Seasons

Seasons are present all around us. In one way or another. Whether it be spring or summer, the off season or the post season. They are a feature of the world that we live in. They have been imposed on us by the Earth itself. We have then taken them as humans and applied them to the world in our own ways. From sport to the phases of life. They are present everywhere. 

However, if you are anything like me, this is something that despite it being all around us it hadn’t penetrated my psychology. Marcus Aurelius,Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher, wrote in his private journal ‘be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved and the rage of the sea falls still around it’. On face value this could be taken as a call to grin and bear it no matter what goes on around you. I took it another way. To not rebel against what nature puts in front of you. When you try to stand against the current, you will eventually be swept away. What does the season you are in call for? Turn the dials of intensity/volume of things in your life to answer this need. Reduce the friction to being the person you want to be. 

I am definitely someone who would feel guilty in the offseason for taking it a bit easier and allowing myself to switch off. A reel of David Goggins or Kobe Bryant would pop up and I would feel as though I am being overtaken by some imaginary person somewhere in the world. I would work myself into the ground during the offseason, leaving my body fragile and locked up by the time business end of the season came around. I have an obsession with feeling productive. Feeling like I am pushing myself forward. The key word there is ‘feeling’. There are many ways to maintain progress. For me, my mind and body need to have a period of reset once. The offseason is this time. While it is true that you can’t let yourself go completely (you need to be at an acceptable physical level to return to pre season), the nervous system needs time to recuperate. This is a part of ‘progress’. It seems counterintuitive. Doing less and allowing yourself to switch off. But there is a reason the saying ‘calm before the storm’ exists. As a footballer, with such a long season, we cannot be on go all of the time. Intensity and volume dials need to be adjusted for the current demand. In the offseason, this is rest and relationships to name a few. In season, this is obviously performing on a saturday. 

Throughout the different phases of the year, or a life on a larger scale, there are different things which will require more dedication. My current goal is rising up through the English football pyramid, so much of my bandwidth is dedicated towards this. To tell the truth there is not much time for anything else in my life. But this will change and the knowledge of this phase not being permanent is important. There will be a time where I have reached my physical peak, for example. The focus then shifts from eeking out every last drop from my body to trying to maintain this level for as long as I can. I would hazard a guess that seasons of building, harvest, recovery and uncertainty will be present in everyone’s life. It is important to recognize where you are. Be like the rock, turn your dials and lean into whatever season you are in. The next one is not possible without first going through where you are presently. 

You cannot reap the harvest without sowing the seed. 

Ethan