Let spring be the time to renew your optimism

by Dan Oswald

Spring has sprung—at least here in Nashville where I live. It has been a brutal winter for most of the country, making spring even more attractive. My colleagues in the Northeast—especially in the Boston area—have endured the worst winter they’ve seen in decades. To them all I can say is that spring is on its way!

The official first day of spring this year was March 20. And while it might not feel like spring yet for everyone, it does here. I spent part of the Easter weekend in my yard mowing, pruning, and trimming. The grass is green, the trees are blossoming, and the flowers are in full bloom. It’s a glorious time of year that brings with it such optimism.

Isn’t it interesting how certain seasons bring with them a certain feeling? For me, spring equates to optimism. I guess it comes from suffering through those winter months when the grass is brown and the trees are bare, leaving the world around us bleak and colorless. Contrast that with spring, with all the brilliant colors and the new life we see popping up around us, and you can see all the reasons to be optimistic.

If that tree that looked so barren and lifeless is suddenly blossoming and full of life, then we also can start anew each year. In January, I often write about the opportunity to put the prior year behind us and that with the new year, we get a fresh start, but spring offers the same opportunity. Interestingly, under the Julian calendar, many countries celebrated the new year in March. For instance, in England and Wales, 1751 began on March 25.

So as we’re surrounded by spring and the optimism it brings, let’s take account of ourselves. Since we’ve already completed the first quarter of 2015, I want you to ask yourself the following questions:

• Have I started 2015 with renewed energy and focus, truly putting whatever issues arose in 2014 behind me?
• Am I focusing on the things that are most important in my life and giving them the attention they truly deserve?
• Am I being honest with myself about what I’m doing well and what I could be doing better?
• How can I carry the best of what I’ve done during the first three months of 2015 throughout the balance of the year?

Life’s too short to just be going through the motions at work. I hope you started 2015 with renewed passion and enthusiasm for the work you do each day. If you have, keep it up. Spring provides a new reminder to be optimistic—that new and good things can come from what may have looked hopeless just weeks or months before.

And if you haven’t started 2015 with the passion and energy you would have liked, here’s your second chance. Look at spring as your opportunity to shake off the winter doldrums and attack your work with renewed vigor. Sweep away the things that are keeping you from really embracing your work and focusing on what you can do to make a greater contribution.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

—Helen Keller

With spring comes a renewed opportunity for optimism. Don’t miss this opportunity. Take your cue from Mother Nature and embrace the new life that surrounds us this time of year. Use it as motivation to make sure you’re giving the things most important to you the attention they deserve.