Leaves bring to mind the change of seasons, as summer fades and we notice the first hints of winter. As a kid who grew up in a place without seasons, watching the leaves fall in autumn is still magical. And yet, the beauty of the changing colors masks the harder elements of the cold winter to come.
Leaves are really a symbol for change itself. Many psychological studies point to the difficulty of change – and anyone who has tried to stop a bad habit, from gossip to overdoing social media to bedtime procrastination, can attest to its challenge. And still, there is a reality in the business world that if we don’t change, we die. Without evolution, we are often no longer relevant and thriving.
Even as a great aficionado of productivity literature, I know that there is no way to “hack” change – it takes commitment, energy, patience, and time. Sometimes events in our lives change us, and sometimes we shift and see things differently. The more we can stay connected to our core values and purpose, the more we can ensure we emerge a better version of ourselves at the end of all that change. And in difficult moments (like this one, for the Jewish world) we can remind ourselves that just as the leaves fall, winter comes, and then spring emerges, so too this season will pass, and usher in more hope.
