What does it look like to consciously choose to craft a new season for your life, for your business? I believe life happens in seasons, but sometimes we get a little passive and allow those seasons to hit us when they may, instead of actually mapping them out and choosing to kick them off. If you’ve been in a season of rest, maybe it’s time to hit the gas or if you’ve been in a season of constant work maybe it’s time to lean into the season of family. If you’ve been in a season of hustle, perhaps it’s your time to elevate into a season of strategy.

In today’s episode, I’m walking you through how I consciously shift from one season into the next, both in my life and my business and how I intentionally grow into leadership, new opportunities and our family’s vision.

Why We Are Not Seeking Balance

At Luminary Leadership, we are not seeking balance. We are not seeking balance between parenthood and business, we are not seeking balance between marriage and business. It’s just not the nature of how life works. Instead we talk about doing life, doing business in seasons. There are seasons where you’re going heavier at work and there are seasons where you’re shifting more of your focus to family. And the best part is that you can be intentional about that. But a mistake that a lot of entrepreneurs make is they let those seasons roll to them, they are being reactive instead of proactive in planning their seasons.

Also, sometimes we get into this habit of combining the word seasons with grace: “Oh you’ve just got to give yourself grace as a parent if you’re spending so much time in the business” or “Oh you’re leaning into the family right now, give yourself some grace in the business.” And sometimes grace, as much as it’s a beautiful word that we need to honor and embody, becomes a cuss word because we over utilize it and use it as an excuse as to why we’re doing what we do. 

So today we are talking about the idea of planning for seasons, prepping for seasons, and envisioning and being really proactive about mapping out the seasons that we want to see in our lives. So, pull out a calendar that has the next two to three years and do some projections. As you’re planning out your seasons, ask yourself:

• Is this season aligned with who you are and what you believe?
• Is this season aligned with where you’re going or is it pausing you from getting there?

Know Your True North 

The first step in this process is to make sure that you have your priorities and your values intact in every season. No matter what season you’re stepping into, no matter if it’s consciously by choice or just because life threw one at you, you still have to ensure that you are honoring your True North. Those priorities, those values remain intact no matter what, they’re just practiced differently. 

What does this mean? It means that even if you’re stepping intentionally into a season that is in alignment with your vision and where you’re going, both in your business and personally, it is not an excuse to forget everything else. You have to ensure that you’re honoring all of your values. If you haven’t done the True North exercise yet, go to luminaryleadershipco.com/truenorth and get your copy of our free True North workbook. This is so important to where you are going with your business and your life, so please do it!

Align Your Seasons with The Rhythms of Your Life 

The second piece is aligning your seasons with the rhythms of your life and how you want the rhythms of your life to go. Don’t look at things just by the calendar year, look at things by multiple years. Life is fluid, it’s rolling so look at things rolling and how you want the rhythms of your years to look. Maybe you map things out based on when your kids are in school or maybe you don’t step fully and boldly into a season of launch when you cherish the time with your children during the summer. 

You get to set those rhythms and decide what they look like and then you plan seasons around them. So, really think through on a rolling calendar – remember, we’re not just talking about one year at a time, we’re talking about the future. Leaders think into the future, they don’t think with an end date just because the calendar is shifting.

Take Back The Control

Planning to shift into a new season is different than waiting to see what season just shows up next. One is very reactive whereas the former is very proactive and allows you to take back control of how you roll things out. 

One thing I really like to do as I’m looking at my three to five year calendar is building in transition periods where I can actually see when one season is starting to come to a close and when we’re planning to kick off a new season. This way, I don’t just jump into the next season but I slowly ease into it.

I also like to celebrate the close of the previous season. Treating ourselves as a family and spending time with my husband to just celebrate and have an actual conversation about all the good things that happened in this previous season.

So, build in the time for celebration, build in the time for transition, set the plan and schedule for the next season.

Set Goals

Set goals for the season. If you’re like me and you’re competitive and you have that spirit in you, set goals for the season so that you can see and define what it would look like to have a successful season. You can do this even in a season of family or focusing on rest, set some benchmarks or limitations or boundaries around phone usage or set some limits to how many hours you work, or whether you take additional days off. The same goes for business, you want to set your goals within that season so that you are ensuring that the season is worth your time and effort. Otherwise, you will find yourself in a situation where you’re extending that season, and then it loses its sustainability.

Also, I like to build in plans to continue to honor the priorities that might not be the focal point of that season. So if I am going into a season of business growth, that’s when date night is most important; that’s when family Friday movie night with the kids is most important; that’s when going to get a massage or go to the chiropractor is most important. This is where you’re ensuring and honoring that although those priorities are not the main focus that season, you’re not just neglecting it, you’re finding ways to still honor it and support it throughout whatever season you’re stepping into.

Gear Up for The Season

The final piece of the process is gearing up for that season. This is all about being proactive and looking ahead. What do you need to be successful in that season? What’s missing at that point? Are you gearing up your mind and body? Do you need to bring in extra help? Do you need to bring in a nanny, do you need to bring in a mentor who’s going to support your mindset through the process? 

Wherever you are right now, see if you can map out what season you are in and what season will be next for you. Then start making an intentional plan! Let me know how it goes. 

RESOURCES:

• True North Workbook: https://luminaryleadershipco.com/truenorth
• Get on our email list and keep up-to-date with what I am doing! https://luminaryleadershipco.com/insider
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