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Spring has finally sprung.

I love to witness the natural world coming back to life.

Spring flowers emerging; little buds on the trees.

Snow drops, crocuses, daffodils, apple blossoms.

That first bumble bee sighting.

Fat Wood pigeons waddling around or cooing in the treetops.

Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes foraging in the undergrowth for worms or singing sweetly at dusk. Watching our resident magpies rebuild the nest that was destroyed by Storm Eowyn.

I like the sound of lawn mowers and children’s laughter and seeing more people out walking, looking happier and less worn out by life.

I like seeing people out jogging. It doesn’t make me feel guilty; it inspires me to do the same.

I like that I can shed one or two layers of clothing because I no longer feel cold all the time.

I like the lighter mornings and the fact that we have daylight a little longer in the evenings. This extra daylight makes me want to rot on my sofa watching psychological thrillers or mindlessly scrolling TikTok a little bit less.

Spring is my favourite season.

March is my favourite month of the year.

You could be forgiven for assuming that I am the very best version of myself at this time of year.

If you absorbed all the social media posts about emerging from the depths of winter, feeling rejuvenated, ready to make plans and embrace the lighter, longer days, you’d be inclined to think that we are all now the best versions of ourselves.

According to social media, we should feel rested and rejuvenated after months of indulging in Hygge-like activities: slow mornings followed by long, meandering walks in nature; returning home for a warming bowl of soup; sorting out the pantry, creating elaborate dried flower arrangements, some breathwork or stretching in a warm room full of natural light; possibly a nap in front of a (real) log fire; drawing the curtains at 4pm, eating a hearty stew for dinner, curling up on the sofa with (homemade) hot chocolate, maybe a slice of pie, reading a chapter of our book then turning in early because, you know, it’s winter, and work and caring responsibilities, and all the seemingly endless tasks on our to-do lists suddenly don’t exist.

Except they do.

Life isn’t like this for most of us. Sure you could try to recreate the vision I’ve just described but throw in any of the realities of our lives and it just becomes plain exhausting trying to live out a fantasy existence whilst being pulled in all manner of directions by people who want something from us.

If you work a typical 9-5 in a retail environment, for example, you most certainly haven’t been resting or recuperating; in fact, the run-up to Christmas, in particular, has probably left you feeling quite depleted.

If you have small children or elderly relatives to care for, winter in itself presents even more of a challenge.

Contrary to what some content creators have you believe, you don’t wake up on the 1st March, spring out of bed, ready to take on the world, full of zest and positive intentions.

If you’re anything like me, you were just as sluggish and lethargic on 1st March as you were on the 28th February. Only now you feel like you’re failing life as well as feeling sluggish and lethargic.

Now, I’m saying this as much for me as I am for anyone who might be reading this. Winter is hard. Our ‘always-on’ culture does not allow for downtime just because it’s still dark when we get up in the morning, and dark again when we return home at night.

Sure, if you work from home, you have more autonomy over how you structure your day: you can pop on a wash; you can make a healthy lunch from scratch instead of making do with a meal deal from Tesco; you don’t have to be ‘on’ from the start to finish of your working day.

If you work from home, you can bend your working hours to fit around a brisk morning walk, enabling you to get some natural light and reset your circadian rhythm for the day, or pop out for a post work afternoon stroll instead of a busy commute, allowing you to transition much easier form the working day to the evening that follows.

You can take longer or additional breaks if Winter has you feeling you need to rest more.

You can take moments throughout the day to pause or find stillness. Things you couldn’t do if you have a more public facing role. Things that might be frowned upon by demanding managers who seem to expect more and more from us.

Believe me, I know how lucky I am. When I think of friends who are teachers or working jobs where you are required to interact with others in a face to face environment for almost the entirety of the day and on a daily basis, I often think, how do they do that, or I couldn’t do that, and it becomes a source of guilt and even a feeling of being less than because I know how burnt out I feel if I have to fulfil in-person commitments for just a couple of days each week.

My point is this: just because an influencer says so, doesn’t mean we should expect to feel magic just because the darkest months have passed.

It’s okay if you’re still struggling to wake up in the morning; if you’re sluggish until your morning coffee kicks in; if you’d rather sip tea and stay wrapped up cozy at home than venturing out to pound the pavements just because it’s March and someone told you it’s less than 100 days till Summer and you have to get ‘bikini-ready’.

It’s okay if you’ve not painted your toe nails yet or shaved your legs for 6 months. It’s okay if the winter coats are still hanging in the hallway – let’s face it, Spring does not guarantee good weather. Even in April, we are not immune to sleet and snow.

It’s okay if you can’t be bothered.

I still haven’t reflected fully on 2024; nor have I set all my intentions for 2025.It’s okay if, like me, you haven’t got 2025 figured out just yet.

Ultimately it boils down to this: I don’t want to miss Spring – my favourite time of year – because of what I think I should be doing.

Put the goal setting aside for now and just enjoy the changing of seasons; whether you’re on a gentle stroll, a brisk walk or a 10K trail run, let Spring meet you where you are right now.