As I drove over Red Mountain Pass this past weekend, the Aspen trees painted a breathtaking picture with their bright yellow and orange leaves against the dark green of the evergreen trees and the red and gray rock of the mountains. The sagebrush and other bushes were turning orange and red, adding to the vibrant canvas of nature....

In recent conversations with people around me, such as family, friends, and even random strangers in a café, there is a noticeable unease surrounding this year and what to expect politically, as it's an election year and likely a pretty dramatic-filled one. As I scroll through my various social media feeds, I have observed more and more of the algorithms filling my feed with like-minded posts, which I may not have found on my own. I know how these algorithms work. I know they create this echo chamber of things I want to hear rather than opposing views I might dismiss. But last night, it made me pause and reflect….I have no intention of writing about politics. I am using it as an example of what is in front of many of us. However, the concept of critical thinking in our daily interactions is just as important as using it when faced with the internet's control of what we digitally digest in a day….This also happens to us on an individual level within our own bodies.

Just last week, I was walking through a park in Ridgway, Colorado, looking for signs of spring. The calendar said spring had arrived, and I could smell it. There was a subtle warmth in the breeze, enhanced by the blue sky and bright sun. Some grasses on the path's edge dared to start creating chlorophyll again, changing from what looked like dead, dried-out brown to the familiar and welcomed green. The trees, ever so bare and drab, showed signs of regeneration if you slowed down and looked closely. The very tips of their branches started showing signs of budding. Small snow piles were still in shadowy areas, and the mountains were bright white with their heavy snow-filled peaks. Yet change was on the precipice.

We go through seasons, just like nature, and these are my musings on the season I am entering....spring. I reflect on what that actually means and how important it is to pay attention to the shifts within each season of nature and within ourselves.

I have had years (and I mean YEARS) of leadership development, development models, personality tests, and even astrology shoved down my throat throughout my life. I was forced to take some of these assessments to better understand my alignment/compatibility with the company/group I was working in. Other assessments I openly pursued in hopes of better "understanding" myself. And what did all of them tell me about myself – nothing I didn't already know, consciously and unconsciously.

Coaching has become a rock, a foundation for me. As I sit here reflecting on my personal journey over the past 8 years, I can see how my own journey started and evolved over time. The path was windy and rocky, almost obscure. However, looking back, it is impressive how hindsight can make things so much more apparent.

One of my best friends and I talk almost daily via audio messages instead of texting. She lives 10 hours away, so we don't get a lot of face-to-face interaction. We do text, but shortly after I moved away last year, we started recording little messages to each other. It felt more personable and intimate.