I don't know if anyone likes the idea of summer coming to an end. Of course it is still hot and sticky, but the rhythm of life is changing course, and that means it's time for us to change too. We are part of nature, and we take our cues from what we see and feel around us.
A few things to consider about moving yourself along--it's not as simple as putting away your shorts and pulling out your boots. Anything that is more consequential like breaking up with a former part of your life--a job--a habit--will demand a lot more heavy lifting.
For starters, you have to make a decision and be very intentional when you are trying to change something big in your life. Part of the process means that you purposefully get rid of the old "stuff" that would otherwise be getting in the way--like your shorts taking up space that you'd like to use for your snowpants. But this is trickier because we are talking about actions, feelings, habits, thoughts that kept us "stuck" in patterns that aren't working anymore.
Another reason why this feels challenging is that there is no "Change Police" to come around and arrest you if you don't get yourself and your life on track. You can delay making progress. You can deny you need to make a move. You can do it badly, make it messy and regress. But really, who is going to care besides you? Who is going to hold your feet to the fire and say--come on, you are better than this?
This is where how YOU feel about YOUR life and how YOU want YOUR life to go comes into play loudly and clearly. This is where what YOU want becomes of paramount importance. This is where YOU stand on your soapbox and let everyone be informed that there is a new person in town, and you are not playing by the old rules. You are carving out your precious space in time, effort and energy, thereby creating a self protective bubble of good energy around you. You are holding yourself to your new standards so that your people know you are serious.
Your people will test you. They will want you to behave like you used to because it suited their needs, but that doesn't work anymore, and you have to play the game you created by the rules that keep you safe and protected. And, if for some reason, no one notices the "new you" you are becoming, and you are feeling sooo much better about how you are running your life, that's ok too. It's about YOU. You are the one who is doing the work. You are the one who can gauge progress and reap rewards.
A few questions to ask yourself: How are you feeling, sleeping, eating, practicing your hobbies? How are you scheduling your time? Are you making room for relaxation? Are you feeling less stress and more energy because you are leading your life with intention, having gotten rid of the old as you ushered in the new?
We are all a work in progress. FOREVER. It's normal. It doesn't mean it will be easy just because we chose it. Life is more complicated than that sometimes. But you are worth the effort. You are worth the time. You are worth the hard work it takes to get what you want.
As you say goodbye to summer and hello to fall 2022, and hello to the last third of 2022 by the way--consider what you are going to put behind you--and what you are going to change for the better. Then do it. Do what you say you are going to do. Let it be messy or challenging. Let it be yours.