Cultivate What Matters Core Truth: To Everything There is a Season

One of our favorite 2023 additions to the PowerSheets® goal planner is the core truths sprinkled throughout. These core truths—15 guiding phrases to ground your goal setting—summarize our "what-matters-most" approach to achieving more of what matters to you in a life-giving and joyful way.

Because it's one thing to have heard a truth like "any day can be a fresh start" or "naming what matters changes everything" and another to actually remember and believe it—and it's only when we move to this next level that our actions will follow. When life throws us a curveball or goal setting gets discouraging, we need to be reminded of what's true.

Enter: the core truths! As you work through the pages of your PowerSheets, you'll be reminded of what you love about this community and its approach to goal setting with every turn of the page. You'll be reminded of what's true.

Of course, we only had so much room in the PowerSheets—and so here on the blog, we're giving each core truth its moment to shine. One at a time, we'll unpack what each core truth means, how it applies to goal setting, and how you can make the most of it.

Up next: to everything there is a season.

What does "to everything there is a season" mean?

While this core truth was inspired by the famous verses from Ecclesiastes 3 in the Bible ("to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven"), it points to a goal-setting staple, too. It even inspired the name of our first agenda, the Season by Season planner!

In the garden, in our goals, and in our lives, things work best when we acknowledge and accept the season we're in. Your season might be a literal season (fall, spring, winter, or summer, which often come with different commitments, energies, and opportunities). It might be a short season, like the holiday season or a demanding work stretch for you or your spouse. Or it might be a season of family life, like the "baby years," "teen years," or the first few years after becoming an empty nester. 

The season we're in informs the amount and quality of time we're able to give to our goals. While not every season is right for every goal, to everything there is a season!

Why does seasonality matter in goal setting?

When you name your season, you can adjust your expectations and action steps accordingly, leading to greater satisfaction with your goal-setting life and less frustration along the way. For example, if you know April is always a busy season at work, you can pull back on your goal progress in that month—knowing that the goal slowdown is not forever, and that there will be months to come when you can move full steam ahead.

"To everything there is a season" is also a gentle reminder that not every goal needs to be accomplished at once, or even started at once. This is one reason why we love the "Pace Yourself for Success" page in the PowerSheets goal planner: once you have your Yearly Goals, you can use the twelve boxes to place your action steps throughout the year, you can choose the season in which they'll have the best chance of blooming.

How can I embrace "to everything there is a season" in my goal setting?

Living in your season is one key to a happy Cultivator! Here are four ways to embrace this core truth:

1. Let your Prep Work be true for right now.

As you go through your Prep Work, it's tempting to want to write down perfect answers that are true FOR ALL TIME. And that can feel impossible when you're in an acute season that's different than your "normal life." But that's not what PowerSheets are about! Your PowerSheets are for helping you make progress given your exact circumstances. Whether you're hesitating over the "Upgrade Your Mindset," the "Name What Matters," or the "What Fires Me Up" page, know that it is okay to just write what is true for right now, not for some ideal version of you off in the future.

2. Consider setting 90-day goals.

Know that instead of setting goals for the year, it might make more sense to set 90-day goals. Use the quarterly refreshes built into the PowerSheets to assess where you are and what you need right now, and then set goals accordingly! 

3. Spread out your starts.

Depending on your season, it might be helpful to begin your goals at different times throughout the year. Consider focusing on 1-2 main goals at a time. While prioritizing these main goals, you can still make small progress toward your other goals. This is a great strategy to help avoid burnout.

Be realistic about how much you can accomplish in a given day, week, and month. Remember: there are 12 months in a year to make progress, and that we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a week, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.

4. Check your resources.

Check your goals to see whether making progress is realistic in your season, depending on the resources you have available—time, patience, will-power, focus, space, money, and more. 

And if you do a check and realize you don't have the resources in this season? Be encouraged, friend: to everything there is a season, including every one of your goals that matters in the big picture.

Previously:
Reflection Reaps Rewards
Legacies Grow from One Small Seed
Goals Grow When We Pursue Progress, Not Perfection