Your World, What Season Are You Actually In? (It's Not the One on the Calendar)

 

August 24, 2026 Regenerate Your World  Build the future you want to live in. I know these times aren't the easiest for all of us, but I am an optimist - I see the glass as refillable instead of half-full or half-empty. To brighten up your days, I publish the Regenerate Your World newsletter coming to your inbox on a bi-weekly basis. Let's Get Empowered! What season are you in? Sometimes the seasons are unclear, just like the mist around Gooseberry Falls. Dear Empowered Reader, I was in my early thirties when I walked away from a career I'd spent years building at the College of St. Scholastica. I was burned out and needed a change. I knew where I wanted to go, which was toward the work that would eventually become Empower Possible. What I remember most clearly isn't the fear of leaving. It's the quiet, growing certainty that the role I was in no longer matched the person doing it. The values that had once fit the work had shifted, and I was still working anyway, and day by day I felt less like myself, waiting for it to change back to the work I knew. However, it never did. It couldn't, because I was the one who had changed. I keep thinking about that moment. Because most of us aren't actually confused about whether change is coming. We're confused about what season we're already standing in. Enjoying Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Soaking in summer. I'm writing this at the end of August, which always feels like the edge of something bigger. Right now my husband, Chuck, and I are up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, near Marquette, Lake Superior on one side, the woods on the other.  Late summer does something specific up there. It's still warm, but it's already leaning; there is a chill in the air. The light hits the water differently than it did in June. Nothing has technically ended. And yet you can feel the hinge. That's the trouble with seasons, the actual ones and the inner ones. They rarely announce themselves. They just start leaning, and you either notice the tilt or you get caught flat-footed by the frost. Psychologist Daniel Levinson spent years studying exactly this kind of tilt in adult life. His research, built from in-depth interviews and later expanded to include women as well as men, found that adulthood isn't the flat, static stretch we assume it is once childhood ends. It moves through distinct seasons, each with its own structure, and each punctuated by transition periods where a person questions the life they've built and starts reorganizing it. Levinson called the relatively stable periods times for building a life around key choices, and the transitional periods the space where those choices get reexamined. Neither one lines up neatly with a birthday. Here's what the research adds that Levinson couldn't have measured in the 1970s: your felt age and your actual age are often two different numbers entirely, and the gap matters. Across a wide body of research, most adults report feeling meaningfully younger or older than their chronological age, and that gap shows up in measurable ways, in stress levels, in life satisfaction, in how much control people feel they have over their health and their choices. Feeling out of step with your own age isn't a character flaw. It's data. I think that's the piece we skip.  We ask "am I too old for this" or "am I too young for that," as if the calendar were the authority. But the more honest question is: what terrain am I actually standing on right now? Am I in a stable season, building something and wanting to protect it? Or am I in a transition, quietly outgrowing a structure I haven't admitted I've outgrown yet? Those are different seasons. They call for different things. A stable season wants commitment and depth. A transition wants space and honesty. Treating a transition like it should behave like a stable season, gritting your teeth, waiting for the restlessness to pass, is like trying to force August to stay June. It won't, and pretending it will just delays the harvest. This is the exact terrain the Mountain 10 experience is built for: the four stages of change: awareness, letting go, vision, and realization. Most people I work with, whether it's a leadership team navigating a merger or someone quietly renegotiating their own career the way I once did, get stuck in the same place: they're already in a transition season, but they're still trying to operate by the rules of the stable one they just left. Naming the season you're actually in is often the whole unlock. Not fixing it. Just naming it accurately. That's also exactly why the Wisdom of Winter Retreat exists, February 25–28, 2027, at True North Resort in Nisswa, Minnesota, with Rachel Gilbertson of Art of Presence and Taylor Tix and Cris Bickman Otte of Taylor & Co. You can't always do this kind of season-naming inside a Tuesday. It takes three lakeside nights, some distance from your usual roles, and people around you who are asking the same quiet question instead of performing certainty. Spots are limited; if you've been circling the idea, this is your nudge to stop circling and check it out. Enjoying the last of the summer blooms. Affirmation "I am allowed to be in a different season than my age suggests. My inner calendar and my birth certificate don't owe each other an explanation." Practice Name your actual season, not your expected one. Set aside the "I should be at X stage by now" story.  Ask instead: does my life right now feel like building, or like outgrowing? Check for the leaning light.  What's one place in your life that technically hasn't ended, but you can feel tilting?  A role, a routine, a relationship, an identity. You don't have to act on it yet. Just admit you can feel the hinge. Separate the season from the schedule. A transition doesn't run on a calendar-year timeline.  Give it permission to take as long as it actually takes, instead of the length you think it should take. Ask what this season is actually for. Stable seasons are for building.  Transition seasons are for reorienting.  Naming which one you're in tells you what to stop forcing. Reflection Questions Where do you feel closer to your calendar age and where do you feel like you're living in an entirely different decade of your own development? What structure in your life was built for a season you've already left? If you let yourself believe you're in a transition instead of a crisis, what would you stop apologizing for? Remember, you are already doing the work by showing up each day.  Take care, dear reader, Julie Founder, Empower Possible Sources: Levinson, D.J., The Seasons of a Man's Life (1978) and The Seasons of a Woman's Life (1996); Aktu, Y., & İlhan, T., "Individuals' life structures in the early adulthood period based on Levinson's theory," Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 2017; research on subjective age and well-being outcomes, Gerontological Society of America / Innovation in Aging proceedings; Rubin, D. & Berntsen, D., on age perception and developmental transitions, Frontiers in Psychology. Just as we were taking in the sights of Machu Picchu, a llama wandered up the terraces!  It was as if the llama was there to remind us that life still moves through this ancient place. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. Welcoming the Seasons Poet: Catherine Pulsifer Each season comes, then drifts away, Yet we look forward to the day, When springtime blooms or summer glows, When autumn paints or winter snows. The changes come, a gift so true, Bringing joys both old and new. Embrace each one, for time will show, The beauty found as seasons go.https://www.stresslesscountry.com/poemsseasons.html In the Media Where can you find EMPOWER Possible? In addition to posting on my own social media, I collaborate with other entrepreneurs.  Thank you to The CEO Mindset for hosting me on your podcast.  By pressing play on this episode, you'll discover: How to change your life with systems, goals, and design a personal blueprint.    Are you ready to change your life? I am not sure if I know anyone who isn’t in some form or fashion.   In this episode of the podcast, we talk about the relationship between systems, goals, and my personal blueprint.Click here to listen. Interested in catching up on our previous podcast episodes? I invite you to explore our library of past recordings, where we delve into a diverse range of topics related to happiness and well-being. https://empowerpossible.com/podcasts/&nbsp Upcoming Events Leading Change When Nobody is Looking When: September 17, 2026  Where: St. Paul, MN What: Panelists will share real stories about leading through uncertainty, influencing without formal authority, working with limited resources, and helping people move forward when conditions are far from perfect. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for building momentum before buy-in exists, creating progress amid constraints, and sustaining change when the path forward is still taking shape. Discover more by clicking here. Luminary Conference Presentation When: September 25, 2026 Where: Rochester, MN  What: I am thrilled to be taking the stage at the upcoming Luminary Conference! I will be sharing actionable frameworks on sustainable leadership, thriving through large-scale organizational transitions, and shifting workplace cultures from a state of survival and overwhelm into a space of abundance and clarity. To learn more, click here. Wisdom of Winter Retreat When: February 25 to 28 2027 Where: True North Resort, Nisswa, MN What: In partnership with Art of Presence and Taylor and Co., Empower Possible is hosting a winter retreat. Surrounded by peaceful lake views, snow-covered forests, and the quiet beauty of winter, this retreat is designed to help you slow down, reconnect, and restore. Come as you are. Leave feeling rested, grounded, and renewed. Learn more: https://taylorandcoapothecary.com/2027-nisswa-retreat/  Mountain 10 Workshops What is Mountain 10?  During this three-hour workshop, we will focus on accessing your inner wisdom to bring about the changes you deeply desire in your life. We will use the Mountain 10 process, a proven, new technology for deep reflection on human change. It is based on the conviction that every person has the most important answers about direction, purpose, and calling within them. For a Mountain 10 experience, join the Wisdom of Winter Retreat. Can't make it to the Wisdom of Winter Retreat? Join the waitlist. Click HERE Please reach out if you have any questions: info@empowerpossible.com Connect with me on social media! Copyright © EMPOWER Possible  Northfield, United States EMPOWER Possible is dedicated to empowering individuals, organizations, and communities to organize and act together to regenerate our world through Self, Social, and Systems transformation.  info@empowerpossible.com \ Website \ Mission Disclaimer: This newsletter contains content that has been modified and inspired by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. While we use ChatGPT to enhance our content, it should not be considered professional advice. For specific concerns or decisions, please consult with a qualified professional or trusted source. The newsletter authors are not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided by or inspired by ChatGPT. Edit preferences or Unsubscribe

Discover the Journey Back to Yourself

 

August 10, 2026 Regenerate Your World  Build the future you want to live in. I know these times aren't the easiest for all of us, but I am an optimist - I see the glass as refillable instead of half-full or half-empty. To brighten up your days, I publish the Regenerate Your World newsletter coming to your inbox on a bi-weekly basis. Let's Get Empowered!

Discover the Journey Back to Yourself Dear Empowered Reader, I read about a woman named Stella Photi this week; I related to many parts of her story, and I think you will too. She spent years building a high-flying career before burnout caught up with her, not gradually, but the kind that stops you cold. Instead of pushing through it and calling that resilience, she built something out of it. She founded Wellbeing Escapes, a wellness travel company designed around exactly what she'd needed and hadn't had. She's watched the same pattern play out in her clients ever since. In a survey her company ran, more than half named burnout as the reason they booked a trip in the first place. She calls it a modern-day epidemic, the cost of normalizing chronic stress until the body finally forces the issue. She's not alone in that. Wellness tourism is heading toward a $1.4 trillion industry by 2029. Over half the people in Hilton's 2026 Trends Report said "rest and recharge" is now their number one reason to travel. A third are traveling specifically for their mental health. And two-thirds of Gen Z and millennial travelers told KAYAK that relaxation and a mental reset beat sightseeing and bucket lists, hands down. I think we're finally catching up to what our nervous systems have been telling us all along: rest isn't the reward you get after the work is done. Rest is the work. She's not alone in that.  A personal story from my travels relates to this: it was a hike up to an old fire lookout on the North Cascades Loop this July. It was a tough, long hike, full of switchbacks, with an elevation gain of 4500 ft.  Once I got to the top. I sat down. I didn't journal. I didn't plan anything. I just watched the ridgeline for several minutes, soaking in the view and catching my breath. That's the part many of us skip, isn't it?  We're great at pushing through the climb. We're terrible at sitting at the summit and actually letting it land. William Bridges called this in-between space the "neutral zone"; you've let go of the old thing, but you haven't quite landed in the new one yet. Most of us try to sprint through it. But the neutral zone isn't dead time. It's where the real reorientation happens, if you let it. Wellness travel, at its best, is a deliberate trip into that neutral zone. You're not there to perform. You're there to notice. The fire tower. Lookout Mountain. Washington State. This part matters to me; the rest is the work, because I know some of you are wondering if this is all just a nice thing to say. It isn't just something I say; it is something supported by research.  A 2022 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that even small doses of green space- one tree, a pocket park, your own garden bed- measurably lower stress. You don't need a mountain range for this. Ten unhurried minutes will do plenty. Research from Japan found that time spent in forests lowers heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels, and the benefits show up even when people are just looking at natural scenes, not hiking through them. And a 2026 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that green space affects brain regions involved in emotion regulation, easing both stress and depressive symptoms.  So no,  the people at that wellness resort weren't imagining the shift after a beach walk or a quiet afternoon outside. Their nervous systems were doing exactly what the research says they'd do. The detail that stuck with me longest, though. It wasn't about kale or step counts. It was Enzo Caiazzo, who first showed up trying to lose weight back in 2015 and has returned every year since, not for the program, but for the people. "It's a community," he said. "You are on the same path, searching for something." That's the piece a lot of change frameworks miss. We talk endlessly about individual resilience. We talk a lot less about how much easier transitions get and how much better they stick when you're not going through it alone. View from the fire tower. This shows up in my own work too. I don't think anyone can do the practice below well alone, squeezed into the margins of an already-full week. It takes space. It takes distance from the noise that makes doubt so loud in the first place. That's exactly the space I'm building into the Wisdom of Winter Retreat, February 25–28, 2027, at True North Resort in Nisswa, Minnesota, with Rachel Gilbertson of Art of Presence and Taylor Tix and Cris Bickman Otte of Taylor & Co. It's a women's retreat built on the same thing Maren stumbled into: sometimes the most important move you can make is to stop and let yourself hear what you already know. Three nights lakeside.  No packed agenda, no rigid resolutions. Sauna and hot tub time built in on purpose,  not squeezed in around everything else. And at the center of it, I'll be guiding the Mountain 10 experience,  a walk through four areas of human change: awareness, letting go, vision, and realization. It's really the seasonal practice below, stretched out over several days instead of four minutes.  You'll have room to actually find your last real marker, to untangle doubt from direction with people who won't rush you past either one, and to say out loud, not just write down, the tower you're still climbing toward.  It's the same framework I use with executive teams navigating organizational change. Just adapted for the quieter transitions we're all carrying too. There's wisdom in winter.  The season isn't asking you to produce. It's asking you to rest, so the next one has something to grow from. View from the fire tower while resting. Affirmation "I am allowed to rest before I'm finished. Rest is not the interruption of my growth; it is the ground it grows from." A Seasonal Practice Name the last real marker. When did you last get clear confirmation you were headed the right way a result, a yes, a moment where things clicked? Write it down. It's closer than the doubt makes it feel. Separate the doubt from the direction. Ask yourself: is this "am I even on the right path" feeling about the path, or is it just discomfort about not being able to see yet? They get tangled together. They're not the same question. Look for the grade, not the view. You might not get the clearing this week. But is the ground still rising? Is there still forward motion, even without proof? Rising terrain, even with no view, is still information. Keep the destination named, even unseen. Write one sentence describing the tower you're climbing toward, the outcome you can't see yet but are still moving toward. Keep it somewhere you'll actually see it. It doesn't have to be certain to be worth naming. Reflection Questions When was the last time you rested before you were depleted, instead of after? Where are you right now in Bridges' "neutral zone", no longer who you were, not yet who you're becoming?  What would it look like to stop rushing through it? Who's on your same path right now, "searching for something," that you could reach out to instead of doing this stretch alone? Until next time, take care, dear reader, Julie Sources: https://www.wellbeingescapes.com/about-us,  Global Wellness Institute / PhocusWright & Web in Travel wellness tourism projections;  Hilton 2026 Trends Report;  KAYAK 2026 Travel Trends;  Gu, Liu & Lu, "Can Even a Small Amount of Greenery Be Helpful in Reducing Stress? A Systematic Review," International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022; Anxiety and Depression  Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile, the world goes on..... Read the rest at https://www.poetry.com/poem/123017/wild-geese

In the Media Where can you find EMPOWER Possible? In addition to posting on my own social media, I collaborate with other entrepreneurs.  Thank you to The CEO Mindset for hosting me on your podcast.  By pressing play on this episode, you'll discover: How to change your life with systems, goals, and design a personal blueprint.    Are you ready to change your life? I am not sure if I know anyone who isn’t in some form or fashion.   In this episode of the podcast, we talk about the relationship between systems, goals, and my personal blueprint.Click here to listen. Interested in catching up on our previous podcast episodes? I invite you to explore our library of past recordings, where we delve into a diverse range of topics related to happiness and well-being. https://empowerpossible.com/podcasts/&nbsp Upcoming Events Leading Change When Nobody is Looking When: September 17, 2026  Where: St. Paul, MN What: Panelists will share real stories about leading through uncertainty, influencing without formal authority, working with limited resources, and helping people move forward when conditions are far from perfect. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for building momentum before buy-in exists, creating progress amid constraints, and sustaining change when the path forward is still taking shape. Discover more by clicking here. Luminary Conference Presentation When: September 25, 2026 Where: Rochester, MN  What: I am thrilled to be taking the stage at the upcoming Luminary Conference! I will be sharing actionable frameworks on sustainable leadership, thriving through large-scale organizational transitions, and shifting workplace cultures from a state of survival and overwhelm into a space of abundance and clarity. To learn more, click here. Wisdom of Winter Retreat When: February 25 to 28 2027 Where: True North Resort, Nisswa, MN What: In partnership with Art of Presence and Taylor and Co., Empower Possible is hosting a winter retreat. Surrounded by peaceful lake views, snow-covered forests, and the quiet beauty of winter, this retreat is designed to help you slow down, reconnect, and restore. Come as you are. Leave feeling rested, grounded, and renewed. Learn more: https://taylorandcoapothecary.com/2027-nisswa-retreat/  Mountain 10 Workshops What is Mountain 10?  During this three-hour workshop, we will focus on accessing your inner wisdom to bring about the changes you deeply desire in your life. We will use the Mountain 10 process, a proven, new technology for deep reflection on human change. It is based on the conviction that every person has the most important answers about direction, purpose, and calling within them. For a Mountain 10 experience, join the Wisdom of Winter Retreat. Can't make it to the Wisdom of Winter Retreat? Join the waitlist. Click HERE Please reach out if you have any questions: info@empowerpossible.com

Connect with me on social media! Copyright © EMPOWER Possible  Northfield, United States EMPOWER Possible is dedicated to empowering individuals, organizations, and communities to organize and act together to regenerate our world through Self, Social, and Systems transformation.  info@empowerpossible.com \ Website \ Mission You are receiving this email because you expressed an interest in my work—thank you! You can change your email preferences or unsubscribe at any time.  Disclaimer: This newsletter contains content that has been modified and inspired by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. While we use ChatGPT to enhance our content, it should not be considered professional advice. For specific concerns or decisions, please consult with a qualified professional or trusted source. The newsletter authors are not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided by or inspired by ChatGPT.