#15 - End of Spring
Happy Tuesday!
We have arrived at the last edition of this Tuesday newsletter for this 2025 Spring series.
Don’t worry, there’s more to come, I haven’t gotten rid of me yet.
Celebration
Finishing something is indeed liberating.
Not because it’s perfect, but because I can finally see the distance travelled.
A finish line helps give the journey shape. 3 months of weekly newsletters, for me, is a good shape. It was an experiment and I’m glad I did it. Like a solid endurance race. I mean, imagine being halfway through a marathon only to be told the finish line was extended… how exhausting!
Sometimes though, we don’t draw a finish line at all(Hot tip: for daunting projects, make one. Your energy will thank you.). Others, like my son, simply decide when ‘enough” is enough. He builds 8 upside down buckets of sand, calls it a castle, and calls it a day. Satisfaction achieved.
We’re often less generous with ourselves. We can stare at the vast blue sky ahead and forget to acknowledge the runway we just lifted from. In coaching, a big part of the work is recognising a milestone, not drifting into endless orbit.
So how do you celebrate?
My son does a happy dance in front of his sand. (And I love him for it!)
I make instant noodles. (Definitely a cheat meal)
Both work.
Coaching action question:
What’s a milestone you’d like to acknowledge for yourself?
What have you done to commemorate it?
Post Mortem
Celebration is fun. Reflection is grounding.
That said, my son probably doesn’t need to conduct an internal audit of the structural integrity of his sandcastles or do a fishbone analysis of why they lack aesthetic symmetry.
There’s a time and place for hyper-rational optimisation, but for the rest of us, and for my purposes, a simple, values driven retrospective gives significant rewards for minimal effort.
Call it a post mortem, a debrief, a review - the purpose is all the same. What worked? What could be better? What surprised me? How did it align with my values? What did I learn?
Honesty is the key. (And since you’re the only audience, you are absolutely allowed to brag)
For this particular experiment, I cared about consistency, authenticity, and creativity. I met them mostly. There were moments of “why did I commit to this” but with the help of my readers (love some external accountability) and my own internal commitment, I’m glad I stuck to it. It felt truthful. Expressive. And it reminded me that discipline can be warm, not necessarily rigid.
Reflection doesn't need to be judgement or score keeping - just clarity for next time.
Coaching action questions:
In your completed milestone, what were the significant things that worked? What didn’t?
What was most surprising?
What values or needs did it address?
What’s the one take away to carry forward?
What to Welcome?
With post analysis complete, what’s next?
Rest.
There’s a reason for breaks between semesters. A reason athletes have off seasons. A reason for fallow land.
Growth needs pauses. You can tell when my boys need it (and there are… let's call them consequences when those needs aren’t met), adults aren’t that much different.
Rest looks different for everyone though. For me, it’s slowing down, shifting gears, spending more time with family. Instead of writing, I’ll put some time towards introspection and planning. Organising(never ends). And a few other side projects brewing along the way.
For the next few months, expect sporadic editions, in a different style. Experiments continue.
Thanks for reading, reflecting and responding. Knowing someone would read these made the whole series feel less like a broadcast, and just more.. connected.
Coaching action questions:
What does your intentional rest look like?
What are you welcoming in the next season?
