Do you get excited when spring comes, and it’s an excuse to clean your house, your yard, your shed? If you’re like me, this brings very little joy and excitement to me beyond the recognition that the season has changed. But, it signals the time to open the windows (while avoiding the deluge of pollen that has appeared) and let some fresh air into your home.

There are changes that happen almost overnight - an accident, working or school models because of a pandemic, a decision to transform your life.  However, the real underlying change...the behaviors that support the decisions...that takes time.

We experience a "new" or "next" normal whenever we move homes, switch schools or jobs, get married, have a child or the next child, or start a new activity. All of those things change how we experience our life - what our schedules are like, who we interact with, when or how we commute, etc. The key difference now is that the whole world is experiencing this change with us at the same time. So...what have we learned from those past experiences that we can use now?

When we order something and it’s going to take longer than what we want to wait, we start to question how much we really want it or whether that vendor is really the right one for us. This feeling is similar to when we want change in our lives or set a new goal…when it takes too long or feels hard, we start questioning whether it’s really worth it.

What if there’s another variation that impacts most of us at some time or another? What if we all hit a “bottom” when we decide that where we are is no longer good enough? What if hitting this “bottom” is really about when our self-assessment says “I want more..fun, career growth, connection, etc.”? What if it’s when you say…Enough is enough and move from excuses, self-sabotage, and doubt to a place of power and change?

Don’t run from change just because it scares you. I like this quote because of its direct statement that we must actively choose the changes if we want to grow: "One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again." - Abraham Maslow.