I HAD NO IDEA HOW IMPORTANT SEASONS ARE
I am living a variety of seasons and cycles at once right now. A year ago, I’d have had no idea what this meant. I knew I needed to find a way to launch my own business in a way I wouldn’t burn out on my entrepreneurial journey. The last few months have been crucial in my progress to making that a reality.
We all go through cycles every day of our lives, but what about seasons?
It is likely that you’ve never given it much thought but cycles are a major part of how we operate effectively, or fail to. I’ll keep the first part non gender specific. Be it waking, coffee or tea, work, exercise, home, wind down and sleep. Or Monday to Friday working, Saturday and Sunday playing and resting. Or simply awake, eat, eat, eat, asleep, awake, eat, eat, eat, asleep. Our circadian rhythm, for example, the ultimate cycle is crucial for many of us, however some have it completely on its head through shift work or staying up too late, or being up all night with a baby. Now for the seasons I am currently experiencing as a woman looking to create her own business.
My immersion in the seasons
1) Entrepreneurial Seasons
I have started with the winter and some much needed self care. As I restored my energy, I started to feel the buds of spring. The flurry of ideas and feeling of possibility. When you know that creating something for yourself is what you are meant to do, finally having this spring is like much needed rain after a drought lasting the entirety of your working life. I don’t think I’d ever allowed myself to have enough restorative self-care before to get to the point where my mind could open to the spring time. Now, I am on the verge of going into summer, the time of ‘ovulation’ for women, and it feel like that in business. I’ll be putting something out into the world and pushing for the desired result. Like with ovulation and fertilisation, it will not always be successful and it may be necessary to try again and again. Either way, it is the time to get stuff done and get out in the world. The Autumn will be the interesting part, where I’ll be able to look at everything and review it. I can use my self-critic to improve and adapt, adjusting based on feedback and how I feel. What I need to remember is that Winter must come round again. Without it, burnout is guaranteed.
2) Menstrual Seasons
Don’t shy away from this, because you have already read it. The entrepreneurial seasons I have mentioned are mirrored in the menstrual seasons. Now that I am no longer breastfeeding, my menstrual cycles have returned. And boy have they returned! Or is it that this time I am finally listening. I have tracked my bodily functions, my feelings, my sleep, my movement and my food. I have struggled and I have triumphed. I have connected my mind and my body. More importantly, I have educated my husband on my body and my needs during different seasons, because there is no way I am letting anything put me back where I was again. The most critical season being winter - the time for self-care and letting go of responsibilities wherever possible. My lack of understanding of the importance of this is why I never experienced the powers of spring, summer and autumn as I now know them before.
What season am I in now?
Today I am in my menstrual winter, about to leave my entrepreneurial spring and well into England’s summer. On top of this I am cycling through my circadian rhythm on a daily basis. Talk about living a variety of seasons and cycles! It feels much like the movement of the planets. Cyclical living is incredibly powerful.
If this interests you and you want to get in touch, email me on jane@canidoitmyself.com or connect on Instagram @incrementaljane or via Jane Tarrant on Facebook.
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash