We are officially in the fourth quarter of the year, and fall is definitely in the air. As I have started pulling out my coats and sweaters, it is apparent that the season has changed. I am also experiencing a season of great change in my life. While change is never easy and always uncomfortable, it always results in growth, development, and advancement. Many people are stuck and they have no clue how to get unstuck. What I know for certain is that the key to getting unstuck is having the ability to discern when a season has ended and a new season is beginning in your life. I hope these insights will set you on the course to change in your life!
- You have to know when a season is ending. As much as you may love a season, the reality is that seasons have to change. Everything will not remain the same in your life. While 2024 has presented me with a plethora of opportunities, I have also faced a range of challenges. I am learning more and more that you have to know when a season is ending in your life. Honestly, too many people look at the ending of a season as a bad thing. The ending of a season is not a sign that something is wrong. A season ending is just an alarm clock letting you know that more is on the horizon. One of the worst things you can do is try to hold on to a season that has ended in your life. It is like going out the door into brisk autumn temperatures with your favorite pair of summer shorts. You must be willing to acknowledge that a season is ending in your life and have the courage to say goodbye to that season. No matter how great this season of your life may be understand that it will not last and that life can always get better.
- You must be willing to embrace a new season. If you are anything like me, I am sure you have had challenges with letting go of the old to embrace the new. Some seasons we really enjoy and there are aspects of our lives that we do not want to change. However, my unwillingness to walk out of the old robs me of the ability to walk into new possibilities for my life. In other words, know when a season is ending and be willing to embrace a new season. In order to embrace a new season, you have to be open to a new season and you have to make room for all that the new season may bring into your life. Many people are trying to embrace a new season while still clinging to the expired season. The problem with that is that it keeps you trapped in cycles and prevents you from making progress. What you cling to stands in the way of what can be in your life. At some point, you have to answer one of life's most important questions: do you want your past more than you want what is possible for your life? While many people will be quick to say no, their actions show that they value where they have been more than who they are destined to become. You cannot greet a new season without first saying goodbye to the old season.
- Every new season in your life will demand growth. At the time of this writing, I am in a season of major transition in my life. It is very uncomfortable and in some ways unsettling. It is shaking up my life in many ways but it is also shifting my paradigm and sharpening me. In order to greet a new season in your life, you must embrace a growth mindset. There is a lot of talk these days about a growth mindset. However, what I can tell you from decades of experience is that inflexibility is one of the greatest barriers to a growth mindset. You can tell yourself that you want change and you want progress. However, if you do not address self-limiting beliefs and perceptions you will find yourself on a proverbial treadmill going nowhere. If you keep living adjusted to an old paradigm, it will be impossible for you to accommodate growth and new possibilities for your life. Growth requires you to step outside of your comfort zone. Growth requires you to be courageous. Most of all, growth requires you to be more committed to the next best version of yourself than you are to the current version of yourself. Growth demands expansion and expansion never happens without resistance.
- You have to be flexible to embrace a new season. I've shared some great insights with you about embracing change in your life. However, I have one more key that I have to share with you if you are going to embrace the life you were born for. I have yet to meet a person who does not think about the future. In fact, as a visionary leader, if you get me started talking about the future I could talk about it for days. The future is exciting and always promising. At the same time, you cannot embrace your future without being flexible. What do I mean by being flexible? Flexibility requires you to be open to change, open to challenges, open to growth, and open to interruptions along the way. If you think you are simply going to coast your way into the future you are sadly mistaken. As an overachiever who struggled a great deal with perfectionism, I have lived long enough to know that everything in life will not go according to plan. Conversely, I believe that everything does happen according to purpose. In other words, life happens to all of us and no one is exempt from challenges, contradictions, or crises. You will not be able to control every circumstance in your life. Ultimately, the point I am trying to make is that you may not be able to control everything that is happening in your life but you can control your attitude. If you will remain flexible, temporary setbacks will become catalysts for extraordinary comebacks in your life. If you remain flexible, there is no force or opposition that will have the power to prevent you from embracing your future.
