Seasons Change with Time

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Table of Contents

• I know, because I’ve lived it.

• The Step That Changes Everything

• Your Focus This Week

Once again, we’re starting this week with another one-liner from church.

I heard my pastor say something that’s still sitting with me: Seasons change with time, but cycles change when you do.

The context for this quote comes from the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4. She was focused on where worship should happen, but Jesus redirected her to how (in spirit and truth).

And it hit me: we often do the same thing. We focus on the location or a change in scenery as the answer to the changes we want to see in our lives. The antidote to the cycles we find ourselves in. As if a new job, a new year, or a new city will change everything. But if the how stays the same, the cycle stays the same.

I know, because I’ve lived it.

When I started working with my fitness and nutrition coach, my wife, Char, told me one day that I had finally reached ONE-derland. My weight was in the 100s for the first time in years.

That milestone didn’t happen just because I wanted it badly enough. It happened because I changed how I showed up. There were nights in the kitchen, frustrated, measuring my intake, prepping meals when I’d rather do anything else. But those small, consistent choices paid off. My vitals were “vitaling” when I went to the doctor. My friends noticed and started asking about my new regimen.

The Step That Changes Everything

Here’s what I’ve learned: every loop has a starting point. Behavioral science calls it the cue, the trigger that sets the whole pattern in motion.

Researchers at MIT found that habits follow a loop of cue → routine → reward. If you don’t spot the cue, you can change the environment, the job, even the people around you… and still end up in the same loop.

Your Focus This Week

Don’t try to fix everything. Don’t overhaul your life. Start here:

Name one pattern that keeps pulling you back, and identify its trigger.

Write it down. Is it a moment? A mood? A situation? Once you see the cue clearly, you can interrupt the routine before it begins. That’s where the cycle starts to break. Time will change your season. But the moment you change your how, you change the cycle. That’s when transformation begins.

Your Turn: What’s the pattern you’re ready to name this week?

If you’re reading this far…

I hope this message finds you well. I’m sharing from my heart in hopes that you will be inspired to unearth and live out your God-given purpose. Hopefully, something I said resonated. I would love to hear from you if so. Please feel free to reach out to me on social media. FYI: I’m mostly active on Instagram these days. If you were forwarded this message, you can subscribe here to receive thoughts like this directly in your inbox. And don’t forget to check out the latest episode of my podcast, ConvoRoom with Mark Allen Patterson.

See you next week,