It’s common to feel lost in a world that appears to be constantly moving. The busyness of work, school, family, etc. can oftentimes shape your insight to only look at life as a to-do list. When we experience these anxious or overwhelming feelings it can lead to us to overlook the simple joys that are right in front of us. When feeling stuck in a segment of life that feels similar to this, I would urge you to look at your life and existence through another lens. In other words, try looking at your life through seasons.
Oftentimes, we can get caught up in a season of hyperactivity and it can be difficult to distinguish working hard from being overworked. While being a hard worker is a great trait to have, a heightened sense of that can lead to one measuring their worth solely in accordance with their work. The more we do this, the more we start to correlate our self-worth with our external factors. This can be damaging because our outside world is forever changing. So, It’s important to recognize that and try to set some time away from the outside world in order to reflect and be intentional with your time alone. This allows us to reset and acknowledge that our worth comes solely from within. Because truly everything we need comes from within us. Our happiness, our sadness, and our fulfillment is already inside us, we just need the tools to feel and experience them.
When doing this, try to remember that the majority of life’s trials are temporary. Whatever hard time or season you’re going through will eventually pass and morph into something new. Life is constantly changing and evolving so it’s important to remember that a new season will always come and new experiences, people, and environments will accompany it. Try taking a step back to reflect on your past seasons and how they have helped or hurt you. Reflect on what you’ve learned and what you’ll do differently. With those tools, try looking at what season you’re currently in and determine if it’s one that is fulfilling you or not. While doing this, think of the future seasons that are to come and consider what you need to overcome in order to get there. You have the power to determine what season you will exit or enter.
With all of this being said, it’s also perfectly acceptable to not love the season you’re in currently. It’s important to remember that you will go through patches that make it hard to appreciate the world or even yourself. It’s alright to have doubts about the past, present, or future. You just have to keep working toward your next season and even though it might not feel like it, eventually it will come. From the words of Brittin Oakman, “Every season is one of becoming, but not always one of blooming. Be gracious with your ever-evolving self.”
Written by Ava Smolcic