Can you feel it in the air? The shift from summer to fall? It’s riding on the crisp evening breezes and the slow-to-rise morning sun. Autumn approaches.

All of a sudden, it seems, summer is winding down. Our family has a little vacation planned for later this week. One last excursion to enjoy beaches and forests and views somewhere other than our cosy home, which has been our restaurant, classroom, boardroom, library and movie theatre for the past five months, since the pandemic changed how and where we go about our lives.

I love fall. I look forward to it every year. Cosy sweaters and long shadows. Leaves graduating from green to gold, rust and red. Soups and stews made from root vegetables and wholesome garden bounty. Ritual back-to-school shopping for stationary supplies. It feels like a shift inward, into being, from the doing and going and exploring and actioning of summer; a welcome return home.

Truth be told, I’ve always been more of a spring and fall person, and less of a summer and winter person. I prefer temperate over extreme. I prefer gentle transition to severe heat and jarring cold.

It reflects in the rest of my life too, I suppose. I’ve scaled back from being an overachieving Type A to a go-with-the-flow, moderately ambitious and much more balanced being. I’ve learned to slow down, to not take on too much, to discern and choose what’s most enlivening, most pleasing and most meaningful to pursue. I’m less black and white thinking, and more open and curious to the many sides of a story, and less likely to plant a stake for one side or the other. It’s been a long lesson with many bumps, and I believe I will keep learning it through the rest of my days.

What about you? Is there a season that represents your approach to life? Or, do you embrace each season’s energy as it comes?

Positive Intelligence (PQ)

In a few weeks, I’ll be finishing up Shirzad Chamine’s Positive Intelligence training program. It’s been wonderful to connect with a cohort of coaches from around the world as we integrate the teaching and practices of this program to bolster our Sages and dial down our Saboteurs.

From the site:

Mental fitness is a measure of the strength of your positive mental muscles (Sage) versus the negative (Saboteur). This measure of your Mental Fitness is called PQ (Positive Intelligence Quotient).

Just like your physical fitness, you can build your mental fitness by strengthening the “muscles” of your brain to improve performance, increase happiness and build resilience to handle life’s ups and downs.

Interested in learning how PQ can impact your life? Ask me!

Offerings this Autumn

We don’t know what’s going to happen with COVID cases or potential treatments this fall, or the impacts those will have on school or work. We remain in a state of unknowing and uncertainty, and I suspect we will continue to make it up as we go along, based on new information that becomes available. It’s difficult to be in a constant state of flux, and that’s why I created Thriving in Uncertainty. It’s a weekly come-as-you-are coaching and community support group call.

No homework. No prep. No need to stash the kids in front of a screen while you join in. Just show up with the chaos of your life around you for confirmation that you are doing the best you can; inspiration to create clarity and calm; and validation that you’re not the only one struggling right now.

We begin tomorrow with Managing School Expectations (or as I’ve dubbed it, #returntolearn). There are drop-in options and monthly subscription options.

All the details are over here.

1:1 Coaching Packages

Fall is a great time to hunker down on a new project, or refocus to finish the year strong. I’ve got a few 1:1 coaching spaces opening up in September, so reach out if you want personalized support and help prioritizing yourself. I offer 4-, 6- and 12-month packages to meet your individual goals and aspirations, on a sliding scale. Reach out to discuss your needs and how coaching can help.

Want a personalized strategic planning session? I’m happy to offer Tune In Tune Up Deep Dive sessions again! I used to offer these sessions on my farm in Saskatchewan, and I’m excited to share them now that I’m on the island. This 1:1 focused session is typically delivered in 2.5 hours, and includes weekly accountability check-ins and a 30-minute follow-up coaching session one month later.

That’s all for now.

What else do you need as we head into autumn? What would support you to thrive, or feel productive AND restful? What permission can you grant yourself for what you need as you shift into autumn?

Be well,

Jilly