gifts that winter gave us.

A new season is upon us with all her springy energy. Everything around us is waking up. Even in its short 28 days, February feels like it drags forever. Then it happens over night. The daffodils bloom, the trees bud, and the birds make themselves very busy. It’s easy to catch some inspiration on a warm, sunny, beautiful day, but most of the time I find myself shell shocked. Where did the time go? What happened in that blur of months? How are we already so many months into a new year? 

  Best laid plans, do certainly go awry. Sometimes life has its own momentum. Divine timing has a battle with my patience. I miss deadlines and muddy my intentions as days slip away. When I lose my focus, plans go out the window. Interests and energy levels waver. Some days (too many) my discipline is lacking. Levels of distraction are heightened with every intersecting thought. In these moments, I lose sight of what I aim to do.

The in-between never feels very comfortable. We straddle change with one foot in the old and one foot in the new, anticipating what’s next. Sometimes excited, sometimes daunted about goals we have for ourselves. There are some key areas to reflect on and some important aspects to consider as you move toward all the excitement that spring has to offer. Seasonal and even monthly reviewing can keep us grounded in goals, while respecting our rhythm. 

Plan next winter now.

As the months go by,  make notes to your future self. Schedule things in a planner for next year, while your finger is on the pulse of how you are in the moment.  I track how I feel, my energy levels, my moods, and interests. I reevaluate what this time of year means for me and my accomplishments. Anchoring in my own flow to be in synchronicity.

Highlight the good times and accomplishments.

 It is easy to just roll through a season without stopping to recognize the kinds of accomplishments that got you where you are. If there is a goal you accomplished or a change you made for the better, you need to celebrate those wins. Big or small. The call of winter is to rest. To restore your creative vision to fuel you forward in the direction of your passion. Maybe you got every project and goal accomplished. Maybe you read 6 books by the fire. If it’s in support of where you need to be, then consider it a win.

Did you miss the mark? 

What were your obstacles and what did you learn from them? It’s important to take stock of what got in the way. This can help you take a step back and see patterns of behavior that are keeping you stuck in the same cycles. That’s all. There is no failure when you gain a new understanding or yield assured clarity. If there’s a gap between where you are and where you want to be, then there is always room for growth.

Recommit or Reset. 

Adjust your course. We’re a few months into a new year. Sometimes you need a few months to feel into what the year ahead is all about. What’s the vibe based on the reality of what’s going on? If some unexpected opportunity or experience has needed your undivided attention, then so be it.  If you made new year’s resolutions and they didn’t come to be, you can recommit right now. Day one is tomorrow. If you are in a totally different mindset then you were three months ago, reset your direction.

Name the chapter.

Life is a sequence of experiences, opportunities, events, and choices.  What would you say this season was about? Is there a word, phrase, or feeling that captures its essence. If you were writing a book, what would the name of the chapter be? Give it a place in who you are becoming. 

With the deep rest of winter, maybe you have some creative energy in reserve?  But before setting off in a new direction, it’s so helpful to reflect on the season behind. A seasonal reflection can be a profound practice in reevaluating how we feel and what we want moving forward. A pause, to get rooted in our living and not get lost in the blur of days. Instead to be active, engaged, and empowered by the choices we make as we move through with our own rhythm and timing.

Want your own copy of the seasonal review journal? A guided process to take you through some of these steps? It’s yours! 👇👇👇