“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…”   Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Change is All Around Us

As we move into a new season, we expect to experience change.  The barren twigs have new leaves.  Blossoms burst forth announcing the fruit which will come later.  The sun seems brighter and the days are longer.  Snow turns to a cold rain and eventually to Spring showers.

Spring also brings feelings of excitement and positive expectation.  It’s tax time and individuals and organizational leaders are evaluating what took place last year.  It is Lenten season and Christians replace old thoughts and practices with new actions that more positively reflect basic spiritual beliefs and principles. The Jewish community celebrates Passover commemorating the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. As US citizens, we are adjusting to the changes of a new administration with our government.

How do these changes affect you personally, with your family or in your firm, team members or clients? Believe it or not, the change of the seasons can make a difference in our outlook on life and our business.  Our biorhythms shift.  We warm up outside and within.  We prepare psychologically to embrace change.  Just as with the trees, hills, and flowers, we have a feeling of new things coming forth, old things disappearing, and embrace a time of renewal.

What’s Changing Around You That You Take for Granted?

With these earthly changes, we forget how much we take for granted and expect things to stay the same. Today, I met a new office manager who replaced a young man who had been there for the past 10 years.  I have been at this office for four years and took his presence for granted.  He was reliable, soft-spoken, a good problem-solver with anxious clients, and a team member that I counted on.  While I will miss him, I embrace the change by giving the young woman who replaced him my confidence and having hopeful expectations from her for the great things she’ll provide.

We expect our staff and client relationships to stay the same yet they change, grow, develop new goals and dreams and sometimes leave.  When things begin to shift, we recognize our own discomfort and others as we make new transitions and focus on “letting go” of how it has been to create new opportunities for people.  

In families, this season often brings graduations and weddings.  While these are a great source of joy and celebration, sometimes feelings of loss or sadness emerge because the relationship is changing and we have to let go of how it used to be.  It’s helpful to remember that in Nature we know that the fallen flower drops seeds for new growth in the next season.

What’s About to Blossom Around You?

As you embrace the changes Spring brings forth, how are you planning to reap the benefits from the seeds of change you’re planting in your firm? With most firms emerging from one of their busiest seasons of the year in the next month, consider finding time to answer these questions to determine where you’ll produce the most desired results to grow and produce new opportunities:

  • How are you preparing for the changes in your practice and the profession?
  • Do you understand the changes your clients are facing in their markets and industries and helping them figure out how to address them?
  • What tools are you using or do you need to access to assure that you will get the results that you’re intending?
  • Is it time to invest in new markets, or new software or new HR programs, create new business plans, or hire new staff?
  • Is the “bright idea” that you had a few months before beginning to take form?
  • And, are you willing to let go of past experiences so you can focus on the excitement of these new projects, markets and initiatives?
  • What changes or transitions are your partners and team members experiencing that you can help them navigate? How can you help them grow and thrive this coming year?
  • What changes taking place in your personal life that influence how you will deal with the changes professionally?

Regardless of which change(s) you choose to embrace, do so confidently and step into your future.  As my minister, Rev. Brent Fletcher once said: “Keep sacred the space between ‘no longer’ and ‘not yet.’  Stand in the gap.” This is where our present thoughts and actions can make the difference so we find joy in the moment while moving toward future success.

How is the change of season affecting your life and your work?  Share with us and our readers your insights on this subject so we all can fully enjoy this season of change.

With Warm Regards,

Sylvia