As A New Spring Arrives, Take A Cue From The Season And Step Back To Grow

Today, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re celebrating the Spring Equinox – in the Southern Hemisphere, you all call it the Autumn Equinox. But here on the East Coast, the cherry blossoms are opening their rosy petals, the sea breeze carries more than a hint of warm weather, and the squirrels are molting their winter coats. It’s a moment in-between, not quite anything but holding everything, full of potential energy.

For the equinox, I wanted to emphasize stepping back to grow. Ponder the caterpillar. There’s no butterfly without time in the chrysalis. There’s no harvest of corn without the time spent as a seed, under the soil, putting down roots.

When we’re looking at our Q2, Q3, and even Q4 plans, don’t forget to take the time that planning deserves. It can be easy to dream when the weather is sliding towards the sun, and the birds are calling. It can be easy to front-load our year with all manner of goals and aspirations. But the successful farmer plans their September harvest in March. Otherwise, you’re the conductor of a train steaming straight ahead while you’re leaning out the window to lay track in front of the wheels, all at the same time.?

Stepping back can be hard, though. When the ball gets rolling in January, we can naturally throw ourselves into the race and not look back. Stepping back can seem like slowing down – but that’s just one perception, one mindset. If we can shift how we think about stepping back, include it in our workflows more often, the repetitions will become second nature.

So now that the seasons are changing around us, how can you bring this idea of stepping back into your workplace? Is there a big project you’ve jumped into, and now the road’s getting a bit bumpy? Take a cue from Mother Nature and gather your colleagues around for a low-stakes Slack huddle – and make a genuine, actionable plan for Q2 instead of just planning to put out fires as they spark.

When we have those roots planted, it gives us the confidence to grow taller. I’ll leave you with this quote from Tolkien: “‘How do I feel?’ he cried. ‘Well, I don’t know how to say it. I feel, I feel’ — he waved his arms in the air? — ‘I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!’”

Where can you step back to grow with the seasons?

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