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. Wondering What Season You Are In? Change doesn’t move in a straight line; it moves in seasons. Some seasons ask you to plant. Others ask you to rest, harvest, or let go. Take this two-minute quiz to find out which season you’re in right now, and what it’s asking of you. How it works: 8 quick questions, then a short reflection on your season, plus one practice to try this week. Every season includes a free subscription to Regenerate Your World, with reflections tailored to where you are.  Click Here To Take the Quiz

The Roadless Neutral Zone

 

July 13, 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!

The Roadless Neutral Zone The last stretch of pavement before Chelan, the highway that got us close, but not all the way. Leaving the highway behind. Stepping onto the water. Everything that matters requires us to trust the space between. Dear Empowered Reader, I just got back from a trip to Washington State. Somewhere between the flights, the rental car, and timing our transit connections just right, it hit me: this whole trip was a lesson in management, management in expectations, and management of change. The heart of the trip was the North Cascades Loop, miles of winding mountain road, alpine passes, and small towns tucked between peaks. But the part that stuck with me most wasn't anything you could drive to. It was Stehekin. Stehekin sits deep in the North Cascades, and here's the thing about it: you cannot drive there. No highway connects it to anything, loop or otherwise. You leave your car in Chelan, walk down to the dock, and get on a ferry. For an hour and a half, you float uplake with nothing to do but slow down. There's a name for this in change work: the Neutral Zone. William Bridges coined it. It's that messy middle where the old way of doing things has ended, but the new way hasn't shown up yet. No pavement. No GPS.  You're just out there. Most of us panic at the dock. We want to rush across the water, skip the discomfort, and build ourselves a makeshift highway just to feel steady again. We treat the in-between as something to escape as fast as possible. But according to Bridges, the neutral zone isn't empty space; it's actually where the real work happens. It's uncomfortable, but it's doing something. Here's what it gives us, if we let it: It sets the pace. You can't sprint through a real transformation. Bridges' research is clear on this: when we force an outcome before people have processed the change internally, we get friction and resistance instead of buy-in. It opens room for new ideas. Without a pre-paved road, teams have to find new ways to work together. That's exactly why the neutral zone tends to be so creative: the old rules aren't boxing you in anymore. It lets you actually think. It's the pause where you get to ask what you actually want to build next, instead of just carrying old momentum forward on autopilot. Here's why we resist this so much: when there's no pre-set structure, our brains have to evaluate and choose constantly, and that's exhausting. Social psychologist Roy Baumeister's research on ego depletion backs this up: our capacity for self-control and intentional choice is a limited resource. So when we try to power through a roadless season by micromanaging every decision, we burn out fast and default right back to old habits. If you're leading a team through a shift right now, or you're in a roadless season of your own life, know this: the lack of a highway doesn't mean you're lost. It means you've made it to the neutral zone. Get on the ferry. Trust the ride. Stepping onto the ferry. No more roads from here: just water, time, and a cup of coffee! AFFIRMATION "I am allowed to step off the highway of constant momentum. Ambiguity is not a sign of failure; it is the space where renewal takes root. I trust the roadless path, I honor the transition, and I give myself permission to sit in the neutral zone until the new beginning clarifies itself." The wilderness of Stehekin. PRACTICES FOR THIS SEASON Name your highway. Look at your current situation, personal or professional. What's the old road you're still gripping, even though the terrain has changed? Let something sit. Pick one decision that feels stuck in ambiguity. Instead of forcing an answer just to relieve the tension, table it for a week on purpose. Let it be unresolved for a little longer than feels comfortable. Practice floating. Next time you feel the urge to rush a transition this week, stop and take three slow breaths. Remind yourself: the ferry is moving at the right speed. You don't have to drive the boat. Learning to float instead of rush. Some lessons only show up when you slow down enough to notice them. REFLECTION QUESTIONS For your journal, your walk, your quiet morning Do you see the roadless phases of your life as a threat, or as an opportunity? What would shift if you treated this space as necessary instead of a problem to fix? What old habits are you still quietly trying to carry onto the ferry with you? What would it take to actually leave them at the dock? Who's making this transition alongside you? Are you letting people in, or trying to navigate it alone? More in two weeks. Take care, dear reader,  Julie Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. Ode to the Cascade Author Unknown In the realm where whispers flow,  Nature's canvas,  bold and aglow,  Words like streams in endless chase,  Dance and weave in vibrant grace.  Each line a ripple, soft and clear,  Crafting landscapes, far and near,  Mountains rise and valleys sigh,  Ink becomes the earth, the sky.  A cascade born from heart's pure stream,  We paint our worlds, we dare to dream,  Through syllables, the wild takes flight,  A symphony of day and night.  Let each stanza bloom like flowers wide,  In fragrant breezes, let them glide,  For in these verses, life unfolds,  Nature's beauty, in ink, retold.

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 Luminary Conference Presentation When: September 2026 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. https://almaleaders.org/rochester-conference-registration?fbclid=IwY2xjawSeUQJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFTNXZNTFI2ckgyR1ZuZWV4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhP3tFpQlxVKRAMvwECnXmvkwEH8vvokmbnxFS-cVX_u5AgZWavbKOfPujUZ_aem_YWdncwA8i8y47DlRNlwbE18Ymi4i&brid=YWdncwEvYYKorF5TIQS0XiXsyrPq  Empower Possible 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. Click HERE to sign up to be on the waitlist for the next workshop. I will reach out once a workshop is scheduled that meets your availability. 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.

Empowerment of Self: Leading from Within

 

October 27, 2025 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!

Empowerment of Self: Leading from Within The Three Empowerments: Self, Social, and Systems Dear Empowered Reader, Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here. I want to sit with you, just for a few minutes, and start a conversation about what it really means to empower ourselves, especially when life asks us to step into something new and unfamiliar. This newsletter is the beginning of a three-part series exploring the heart of Empower Possible: the three empowerments. The Three Empowerments are self, social, and systems. Together, the three empowerments help us build a foundation that supports well-being, change, and transformation. Today, we begin with the most personal and foundational, the empowerment of self About a year ago, I found myself at a crossroads, one of those big career transitions that change everything. I said “yes” to a new role in a completely different industry. Exciting, right? Sure. But also with change, there is uncertainty. It meant saying goodbye to a truly wonderful team; people who I cared about and who cared about me, who laughed with me, and who made even the hardest days brighter. There was comfort there, and I left it behind for growth and a leap into the unknown. Can you relate? Maybe you’re in the middle of a big change too, or you’re about to make a decision that means letting go of something good in hopes of something great (or at least different). I remember those first few mornings in my new role, feeling awkward, a little lost, and missing my old routines and relationships. I wondered: how long will I feel like this? That’s when the idea of self-empowerment became more than a workshop topic; it became a lifeline. Honestly, I needed practical ways to ground myself. So, I journaled. I made a habit of stepping outside for a walk, even when it was cold. I learned to celebrate the tiniest wins: mastering one new process, connecting meaningfully with a new colleague, or just making it through a tough meeting. Slowly, resilience started to take root. If there’s one thing I hope you take from this, it’s that empowerment isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about tending to your own well-being, giving yourself permission to be uncomfortable, and believing that confidence grows one small step at a time. Reflection Questions to Consider: What small daily practices have helped you build resilience during times of change? How do you define success for yourself when stepping into something unfamiliar? What strengths or skills do you feel confident leaning into right now? Positive Affirmation: "Today, I honor my inner resilience and trust that clarity comes with each step forward." Let’s keep this conversation going. Next time, I’ll share how strengthening ourselves opens the door to building stronger, more meaningful connections with others, the seeds of social empowerment. I’m listening, and I’d love to hear if this resonates with you. What’s your story of leaning into the unknown? With gratitude and hope, Julie Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. While working remotely, I often work from various locations across Northfield, MN. This flexibility is more than a logistical convenience; it's a form of self-empowerment. By allowing myself to choose an environment that matches my energy and focus, I incorporate regular movement, invite novelty, and create moments to pause and reflect throughout my day. These conscious changes not only support my productivity but also remind me to care for my well-being, one workspace at a time. Poem "Within the quiet, courage grows A steady whisper, ‘You can rise.’ Light returns behind closed eyes; Strength emerges, Quiet wise." Upcoming Events

Embark on an extraordinary journey of growth and possibility by joining the upcoming EMPOWER Possible events!  Should you have any questions or want more details, don't hesitate to drop me an email at info@EmpowerPossible.com  Active Bodies, Motivational Interviewing Seminar, Northfield, MN, November 8 Sharing the techniques and structures for creating effective engagement and support for a diversity of individuals involved in active body pursuits.  Using culturally and physically sensitive language, and physically embodying activities designed for diverse groups. Mountain 10 WorkshopTo sign up for the waitlist, please click HERE to complete the form 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.