Spring Forward: Navigating challenges

The Noongar season Djilba is a seasonal growth period that supports wildflowers in blooming. It is this transition – from cold, clear days to warmer, rainy days - that optimises conditions for spring to arrive. Seasonal change and life change is constant, but our personal growth is a choice. Resilience is not just about getting to a point of recovery; it involves taking what we have learned from a situation and using it to equip ourselves better for future challenges.

This may require patience. We may need to grieve our winter and what was lost. This process can help us let go of the past and foster acceptance, allowing us to move forward in a more positive light. Personal growth provides the opportunity to create something new, enabling our spring to emerge. Ignoring, avoiding or denying can prolong suffering and keep us stuck longer. We may need to challenge our thinking and change some of the narratives we tell ourselves. Leaning into the problem and facing it allows us to consider nuances, other perspectives and creative ways to navigate the season.

Reaching out for help and surrounding ourselves with safe, supportive, and warm people can assist us in coping better. 

Sharing our struggles with someone else can help us feel less alone. Spending time with a trusted friend, mentor, or counsellor can help us reflect and unpack what is difficult to let go of, facilitating our transition to a new season. We may need time to seek out new information to help us find clarity in the situation. This exploration of our options and alternatives—considering what is in our control, what is important to us, what our values and strengths are, and resolving what we can—enables us to stay open to new possibilities and create something new. 

Personal growth is vital. It supports our psychological needs, sense of self and wellbeing, and helps us to move forward.

“While personal growth requires motivation, it also becomes a catalyst for change as we continue to meet our needs of relatedness (connection), autonomy (control), and competence (mastery).” ¹

With these new skills and strengths, we can move forward with hope and action, sharing with others what we have learned through our increased knowledge and understanding from lived experiences.