The Joys of Spring
Hands up who’s feeling the joys of Spring today?
I’m writing this with the sun on my face and feeling full of the joys of spring, which might be a bit premature as it's only February, but frankly we need to grab joy wherever we can find it these days!
I have always found that sunshine and a blue sky raise my energy and help me to feel like anything is possible, particularly when it comes to my so-called career. No matter how stuck or powerless I might be feeling, making time to show my face to the sun reminds me that I have choice; even if the choice I make is to do nothing or change nothing at this particular moment in time.
When I lived in New York and was trying to work out whether to leave the company I’d worked at for 12 years (with no plan or replacement lined up, and a visa that was tied to my job), the winter sunshine and skies that felt like they went on forever helped me realise that I would work it out somehow, by hook or by crook, and even now when I have something particularly gnarly to work through, I ask myself what New York Jonesy would do.
When I was in the depths of burnout back in London a couple of years later, I walked to and from the office (a three hour round trip) for the whole of summer, and let the sun work it’s magic on my state of mind and remind me that I was more than the shrivelled husk of myself that I felt in the office. I made up my mind to take ownership of my future and quit that job in Thailand in December after escaping the cold and dark of a London winter.
Last summer, when I was wondering if my business would survive my illness and trying to find the energy to ‘do some content’, I sat on my doorstep in the sunshine and came to terms with the fact that if I didn’t put myself and my health first neither me, nor the business would be going anywhere, and that the socials (and you lovely lot) could probably cope without me for a while.
I would love to know what helps you to feel that anything is possible, or helps you notice when you’ve stopped choosing and are just going with the flow.
If lockdown has left you feeling stuck and powerless, what is one choice you could make right now, no matter how big or how small, to reclaim a sense of agency, and what scaffolding might you need to hold you steady?
I am choosing to take the afternoon off and give future Jonesy the gift of this afternoon's work to catch up on at a later date ;)
If you’re feeling stuck, or could do with some support making choices in your so-called career, why not drop me a line?
I’d love to hear from you.
About the author
Penelope Jones is the founder of My So-Called Career. She is a career coach and consultant who specialises in helping women in their 30s beat burnout and develop healthy, sustainable relationships with work.
Share this post: