We all face different mental, physical and emotional states at different times in our life. American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, called them “The seasons of life”.
By observing our lives we can notice that, like nature, we experience different seasons.
We also go from “sowing to harvesting”, i.e. from static periods to periods of enthusiasm.
"The seasons of life" are subjective and do not correspond to the time periods marked by nature.
However, they are a useful metaphor to understand many things about our existence.
“Life and business are like the changing seasons. You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. This is HOW life gets better for you, not by chance, but by change”. - Jim Rohn
On this note, let's see what the seasons of life are and how they should be handled to make them as profitable as possible.
THE 4 SEASONS OF LIFE
1) WINTER - TIME TO ENDURE AND TO GET STRONGER, WISER, AND BETTER
There are Winters of all kinds, there are economic Winters, in which financial troubles are at the door; there are physical ones, in which our health is tested; there are personal ones, when we suffer due to different reasons, e.g. love disappointments.
In a nutshell, Winter is a time when we have to deal with challenges and disappointments.
HOW CAN WE HANDLE WINTERS?
Pretending that they don’t come would be like tearing the pages of January and February from the calendar. This is a childish and useless approach, which solves nothing.
Responsible people who make personal growth a prerogative of their existence decide to become wiser, stronger, and better throughout these tough life periods.
In other words, they use the Winters to improve themselves!
Going through the Winters of life simply longing for the arrival of summer is the most common mistake people make.
Don't limit yourself to just wishing for fewer problems, develop new skills and knowledge to face them instead.
Read relevant books and follow relevant courses.
Ponder on the obstacles you need to overcome and learn from the mistakes you’ve made so that you can avoid them in the future.
Seek and connect with mentors, they will show you the way.
Remember that spring is just around the corner so do not lose faith and keep getting ready for it.
Winter doesn’t last forever! Some Winters seem longer than others and some seem tougher than others but these too shall pass.
So endure!
Waking up early, staying up late, and putting in the hard work, even when you don’t feel like it because you are too tired, is actually what separates you from the crowd.
Your success in the next seasons of life is greatly dependent on your preparation in winter.
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."[Meditations Divine and Moral] ― Anne Bradstreet, The Works of Anne Bradstreet
2) SPRING - WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Learn to take advantage of the Spring; Spring means opportunity!
If we keep our eyes open, we are more likely to spot opportunities when they pop up in our lives.
We often don’t see them – even when they are sitting right in front of us.
Opportunities might come in the form of meeting new people, starting a new career, or who knows, your own business too.
Remember that opportunity follows difficulty, expansion follows recession and joy follows sadness; this is called the rhythm of life.
Don’t let the Spring of opportunity slip through your fingers.
If you want to harvest plenty of fruit in Autumn, you must sow in Spring.
You either sow well in Spring or you beg in Autumn.
HOW CAN WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY?
This is the time to take risks and massive action.
I cannot find a better way to stress the above concept than borrowing two quotes:
“If you don’t risk anything you risk everything”. - Mark Zuckerberg
“Without action, you aren’t going anywhere.” - Mahatma Gandhi
If you skip the risk, if you don’t take action, you’ll skip the opportunity without benefiting from the upcoming seasons.
Massive action in Spring is necessary for massive success in the Autumn.
Remember that you will have few Springs in your life, so don’t waste time, enhance them as much as you can.
Procrastination is the number 1 cause of missing out on opportunities.
Commit yourself to working hard, and giving your best.
Do not wish for a quick reward - instant gratification.
Remember that the farmer must work throughout the seasons to get a worthy harvest in Autumn.
Now more than ever people give up too soon because they do not have the patience to wait for the reward in Autumn.
They want results straight away - what nonsense!
Develop your patience and self-discipline; keep in mind the picture of the greater reward you will get in Autumn - it will keep you moving forward.
“Like the seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.” - Khalil Gibran
3) SUMMER - TIME TO PROTECT, AND NOURISH WHAT YOU’VE SOWED
Summer is a beautiful period, however, it is not yet the time to enjoy the fruits of the harvest - even if they are beginning to sprout.
At this point, the important thing is to continue to feed the crops and protect them.
Although things may look promising in Summer, this isn’t the time to relax.
On the contrary, Summer is the time to nurture your good habits and pull out the weeds of bad habits.
Don’t let the energy and momentum of the Summer deceive you, your goal is still not accomplished.
Your progress is vulnerable and needs protection and consistent care.
In a vegetable garden, you need to protect your crops - from insects and weeds - and nourish them with water and fertilizers; the same holds true in life.
Any good, if left to carelessness, is attacked.
Even the best romantic relationship can end if it’s not nourished and protected.
Any business can begin to perish if it is left in the wrong hands.
If we do not take care of and protect our health, wealth, and relationships - in a nutshell, if we do not take care of the things that are important to us, we may lose everything.
Summer tests our physical and mental strength.
It is the time for invaders who may want to benefit from your efforts and ruin your progress.
Summer is the test of survival, of the demonstration of the strength of ideas, of determination, of the solidity of goals.
In short, Summer is the period when - if you get distracted - you risk ruining all your hard work - the sowing.
HOW CAN WE PROTECT AND KEEP NOURISHING WHAT WE’VE SOWED?
Apply what you have learned in Winter - endure and never give up!
If you keep moving in the right direction you’ll eventually get to your destination.
Keep your focus on your goals and remember the reasons why you have no other option but success.
Your WHY is the driving force that will motivate you through your journey to reap your harvest.
Don’t forget how far you have already come, this will motivate you to stay on track.
Do you really want to waste all the hard work you have already put in?
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer”. - Albert Camus
4) AUTUMN - TIME TO REAP YOUR FRUITS, EITHER FAILURE OR SUCCESS
It’s the time when we have to take up full responsibility for what we reaped.
We have to accept what the harvest is, be it miserable or abundant.
If you have taken the right action in the other three seasons, then now you will reap juicy fruits.
On the contrary, if you have procrastinated and avoided consistent action you will reap bitter fruits if any.
This is the law of cause and effect - it applies to every living being alike and in Autumn you see it with your eyes.
We need to take full responsibility for what we have done during the previous seasons of life.
Accepting full responsibility is when you know you've moved on from childhood to adulthood.
Way too often we tend to blame other people or circumstances for how our lives unfold.
But, how often do we look at the mirror when it’s time to assess who is responsible for what we get out of our lives?
You see, we all have challenges and disappointments to face.
Those are not “gifts” only reserved for a few.
Most people believe that there are many reasons for failing, but in reality, this is not the case.
The only reason why we do not reap the fruits we want is ourselves.
We should look at the results we have produced objectively, without telling ourselves excuses - this only harms us.
Every time we tell ourselves an excuse, we are lying to ourselves, and even worse, we are losing the opportunity to grow.
It’s not what happens that determines the quality or the quantity of our lives.
The same thing can happen to two different people, but while one gets rich, the other gets poor, while one recovers from a disease, the other succumbs, while one starts a new career or adventure, the other one keeps working in the same soul-sucking job.
So your future is not going to depend on economic conditions or outside influences or circumstances over which you have no control.
On the contrary, your future is going to depend on how you’ll respond to the curveballs that life will throw at you.
HOW CAN WE MAKE THE MOST OUT OF OUR AUTUMN?
We can start asking ourselves, “What do we intend to do about the challenges and disappointments that will surely come our way”?
Ask yourself how to best deal with them!
If you did get the results you were looking for, great. It’s time to celebrate your success!
However, if you didn’t get the outcomes you wanted, ponder on what you did in each season and understand what you missed out on - so you will do better in the future.
This means making Autumn a constructive period.
“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” - Jim Bishop
WHAT SEASON ARE YOU LIVING RIGHT NOW?
WINTER?
Remember this too shall pass, but make sure you get stronger, wiser, and better…
SPRING?
Remember to sow as much as you can - take advantage of all the opportunities; don’t be casual…
SUMMER?
Remember to defend what you sowed and nurture it continuously…
AUTUMN?
Remember to take full responsibility for the results you got…
Each season must be handled in a different way because the objectives, the difficulties, the goals, and the relationships change… everything is different, and nothing can be the same.
Wherever you are right now, don’t let time just pass by, give meaning to the seasons of your life.
FINAL THOUGHT
We cannot change the seasons, but we can change ourselves.
Seasons are not in our control, but our actions are.
Proper action in each season makes or breaks one’s life.
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