Wednesday, March 20, 1996

Spring into action

Today is the first day of spring. It doesn’t seem possible, but 1996 is almost 25% over! Are you 25% of the way to the goals you set for yourself this year? If not, then the first day of Spring should serve as a reminder to “spring” into action and make 1996 a memorable year.

(Note to our readers in Australia, South Africa and other places to the south. Please forgive me for today’s blatantly “hemispherist” column, but I have a touch of spring fever! You may want to save this and read it in September.)

Springtime is a time of renewal. Nature puts many things on hold for the winter. Trees lose their leaves, the grass turns brown, and many animals (including humans) tend to hibernate. Here in North America, we’ve had a particularly cold winter and I, for one, am ready for warmer weather.

We should take a lesson from nature. Why do the trees lose their leaves? So they can get new ones, of course! A whole new set of leaves for a new season of growth. Maybe that’s why trees stick around for so long.

What can you do to renew yourself this Spring? What “leaves” can you move out of the way to make room for something new and productive? Perhaps you’ve gotten into a rut. You do the same thing every day, talk to the same people, eat the same lunch, drive the same way to work, use the same old set of assumptions. Imagine what would happen if the trees never lost their old leaves and grew new ones. The leaves would get frail, and torn, and limp, and completely useless.

Nature is constantly renewing itself, pruning away what doesn’t work and making room for new growth. What’s not working in your life? What could you do if you were free of your old assumptions and ineffective habits?

It is a shock for a tree to lose it’s leaves in the fall. And it is an effort for the tree to grow a new set in the spring. But it is well worth the trauma and the effort. That annual act of renewal enables a tiny tree to reach the sky.

At this time when nature is renewing itself, perhaps you should join in the fun and find your own way to have a productive growing season.

— Ralph Marston

Taking stock of your progress Are you your own worst enemy? next

Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.