Rethinking Time, Leadership, and the Urge to “Start Strong”
The Gregorian calendar tells us that a new year began last week. The business world tells us to start strong, to set goals, to build a plan, and hit the ground running. But what if… instead, we’re meant to slow down?
The calendar we live by was created not by nature, but by people. It was a brilliant attempt to organize the messiness of time, aligning solar years with religious observance, farming seasons, and politics. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced this system to correct the inaccuracies of Julius Caesar’s earlier Julian calendar. Over centuries, it became the standard many of us now use: twelve months, leap years, New Year’s on January 1st. It works in that it gives us structure. However, that structure doesn’t necessarily work for us as humans.
This is a man-made system, not a natural one. Our bodies, energy, creativity, and clarity follow different rhythms; rhythms more aligned with the seasons, with the moon, with rest and regeneration…which brings us to January.
Everywhere we look, there’s a cultural push to start the year at full speed. “Set your goals!” “Define your word for the year!” “New year, new you!” But let’s be deeply honest here: we’re tired. We just came out of the most demanding season of the year: a rush of year-end deliverables, holidays, emotional labor, and logistics, and yet, we’re expected to emerge from it like a phoenix, fresh and focused on driving forward? Doesn’t that seem counterintuitive?
This is not aligned with how we actually function as humans, especially those of us who lead, build, serve, and hold space for others. January may be the start of the Gregorian calendar year, but biologically and energetically, we are in deep winter.
There’s a concept I want to share with you: wintering. It’s the idea that rest is not a break from life, but a season within life. It honors the natural cycles we see in nature: the periods of growth, yes, but also dormancy, retreat, and restoration. When trees lose their leaves, and the earth goes quiet, it’s not failure. It’s preparation. It’s the necessary pause that allows spring to happen.
In her book Wintering, author Katherine May writes: “Wintering is a fallow period in life when you’re cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider. Yet it’s also a transformative time of rest and repair, a time to tend to our roots and lay the groundwork for future flourishing.”
For us as leaders, creators, and caregivers, January should be a time of reflection, integration, and intention, not acceleration.
Here’s a radical idea: What if we began our year not in a sprint… but in a pause? What if January were a time to reflect on what we released in the year past, to rest before we rebuild, to realign our goals with what matters from a rested, centered place? What if February, or even March — when nature begins to stir again — became the more natural time to begin initiating and building? This isn’t laziness; it’s a strategy. Goals (and resolutions) set from exhaustion and pressure often fail. However, intentions set from wholeness are the ones that last.
At Handled. By Hayden & Co., we believe in sustainable success, not normalizing burnout disguised as hustle and ambition. This year, I invite you to honor your own cycles, whatever those may be, and to let yourself winter. I invite you to reject the pressure of performative productivity in January and instead create space for integration, rest, and realignment.
Yes, we will move forward. Yes, we will build, but let it come from the right soil, soil that’s been nourished, not depleted. You are not behind; you are right on time, and right where you are supposed to be; nature is showing you how.
Here’s to a year that begins in rest… and blossoms brilliantly in its right season.
—————————————
A Reflection Prompt for You: What are you being called to release from last year? What might you need to restore before setting intentions for the year ahead?
Additionally, do you need clarity on what kind of support will truly sustain you this year? If you’re coming out of a season of overextension and are craving a more aligned way of working, my Right Support Decoder Quiz is a great next step. It’s designed to help you identify what kind of executive or strategic support you actually need — not just what you think you should need. After all, the right support isn’t one-size-fits-all… It’s tailored to your natural rhythm, your leadership style, and your season of business. In under 5 minutes, it cuts through the noise and shows you exactly what kind of support will create the biggest ROI in your business—right now. Take the quiz, get clear on what you actually need, and move forward with confidence, not guesswork.
