You Have the Power to Change the Narrative
Choose Connection Over Withdrawal
By Jana N. Yost, M.A., APCC | Coach & Consultant
Winter in Fresno has a way of settling in. The fog rolls across the Valley and softens everything. The sun is there, but muted, filtered through the gray. It is easy to beleive that twhen the weather looks like this life has to feel like this too. But the fog and winter weather are not something we get to control. What we do get to control is the story we tell ourselves when we are standing in it.
The instinct to escape the gray. To drive to the coast. To head to the mountains. To wait for the clearer skies. Not every seasons allows espape. And sometimes escape keeps us from learning how to live fully right where we are. We are not bears meant to hibernate all winter, even though there is a mama bear in many of us. The strong working professional. The protector. The one that holds everything together. Winter quiets her. She conserves energy. She pulls inward without even realizing it.
Coming back to life does not mean rushing or forcing motivation. It means choosing presence. Staying in the fog instead of running from it. Deciding that winter does not get control every area of life. Isolation can feel easier in foggy seasons, but isolation deepens the gray. Connection is uncomfortable, but that is often where the sun begins to shine through. Sometimes connection starts with a stranger. Sometimes with a neighbor. Sometimes with the simple choice to be the one who initiates.
There are small things that remain within our control, even in the fog. These choices are simple, but they matter:
Smile first
Send the first text
Invite someone for coffee
Start the conversation, even if it is with one sentence
Take a walk and say hello to a neighbor
Stay a little longer instead of rushing home
Be the one to initiate contact
The fog will lift. It always does in the Valley. Until then, we do not have to wait until sunshine to feel alive again. Sometimes the light comes first when we choose connection over withdrawal.
