How to harness the power of Autumn as a female founder and leader so you can finish the year feeling strong, energised and on purpose.

For the first two decades of my working life, part of me used to dread Autumn. 

I was so in love with the big, outward energies of Spring and Summer that I would feel like I’d had a full personality transplant by November. 

I felt like a completely different person, and noticed that this transition always felt most rocky as the last of the leaves of the trees were turning and falling to the ground. 

My confidence seemed to wither and all I wanted to do was hide away. 

I sometimes thought there was something wrong with me; why couldn’t I keep the pace and put myself out in the world in the same way? 

Looking back, it seems astonishing to me that I hadn’t made the same connection with the seasonal shifts as I had with my menstrual cycle. 

In my 20s as a magazine journalist and travel editor in London, I’d learnt that if I pitched for a project in the days leading up to my period it didn’t usually work out.

But, if I did my research in those premenstrual days and then waited until day 2 or 3 of my period to put my ideas forward, then I would always get the commission. 

I was much better able to negotiate fees too, and get stuck into the job. I didn’t have to force myself to reach out to people, do interviews or delegate. It just flowed.

The Heroine's Journey 

It wasn’t until my late 30s that I started to piece the seasonal jigsaw puzzle together.

Through learning about menstruality, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, the Celtic Wheel of the Year, 8 Shields, my work with women in birth and mothering, and the Integrative Women’s Health Institute, I began to see this pattern repeat everywhere. 

When I looked into mythology and folklore, questioning the hero’s journey, I saw that this same cycle was repeated in feminine myths of descent and return, like the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter, and the Sumerian myth of Inanna. 

Both examples of the heroine's journey, which was what I was missing as a map and model for my lived experiences in a female body. It suddenly made everything make sense.

I realised that Nature’s seasons are mirrored in the female cycles – and the female cycles are mirrored in Nature’s seasons.

If this speaks to you in some way, I encourage you to look at how it might be showing up for you in your live and business.

Once you start seeing it, you can’t un-see it. 

It’s a map of the creative process, and it applies to business too. 

Your business can be an expression of your creativity – how you give birth to the work you were put on this planet to do.

Being in the Cycles

In my mid-40s I’m on the other side of periods, childbirth and perimenopause, and now in the postmenopausal phase, and I’ve come to love Autumn. 

I value this season as a time of celebration and completion, to bring projects to full fruition as my creative energy naturally turns more inwards.

With it comes a different kind of quiet, potent confidence, which is very powerful.

What's more, I believe there's no end point to this learning, only a deepening that happens with each turning of the cycle, challenging you to grow into the person and leader you were always meant to be.

Balance, Not Burnout

When you are in sync with the energy of the female cycles and Nature’s seasons you can go with them rather than fight them.

This enables you to feel more balanced and grounded, and align your strategy, productivity and leadership to realise your goals and achieve your vision without burnout.

So what does it look like to be in sync with Autumn, to flow with its energy, and bring it into play in your business? And how will you know if you’re aligned with its rhythm?

The place to start is to do an internal check in with yourself. 

Your mind and body are always giving you signs about whether you’re in balance. Showing you what’s working in your life and business, and what’s not.

They are a barometer for your overall creative, emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health. Of course, these are not separate, they are interconnected.

When you are out of balance with the rhythm of Autumn, you may feel:

• Moody and negative

• Critical, of self and others

• Unsociable, withdrawn

• Lacking self-belief

• Stuck on the ‘how’

When you are in balance with the rhythm of Autumn, you may feel:

• Self-expressive and creative

• Focused and disciplined

• Grateful, open, receptive

• Confident sharing your gifts

• In flow, going for excellence

You will intuitively know how to bring yourself back into balance, you don’t need to overthink this.

Start with the question: What is being asked of me right now? 

Get curious, listen for the inner voice of wisdom to guide, make some changes, ask for and allow yourself to receive help and support from others.

The Rhythm of Autumn

Once you’ve attended to your own needs, you can turn your attention towards your business.

Autumn can be a time to:

• Celebrate your successes and those of others

• Offer gratitude for everything that’s made them possible

• Harvest learnings so you can refine your strategy 

• Reconnect with the intentions you set in Spring

• Refocus your energy to bring projects to completion

• Schedule a rest period, setting boundaries and deadlines which will enable you to protect that time and harness the power of Winter.

Take an hour or two to review the goals you set for yourself for this year and look at them through the lens of the above list.

You may like to include all the following, or prefer to focus on 1-3 key areas:

• Finances

• Offers

• Marketing

• Sales

• Delivery 

• Client retention

• Systems and processes

• Business support

This will help you get clarity on what needs to happen in your business in September, October and November so that finish the year on a high.

Rather than collapsing into December and continuing to drive and push through in January, you can settle into Winter feeling like your cup is overflowing.

Knowing that you will have fulfilled what you set out to do this year.

Flourishing and thriving, being the change you want to see.

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