Autumn leaves crinkling beneath your feet. Summer breaks, ripe with seaside vacations and sunny reflections. New Year’s fireworks and confetti, celebrating resolutions and fresh starts. The seasons invite change. At the start of 2025, perhaps you feel an invitation to do something new. Big or small, every call to change is an invitation to the life you desire– the version of you crying out from within. This version is often hidden beneath layers of busyness and people’s perceptions of how you are or should be. How you respond to that call determines if you move closer to becoming who you really are.
This time last year, my husband and I were living in Colorado with comfortable paychecks, fulfilling work, and an incredible community of friends. Yet, we could not ignore the internal voice saying, “There is more for you.” We wondered if we were chronically discontent and ungrateful. Yet, the voice persisted, and we continued to dream of a life we had yet to experience. One where our days had the space to flow from our priorities of faith, marriage and family; where we could dream, create and give without boundaries.
Everything changed when our son was born in June. As the adage goes, having a baby changes everything. As it is with most cliches, this truth was white noise until we walked through it. Within four months, my husband and I had become parents, quit our jobs, moved across the country and rented out our beloved townhome to live with my parents. Though we dreamt of moving to Georgia and starting businesses, we hadn’t expected it so soon. Parenthood demanded we live from our priorities—not just talk about them. Two months into this new chapter, and we are beginning to establish a routine and rhythm after the rattling. As entrepreneurs, we have newfound space to live from our priorities. Now the question is, how?
Consistency and Change
Change: make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.
Consistency: acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate.
These words seem contradictory but are complementary. Consistency without change means stagnation, while change without consistency leads to chaos. Many fail to achieve goals because they lack the discipline for consistency. Others cling to rigid routines, leaving no room for change and collapsing under pressure. For example, a budget that’s too strict and doesn’t allow room for “treat yourself” moments is likely to be abandoned. A diet that is too rigid will likely collapse in moments of binging.
Our challenge is to balance the two. One of my main goals is to be present with my family, able to be interrupted and flow with each day’s unique needs. However, I also want to consistently cultivate a business and habits that allow my household to thrive. Motherhood has taught me to relinquish control, so I ask: how do I embrace change while staying disciplined and consistent?
The Why Over the What
I believe the answer lies in focusing on the why over the what—our rhythms rather than rigid goals. Priorities guide productivity, not the reverse. Rather than consistency looking like a checklist of to-dos, what if it looked like consistently putting the first things first? We must hold our consistency loosely, welcoming change throughout our days rather than one-time, dramatic moments. What we do matters less than who we are becoming, yet the two cannot be divorced from one another.
Like the ebb and flow of the seasons, change can be rhythmic. Something that’s rattling and dizzying can be embedded in tradition. So, after you unearth the soil beneath your feet, what will you plant? What will you water? What will you have the faith to see bud, sprout and flourish? If you answer those questions, this time next year you will be reveling in the growth.