Showing Yourself Grace in Every Season
Are you a “Word of the Year” person? Up until a couple of years ago I wasn’t. But then in 2019, at the suggestion of a good friend, I spent time really sitting with where I hoped the year would go. What my goals were. How I intended to show up. Where I hoped to be by the end of the next year. And from there I came up with my word of the year. It felt so much easier than creating elaborate goals or resolutions. Since then, this has been a practice every year.
This year is no different. I have set my word to be SIMPLIFY and that runs through my personal AND professional life. I am working to simply spaces, processes, relationships, my mindset. All of it I want to focus on getting back to the basics and let the other stuff just fall away.
And as I navigate this next year and my intention to simplify, I also found myself being drawn to another word: Grace. As in showing myself grace in all seasons.
Let me back up a bit. As a mom of 3 very active preteen/teenage daughters, a wife to a husband that works long hours, a volunteer at my local church, a friend to some amazing besties and a business owner leading a team, “seasons” are sure to come. And when they do, I struggle with being ok with things being left undone. Or things happening on a timeline I didn’t plan.
However, as the iconic Beatles song says “To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn)” so how do I plan, prepare and adjust for these seasons as they will inevitably come?
First, I thought it best to identify the different seasons we can find ourselves in:
There are the ones you choose. This may sound like an easy season to be in, because you said YES to it. But it’s still something to factor in and something to give yourself grace around. For example, if you decided to pursue a new certification or a new course for your business, this is a season you made the choice for. Similarly, on a personal level, I recently signed on to work with a coach who is helping me grow my podcast. While these are WONDERFUL things that can help you grow and level up your business, it is still a NEW season you are in.
Then there are the ones you do not choose. You know what I mean. The seasons that catch you off guard. They may involve your health, your finances, your kids being out of school for snow days or sickness. Whatever it is, these can be hard to navigate because they are unforeseen.
And then of course, there are the season that literally happen every year…you know the actual seasons. Summer vacations, the holidays, patterns you see in your own business or in the businesses of your clients example: fall and first of the year are busy seasons for my agency.
And while these three different kinds of seasons have different implications, they all need the same thing. For us to CHOOSE grace in the midst of them. And here is how I have learned to do this.
First off, you must RECOGNIZE the season you’re in. Awareness is half the battle. When you pause and acknowledge what’s happening, this makes it so much easier to move to the next step. Don’t bury that head in the sand, friend!
Second, you have to REEVALUATE your goals and timelines based off what is reasonable and attainable. Perhaps you set that goal to be done by the end of the month. But, oops, the kids have had 15 snow days this month. So, let’s reassess!
Finally, be ready to READJUST when the season is complete. The only thing worse than NOT giving yourself grace is giving yourself PERMISSION to just stay in the same place after a season is done.
If you’re ready to build your social media management or virtual assistant business in ANY season, I would love to help. As your coach, I would help you establish structures to help you navigate through these seasons with ease. Schedule your discovery call, today!
