Autumn, the season that teaches us change can be beautiful.
As we head towards Autumn, start returning children to school, getting back into a routine or we’ve been away on holiday and realise our next real break isn’t until Christmas – it’s easy to feel despondent or overwhelmed.
I LOVE September & October. For me it’s my New Year. A time when it’s much easier to choose some goals for the year ahead. I see it as a time to re-evaluate. What have I achieved this year so far? What do I still want to do?
This is a time in the coaching calendar when my clients often wish to “tweak” the plans they made earlier in the year. Maybe their original goals are now not such a priority? Maybe there have been events over the summer holidays that have created opportunities for change?
Often as human beings, we are frightened of change, scared of the unknown. We’d rather stay in our comfort zone than do something that shakes us up. When I work with clients who are wishing to make changes in their life, I am often aware that they start from a much bigger picture, they want to make BIG changes and then wonder why it seems so scary? When you are creating change, it is far more effective to start with baby steps, to make little manageable changes that you can actually achieve, that way, once you have seen some results, however small they seem to you it is much easier to create the momentum for greater change.
This year, goal setting seems particularly daunting – can I plan a trip of a lifetime for next year? Will it actually happen? Can I organise a big party for my friend’s significant birthday – will we be allowed? The thing is, we all need to have things to work towards, it might be that we just have to scale things down right now or set different intentions for the time being? Goals don’t need to be life changing to make a difference, be kind to yourself and realistic- setting yourself up to fail right now is not helpful. What could your intentions be for the latter part of this year that would make a difference to you?
Get out the notebook, the new coloured pens (you’re allowed a new pencil case in September) and plan. Just jot any ideas down that come to mind or if it’s something you’ve been meaning to change for a long time, how can you break it down into more manageable chunks? Set some realistic goals, you don’t have to change everything at once. It might be to walk more and drive less, you might decide to change the way you shop for Christmas this year? Maybe you’ve cooked more meals from scratch during lockdown and intend to carry on doing more of that?
Baby steps but steps forward………
Autumn is on its way; the leaves fall from the trees to enable new growth in the spring. What are you going to shed to make way for your new growth?
