Is It Time to Shake Things Up?

The seasons are shifting. Days are still warm and summery here, but mornings are often chilly. Other colors are showing up among the leaves, and the night sounds are changing as dark comes sooner. 

Is it time for you to shift your daily rhythm? 

Our schedules and energy often change over the course of the year. For me this often coincides roughly with seasonal changes. The cusp between seasons feels like a good time to reflect and choose what’s next.

What’s Important For You Right Now

Take some time to think about what’s important right now and as we head into fall. What are you hoping for in this next season? What might you add into your life, what might you release? 

In answering those questions, your values and strengths and what leads to engagement (and even joy) can help you think about where you want to put your time and energy. 

If you are not sure about what Values you want to embrace now, you can find a list here.

Even if you’ve done a values exercise before, you might discover that what’s important has changed or priorities have shifted. I encourage you to go through the process again. It’s fun and it’s all about you and what you value.

Our values do tend to remain consistent over our life, but they can shift or shift in importance. For example, you might list Education as a value and then find the word Learning resonating more in a new season. The values are similar, but may connote different things to you. Or you might value both Dreaming and Adventure. In a season of recovery from illness, you might spend more time Dreaming (or maybe dreaming about adventure) than going out and doing things. 

Here are some other questions that can help you find what’s important now. Take a walk and reflect on them. Journal for a little while over the next week, if you like doing so. 

• Where have you found joy in the last season or so far this year? What has energized you in this time period? 
• What has drained you or been a chore? 
• What has worked really well — personal systems, schedule, habits, connection, new friends or activities? 
• What are you ready to release or change? 

Changing Habits

Once you know what matters now — your top values, what energizes and drains you, what’s working and not — you can make decisions about what your life looks like in the new season. 

Did your schedule or location change? How does that affect habits that are working? While habits like flossing teeth can happen anywhere, some habits are tied to a place or trigger that is changing. For example, I’ll be moving back to California from Wellfleet soon. That means my daily routine changes, and some habits might too. An evening walk on the beach might turn into a morning walk on the trails. People I see in person will need phone or text outreach to stay connected. 

What’s shifting for you? What habits or routines need to go or need a refresh? Being mindful of change and intentional about what we want in transition periods can help us thrive. 

3 Steps to Having a Meaningful Life You Love

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