Sum, sum, summertime!

As we’re in the midst of summer and all things outdoors, I found it quite relevant and poignant that I feel like I’m in the “summer” of my career. You see, I attended a lunch-n-learn seminar provided by my employer and it went a little something like this: how satisfied are you on the job? The presentation was quite intrinsic actually and prompted us to think about four phases on the job as it relates to the four seasons.

There’s the spring where you’re creating new magic, working new and old connections alike, and laying the groundwork. Then there’s the summer, also the honeymoon period where you’re constantly learning, meeting new people, growing…all the good stuff is happening here (plus, some bad stuff too like perhaps being a little overwhelmed, etc.) Then all the sudden – poof! – you start “nesting”. You reach autumn where it’s no longer new and fresh, things start becoming rather rote.

The key, the instructor said, was to realize things are cyclical and you’re never going to be in one cycle forever. The good won’t always last and neither will the bad; this, I thought, was pretty interesting since the next phase is the deaded plateau of winter. As for the good news? While working rather routinely and in a mundane fever pitch when you feel stuck in a winter phase, this boredom state gives you time to strategize, take ownership (more training perhaps? More projects? Or the inevitable prep stages for a new job?) which leads us back into spring.

That’s the key and I ask you this: which season are you in, where do you want to remain most of the time and most importantly, where do you want to go? Personally I’m constantly in pendulum within spring and summer and back to spring and wouldn’t have it any other way. I get bored too quickly and need to constantly mix things up. While the instructor talked about realizing things are cyclical and not linear and how we need to change our mindset if we can’t currently change our situation, you know what? There’s no better time to mentally and physically be in the summer. Longer days, more energy, more creative work. The key, I suppose, is having summer physically last when you’re mentally headed towards autumn!