“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”  – Chauncey Depew.

It’s about taking control of your life. The world is slowly starting to wake up and open to a new reality. This after the radically different and difficult time we have all experienced with lockdown, masks, work from home, death, illness and fear. Although aspects of living during a pandemic are not unfamiliar, aspects such as death, or financial distress, the sheer scale of what the world is experiencing is beyond overwhelming.

This has been a trying time for many, with the loss of loved ones and sometimes in quick succession not familiar to us. Also, we have been separated from family and friends, deprived of saying goodbye to those we love while they lie dying and even laying them to rest has become more traumatic as funeral attendance has been limited.

All this change and uncertainty has shoved us off our axis and caused us to feel out of balance and unconnected. We could dwell on the negative or downside of what has happened and is happening. Or we could sift out opportunities for us to grow and perhaps take a different path in our lives. The purpose of this post is to offer a different perspective and perhaps help you reconnect with yourself by taking your control back and creating a new normal for yourself.

Your Winter has come and gone…

If I liken the last 2 or so years to the seasons, it has been a cold, dark winter. What happens during winter in nature? Plants and vegetation go dormant; most shed their leaves and rest their systems to gather and have energy when spring arrives. It is not a choice for a tree to sprout new leaves during spring, it’s the way it is.

Whatever the environment encourages, that’s how the tree will respond – or not: if there are adequate nutrients, water and light, it will flourish. If it is deprived of these, it will not, or be weak and susceptible to disease and pests that will likely kill it in the end. If needed it will adapt to its environment – grow over, around or even through structures, send roots deeper for water and nutrients.

It starts with a decision

We have a choice too: we can adapt and reconfigure or remain stagnant through being susceptible to the environment around us. Oh, that’s easy for you to say Simoné, I hear you say. Yes, the environment has knocked you around, I have compassion for that and for you. In many ways these past 2 years has been your winter.

The onslaught of the pandemic and the world around you have forced you into dormancy. Like the tree this is a time to gather your reserves, take time out and recalibrate. You have to choose when it is your springtime. When do you spring back to life and bloom and shoot your new sprouts? Unlike the tree, we have a choice when we spring back into life again. We can choose our thoughts and actions that set us up on our path. Shed those old patterns of thinking and being and embrace the new possibilities on offer to you.

Like the tree it’s about growth and how you use the environment around you to draw strength. Setting up a supportive environment for yourself is vital when you step into action. This is where you go for the nutrients, water and sunlight that you need to grow and sprout new shoots. Remember, you are part of this support system and you draw on your own strength as well. When I work with my clients, it is so important for them to understand their own internal resources. How will you reclaim your power and take control of your life?

Focus

It’s all about where you put your focus – what you focus on drives your energy. If you focus on the winter, you experience more of the cold and dormancy. While a focus on your springtime jettisons your energy frequency to that of growth, transition, transformation and expansion. Therefore, to take control of your life means taking stock of where you are right now and where you want to be. Taking stock means looking at where the gap is. But, how do you figure out what that gap is? How do you push the reset button? Goodness, where is the reset button?!

Download a free guide with 10 Power Questions to ask yourself to get started on taking control and reclaiming your power to set new goal(s).

I would love to hear what your adaption strategies have been and what the questions are that you are grappling with.