Summer Days, Drifting Away: Staying on Top of Our Growth in a Season of Abundance by Zack McMaster

Summer is often considered a season of joy, an antithesis of winter’s “seasonal depression”. We often feel at our healthiest and happiest during the summer months. Maybe we have achieved some of the goals we have been working towards. The sun is out, flowers are blooming, children are out of school, and many families will be taking trips. Summer is a time to relax a little bit. We become less intentional of our growth and healing. We already feel great, why should we have to put in extra work? 

There are six stages of change. 

1. Precontemplation: change is not seen as necessary

2. Contemplation: change is considered

3. Determination: committing to change and making plans

4. Action: following the plans that are made

5. Maintenance: plans are completed and goals are reached. Working to maintain the change

6. Recurrence: if we are not careful and intentional, we will fall off of maintenance and back into where we were before

This week we are focusing on stage 5, maintenance. Just because we have reached our goals does not mean we are done putting in effort. During the summer, it is really easy to fall off our maintenance plans and back into recurrence. We have to be more careful and intentional during this season when it comes to maintaining our goals.

Summer is great and should be appreciated. But all the sunshine and flowers do not mean everything is perfect. If we are not careful, we can lose many of the habits and skills we have learned. When there are few obstacles, we may forget how to handle them. We fall out of schedules and habits. When the challenges of the winter months come back, we find ourselves ill-equipped to handle them. 

This is not to say that we cannot appreciate the reprieve of summer, but we should be aware of the dangers of becoming too comfortable. In this time of health, we need to take stock of what we have achieved and be mindful of what it took to get there. We need to be more intentional than ever about keeping on top of our habits and building up our supports. It is during our highs that we can best prepare to protect ourselves in our lows. Use this season of joy to your advantage to prepare for when that warmth goes away.

Enjoy your summer. Appreciate its warmth, its freedom, and its opportunities. Recognize the growth you have made in the recent months. Relax into the season, but do not let yourself lose the skills and habits that have gotten you to where you are.