September 22 is the official first day of fall and frankly, I am not ready. I love summertime. I love the warm temperatures, the slower pace, and all the delicious produce. Currently, my fellow humans are going mad for pumpkin spice and instead of feeling warm like cinnamon and nutmeg, I feel… salty.

My guess is that even if you have been anxiously awaiting fall, you know what is feels like to be hurtling toward a change that you simply aren’t ready for. Maybe it’s an impending office move, a new responsibility, changes in leadership or even just the onslaught of new/upgraded/additional technology.

Change always has a measure of difficulty attached to it, but even more so when you aren’t “all in.”

Let’s start by considering what is causing this lack of readiness…

First, summer in (my part of) Oregon is short. The weather doesn’t tend to properly warm up (read: feel like “summer”) until late June and possibly early July. This tends to make an already short season feel even shorter.

For you, maybe it feels like the upcoming change had minimal notice. In all likelihood, it probably did. Most organizations aren’t well versed in the practices of change management and don’t properly plan for the correct amount of time and communication that people truly need.

It’s important to keep in mind that without the participation of the weather, summer doesn’t have the other perks I mentioned – the pace being a bit slower (it’s too hot to move very fast) and all the produce (days of sunshine = growth of delicious fruits and veggies).

For you, maybe some things you love about the current situation won’t be available once the changes take place (perhaps it’s something like a parking space, working close to your favorite people, or even a task you really love doing). It’s sweet and comforting to have your favorite things dialed in. Without one part of the equation, you fear you won’t have the other things that matter. 

Additionally, it feels like “big pumpkin” starts their rhetoric earlier and earlier every year. “We are counting down toward Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!!” That, along with other consumer driven “seasons” leads to (at least, for me) things feeling less special. Seeing Halloween candy in August is not only uninspiring, it’s bad for our health.

For you, maybe it feels like you are the only one who isn’t excited about the change or feels some apprehension. It’s stressful to make change and even more so, when it feels like you are the odd person out.

Now that we have some sense of what’s going on, what can be done about it?

The most logical first step is to realize that the change is going to happen whether or not we are ready.  September 22 will arrive, the move at your office will happen, the new tech will be rolled out, etc. As long as we hang on to wanting things “our way”, even when there is “no way” for that to happen, we extend our suffering. Go ahead and acknowledge the change is coming and begin to orient your thoughts to that reality.

Next, we can hold onto what really matters from the current/previous situation. You remember that I shared that my love of summer comes down to the “warm temperatures, slower pace and all the delicious produce?” I can certainly try to find the fall equivalent of those things. While I can’t do anything about the outside temperatures, I can lean into lots of lovely warm things that come with fall. Hot cocoa, soup and my new cashmere sweater in my favorite color. As for the slower pace, I can make space in my calendar for the things that matter – I don’t have to let the last few months of the year be some desperate bid at productivity, I can choose to be in the moment and enjoy the time I have. Which just leaves the produce and if you know me, you know I am a hard core (I am so pleased with this pun I can barely stand it) apple lover! Add to that the pears, cranberries, pomegranates and kale? So. Much. Good. Stuff.

Then, let’s find the good in the change. Now, I know some of you may have just turned on me and I get it. You are thinking, “Jill, not the old lemonade out of lemons bit?!? Surely, you got something better than that?!?” Well, the truth is, I have now officially lived long enough to know that there is always something good in a situation.  Moving to a new office might mean a better view or a cute new place to have lunch, the new tech might really make your work a little easier and for me, fall means gentle cool breezes, soup season and a return to school to study Spanish (which honestly, typing that made me smile, then well up with tears of joy, so I guess that’s a pretty great glass of lemonade). Also, I happen to love semi-spooky movies and tv (think Addams Family and Agatha Christie anything) so October is my absolute favorite viewing month out of the entire year!

Before I wrap up, I want to honor that there are always big feelings with any change (even if it’s one we are actually super excited about and think we are completely ready for). Honor those and don’t rush yourself through them. Feel your feelings, then figure out what is causing any distress and what you can do to ease the way. Then, if you absolutely can’t get on board with it, take a hard look at your options. But please, give it a little bit of time before you make a big change, because sometimes you just need to get settled in.

It has taken me several days to write this and during that time, I have had a chance to go through the exact process I described. I am ending  feeling significantly less salty about fall, so I can attest that the steps worked. While I don’t think I will ever be a “pumpkin spice” kind of girl, I can live in the season and find joy no matter what is happening around me. So, it won’t be quite as hard to say “see you latte, summer” and “it’s fall, y’all.”

The puns keep on coming!