The end of summer has quickly ushered in the crisp chill of fall and for some a more solemn time of the year. The shorter days seem to provoke a slowing down of pace, leaving you to feel less motivated to get things done than you may have earlier in the year. It is no surprise that people may struggle with the changing seasons - be that the change of weather or a pivotal change of season in your life.
Seasons Change
As much as we’d like it to, the sun does not shine everyday. What a wonderful life it would be to only experience positivity, joy or happiness - but that is not reality and some would argue an unbalanced life. It has been stated often that we enjoy the good that much more for having gone through some adversity proceeding it.
There is no place financially or relationally that you can get to, where you will not be impacted, in some way, to what going on around you - or in you. That said, you don’t have to let these seasons of life throw you off course and leave you permanently in a state of anxiety for what’s to come next.
See the future against the sobering reality that your life may not always be the way that it is right now. Choose to have optimism because seasons do change. In the interim, you must develop healthy habits to cope with the unfortunate realities of life.
Self Compassion
Having compassion for oneself is merely taking an inward approach to treating yourself with kindness when experiencing adversity - much like you would seek to provide others externally. In this regard, you allow yourself the ability to feel the emotions associated with what you are experiencing, rather than seeking to push them aside - being hyper critical to your own pain.
Adversity, even when if it is self inflicted, is a part of the human experience. Allow yourself grace to feel, accept, learn and maybe more importantly, grow from the things you go through.
Pay it forward
Your life may not be exactly roses at the moment but taking a break from constantly thinking about it, could provide great clarity. Take the opportunity to step outside of your own experiences to help others. Maybe you’ve always wanted to volunteer at that local charity but never allocated time - do it now. It is not selfish if what drives you to give back to your community, is the result of you own challenges - both you and whatever cause you support benefit.
While you may not be able to plan for every challenge, yet before your feet, you can certainly develop tools to assist with traveling the path for whatever season life brings.
KRISTIN NEFF (2003) Self-Compassion: An Alternative Conceptualization of a Healthy Attitude Toward Oneself, Self and Identity, 2:2, 85-101, DOI: 10.1080/15298860309032
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