Emerging from Winter with Spring Intentions | Part 3
New Year, Old You?
As we step into March, we journey through the last few Winter weeks of the (still relatively) New Year. Maybe you set some resolutions at the beginning of the year and feel you’re still going strong! But maybe, you’ve also discovered that the *hibernation vibes* of short days, cloudy skies, and long nights have caused a brief lapse in momentum. If this sounds familiar, you are in (very!) good company. The good news is, even if the sleepy pace of winter has thwarted progress, moving into Spring with renewed firepower doesn’t require a sudden leap forward. It simply requires returning to an internal sense of direction.
When things freeze in the cold, the process of becoming malleable again might take some time, but when the thaw is complete, real movement can begin. The same rule can be applied to our psyches and self-evolution.
In Part 1 of this New Year blog series, we explored the idea of crossing the New Year threshold as a slow process of embodying a new space, tossing out the checklist, and envisioning the new version of ourselves we’d like to embody.
In Part 2, we found deeper, authentic roots by slowing down and composting the good with the bad– taking note of what has worked thus far and what has not, allowing both to inform our internal ecosystems. These phases asked us to pause long enough to notice where we currently stand and to orient ourselves instead of attempting a sudden leap forward.
Now, in Part 3, we ignite a flame for the rest of the journey through this year.
Traditionally, people identify their resolutions and “hit the ground running,” the implication being that a burst of intensity is going to launch the new self into being for the rest of the year and beyond. But sustainable change is actually supported by sustainable energy.
We access this type of energy by way of the mindsets we tend toward, the values we return to, and reorienting to the internal compass we set toward the person we hope to become.
This process is made possible only by shifting into mindfulness, and the essence of a mindful, centered life is a person’s willingness to bring their mind back to the present moment again and again, even after it has wandered. Armed with this willingness, a person is able to move into a deeper relationship with their most authentic and whole self– rather than leaving parts of themselves behind for the sake of progress.
As humans, we experience life in seasons– our metabolism, mood, and circadian rhythms responding to the changes we detect in weather, temperatures, and our access to sunlight. While we may not be as literally seasonal as animals who hibernate for the winter, we do feel and take cues from the changes we feel in our environments on subconscious, conscious, emotional, and physical levels. You’re probably familiar with the depressive tendencies and affective impact that many people experience in Winter, but research increasingly suggests that beyond our mood, our cognitive functioning can even be impacted by seasonal change. For example, many people find that their attention and response speed can vary at different points in the year.
For humans living in a world that changes every few months, their psyches inherently experience seasons too. In the same way that relationships come in seasons of closeness and distance, goals and future vision may require periods of renewal as well. The hidden bit of relief in this concept is that we don’t need to exit or abandon goals in order to still grow when things don’t seem to be working– we can learn to move through these periods by delineating the points of our inner compasses. Each season plays a part in this process– learning what did and did not feel good about the version of you that you embodied in one season compared to others is invaluable data. The immediate reaction may be to become frustrated or give up when you find you’ve ventured offcourse with certain goals, triggering an instinct to throw the whole vision out. But these shifts don’t signal failure – they signal a need to reorient. The secret to sustained energy is found in the willingness to return– to values, to the inner compass, to the vision of a future that inspires present-day change. Many people find that they benefit from having a dedicated space to make this return intentionally and regularly, instead of in moments of crisis. Whether that is a specific hour in your schedule, a trusted friend who helps you return to yourself, or a relationship with a therapist that remains steady even after the storm has passed.
In Part 1, we explored the idea of inhabiting a new, expanded version of yourself rather than creating a behavioral checklist, and we support that objective by identifying values. What are values? Glad you asked. They’re not just the tangible things we hope to achieve in life. Beyond that, they’re the backbone of how we move through life, and we get to define them for ourselves. Do you aspire to live with courage? Do you want to become a person who prioritizes industry or fun? Or both? You are allowed to have complicated values! A person can value power in one arena of your life but also strive to uphold justice. Inhabiting a new version of yourself might also require learning the healthy balance of values as well. Self-control for example is just as important as sensuality in romantic relationships, balancing flexibility with self-respect.
This is just scratching the surface of the various values we can hold central in our lives, but the take-away message is this: our values are the north point on the compass. Our behaviors are not. Good behavior and discipline are aspirational, but inherently weather-dependent. They will not always be perfect, steady, or quickly mastered. When we accept this truth, we can relax into the truth that you can lose behavioral momentum and still remain oriented to your north point.
So, here is where therapy comes into the picture as a companion and an anchor. Not only is the therapist a sounding board for your inner guide to be amplified, but the therapeutic process becomes a values-based practice of self-reflection and recalibration. A place to return to yourself with intention, not a place where your behavior is admonished. It’s an anchor for the compass. So, as we move from Winter and into Spring, you might consider directing yourself warmly toward your north point so that you can finish thawing and step into the sun.
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References
Biocompare Editorial Team. (2023). Study reveals human circadian rhythms remain tied to seasonal sunlight. Biocompare.
https://www.biocompare.com/Life-Science-News/619559-Study-Reveals-Human-Circadian-Rhythms-Remain-Tied-to-Seasonal-Sunlight/
Harris, R. (2019). Values checklist. ACT Mindfully.
https://www.actmindfully.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Values_Checklist_-_Russ_Harris.pdf
Kirkwood, S. (2023, February). Seasonality in human behavior. Psychology Today.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-are-the-chances/202302/seasonality-in-human-behavior
Meyer, C., Muto, V., Jaspar, M., Kussé, C., Lambot, E., Chellappa, S. L., … Vandewalle, G. (2016). Seasonality in human cognitive brain responses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(11), 3066–3071.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518846113
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4801294/
NeuroTracker. (n.d.). 6 ways the change of seasons affects your brain.
https://www.neurotrackerx.com/post/6-ways-the-change-of-seasons-affects-your-brain
Society for Contextual Behavioral Science. (n.d.). The six core processes of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
https://contextualscience.org/six_core_processes_act