Does the Change in Weather Feel Like a Reset?

by Jen, Founder, Menopause Life by Jen

There’s something about this time of year that always feels like a reset to me.

The mornings are darker. The temperature drops. The sandals disappear, the jumpers come out and, whether we’re ready for it or not, summer is officially packing its bags.

And strangely, I quite like it.

We talk so much about January being the time for fresh starts. New year, new goals, new habits and all that pressure to become a shiny new version of ourselves overnight.

But what if autumn is the better reset?

For women navigating menopause, I think there’s something particularly comforting about a change of season.

When your body has its own seasons

One thing menopause has taught me is that our bodies don’t always follow the plans we make for them.

Energy changes. Sleep changes. Confidence can change. Our tolerance levels can change.

Some days you feel completely on top of life. Other days you walk into a room and forget why you’re there. While simultaneously wondering why everybody is annoying you.

When you’re balancing work, family, relationships, and everything else life throws at you, it’s easy to spend months simply getting through the days rather than stopping to ask.

How am I actually doing?

Perhaps the change in weather gives us a natural opportunity to do exactly that.

Not to reinvent ourselves. Not to suddenly start getting up at 5am, drinking green juice and becoming a completely different person.

Just to check in.

What do you need now?

What worked for us six months ago might not work now.

Maybe your reset is changing your exercise routine. Protecting your weekends. Getting outside at lunchtime. Saying no to something you really don’t want to do.

Or perhaps it’s accepting that you don’t have to operate at 100mph every single day.

For those of us working in property, that’s sometimes easier said than done.

There is always another email. Another deadline. Another client needing something. Another problem that apparently needed solving yesterday.

We’re incredibly good at pushing through.

But I’ve learnt that constantly pushing through isn’t necessarily something to be proud of.

Sometimes the reset is recognising when you need to stop.

Autumn without the pressure

There’s something lovely about autumn giving us permission to slow down.

The evenings draw in. The diary starts to look different. Home becomes somewhere we want to be again.

Perhaps it’s the perfect opportunity to look at what is draining your battery and what is filling it back up.

Because a reset doesn’t have to mean changing everything.

Sometimes it’s the smallest adjustments that make the biggest difference.

These days, I don’t see a reset as becoming a better version of myself.

I’ve had enough life experiences and enough hormonal chaos to know that’s far too much pressure.

Instead, I ask myself:

What do I need more of?

What do I need less of?

What can I stop feeling guilty about?

Menopause has changed me in many ways. Some changes I certainly wouldn’t have chosen, but others have made me reassess what matters.

My time matters. My energy matters.

And I don’t need January 1st to make changes to how I live my life.

So, as the temperature drops and the jumpers come out, perhaps we could all use this moment as our own little reset.

No resolutions. No dramatic life overhaul. No pressure to become somebody new.

Just a chance to check in with the woman you are now.

Because sometimes a change in season is exactly the reminder, we need that we’re allowed to change too.

Jen

Founder, Menopause Life by Jen