This is episode 131 of The Maisie Hill Experience. Today we are welcoming in the start of a new season and exploring the qualities of summer. Let’s go.

If you want to do things differently but need some help making it happen then tune in for your weekly dose of coaching from me, Maisie Hill, Master Life Coach and author of Period Power. Welcome to The Maisie Hill Experience.

Alright, lovelies, how is it going? It is the most glorious day here in Margate because we finally have some solid sunshine happening after about 10 days of wind. But it’s not so hot that I get dysregulated. I’m in my happy place temperature wise and it very much feels like we're entering summer, which is perfect because the day that this episode comes out will be the solstice. So, depending on where you are, it’s either summer or winter solstice. If you're in the southern hemisphere it will be the longest day of the year or the shortest day if you're in the northern hemisphere.

I love solstice. It’s very pleasing to me as a former acupuncturist because it makes me think about the yin yang principles. And I love working with the seasons in terms of goals. If you've been around the podcast for a while, you’ll be well aware of that. Certainly if you’re a client of mine in the membership, you’ll definitely know that because in The Flow Collective we invite everyone to set a goal of some kind at the start of each season. Sometimes they’re internal goals like having more confidence or working with your nervous system and your stress responses.

And other times they’re external like getting a new job or doing a project of some kind. And back at the start of spring I invited you all to set a goal, something that you would love to create in the, I guess, 90 ish days of the season. So think back, what was your goal and how did it go? No need to be mean to yourself if it didn't happen or if you can't remember what yours was. But I would get really curious about why, because it will tell you so much, just get curious. And the same as if you did make it happen, ask yourself why, get really curious.

And if you are in the membership, be sure to use the end of season review worksheet to go through this process in a more complete way. And really finish off the season with that strong evaluation, whatever happened, whatever took place, all the things that were unexpected in both wonderful and not so wonderful ways. Use that worksheet and then come and share your evaluations in the community or take it to ask a coach to get coaching, get that personal feedback from the coaches. I have been loving seeing them pop up already.

And I’m going to be spending some time later on today just responding to those evaluations, so feel free to keep doing that. So, I had a goal for spring that was work related. And it was unexpected I would say, what happened because it happened in a much shorter timeframe than I had expected and what I had planned, which was really fun and delightful in lots of ways. And I’m just currently hanging out in the success of that and enjoying it particularly as I’d kind of cleared my schedule for another month in order to focus on this project.

And it’s been really lovely to see that happen in the community too with many of you celebrating your surprise that this happened a lot quicker than I was expecting. Which just goes to show you the power of all the work we do in terms of mindset and nervous system awareness and working with the cycle. Now, as it’s the start of summer, I’m going to be doing a free webinar that I would love for you to come to because it's designed to help you break through barriers this summer and go after what you want, so that you can welcome in your iconic era.

This webinar is happening on Monday, 3rd of July at midday UK time. If you can’t tell, I’m very excited about it. I encourage you to attend live but if that time doesn't suit your schedule or your time zone, just sign up anyway so that I can send you access to the replay, we will be recording it. But you do need to sign up in order to get it. So go to maisiehill.com/events and just pop in your details or if you’re already on my email list then just click the link in your email invitation and we’ll make sure that you get all the details to attend and also watch the replay.

I’m going to be showing you how to break free of self-imposed limitations, just all those beliefs and fears that hold you back from going for it. I know they’re there, of course they are, we all have them but it's how you handle them that matters, how you move through them that matters. And that’s what I’m going to be teaching you. It means having boundaries, not people pleasing or worrying about what other people think of you. That's how you'll be able to step into your iconic era. And we’re using the qualities of summer to super charge that.

So, today's episode lays the foundation for what we’re going to be doing in the webinar because I’m going to be talking to you about the qualities of summer. So, as you’re listening today, I want you to consider which of these qualities come easily to you and which ones you find yourself struggling with, maybe it's hard for you to access them or work with them.

So, we’re going to be diving deeper into the energy of summer and these qualities, which include confidence, connection, joy, intimacy, abundance, resources and feeling resourced, expansion, risks, taking up space, being visible. And underneath all of that, self-trust and self-love. So, if you want to work with these qualities, make sure you sign up for the webinar for sure. But today's going to give you a really good starting point. And I know that some of you love summer, whether we’re talking about the season of the year or the season of your cycle, which equates to the time around ovulation.

And some of you are just like, “No, that's not my season at all, come on autumn, come on fall, I'm ready for you.” So, we all have these different experiences of the seasons, different preferences, that's fine. And the qualities I’m discussing today are of course relevant all year long, all cycle long. But each season helps us to access those qualities. It's like they’re kind of closer to the surface. So, let’s start with confidence.

Confidence is like the sun in the sky during the summer. It’s bright, it's bold, it's unapologetic. It’s just up there doing its thing, being fantastic. That's what I want for you. It’s about standing in your power, owning your space and shining your light, just being magnificent. And just like the sun, confidence can be quite infectious. It has an impact. It can inspire others to step into their own light and shine just as brightly as you. Confidence isn't just about feeling good about yourself though.

And it also doesn't mean that your life will just go fantastically, and you’ll always be brilliant, always succeed at everything because even the most self-confident individuals experience failures and setbacks. And confidence comes from doing. So, I like to give the example of writing and publishing a book, which is of course an experience that I’ve gone through. I can speak about this. Writing and publishing a book can give you confidence because it's a tangible achievement that kind of proves your capabilities to yourself. You do it, you know it's something that you can do.

But confidence isn't always a result of experience. So, some people may have years of experience in a field but still lack confidence because they harbour limiting and critical thoughts about themselves that cause anxiety rather than confidence. But self-confidence is having the belief in advance of doing it. So, before you write a book, it's having the self-confidence that you can. You don't need the evidence to prove that it's something that you can do because you believed that you will be able to do it.

And it's about trusting yourself that you’ll be able to handle the failures along the way because you will have failures and that you will love yourself no matter what, which means not achieving a goal of some kind, mean all sorts of horrible things about you. It means trusting yourself before you have evidence that you can do something and believing in your ability to handle whatever comes your way, to learn from your mistakes and to keep going despite setbacks. And understanding that your worth is not dependent on your achievements or on what others think of you.

Imagine releasing that, letting go of that idea. So, self-confidence isn’t the product of success and it's not because you’ve achieved certain things that you are self-confident. It’s your self-confidence that allows you to pursue and eventually achieve your goals. And of course, that will involve embracing your strengths and letting yourself be seen and not shying away from your weaknesses too.

Ultimately, that just means that you can be comfortable in your own skin and not need the approval of others, of course it's lovely to get, but shouldn't need to require in order to make moves and do what you want with your life. And self-confidence is something that can be cultivated every day. We can work on it in every single season in different ways but for me the summer season has this bright and bold energy.

So, it’s a really great time to focus on it in a more visible way because it's closer to the surface. So, it’s easier to access and that can mean using it or just looking at what's preventing you from using it. And I think you’ll have a hunch as to which one would be a good starting point for you.

So now let’s look at connection and intimacy. So summer is the social season, gathering with friends, loved ones, maybe strangers too. You probably see this if you're in summer at the moment wherever you live. And it’s a time for deep conversations and connection, laughter, creating memories. And with that comes intimacy, getting close to other people, opening up and letting others in. So, can you let yourself be seen in all this light or are you running for the shadows?

Connection and intimacy aren’t just about physical closeness, they’re about emotional closeness too, being vulnerable, being open and sharing your thoughts and feelings, being present and attentive both to yourself and to others and the world around you. This is just such a, I just really feel it in my body as I’m saying that, just how available that connection and that intimacy is, to really have that relationship with yourself and with others.

Which is what of course builds strong and meaningful relationships and creates that sense of belonging and community in which we are seen, and we see others because we’re all in search of connection. And of course, what that looks like is going to vary hugely, but connection is usually important, with ourselves, other people, the world around us. And although it's something we all want and seek out, there are so many things that get in the way of doing so.

And a lot that has to do with the thoughts that we have, whether that's about you as a person, someone else or particular situations. And it also relates to what's going on with the nervous system and emotions. But as I said, don’t worry, we’re going to be working on all of that over the summer. And I’m very excited to see the impact of what I’ve got planned for you.

Okay, next up we’ve got desire. Desire is the heat of the summer. It’s intense. It’s passionate. It’s powerful, so powerful that you might shy away from it, or you can end up chasing it all the time. I know some of you are very kind of infatuated with your summer season of the cycle.

And that's the place where you feel most like yourself and you love kind of the confidence and feeling capable, all of those amazing responses to being in that part of your cycle. But that can end up creating quite an imbalanced relationship with yourself, with your cycle, with your life because you’re just always seeking out that heat, that power.

So, this, when we’re talking about desire and summer is about knowing what you want and going after it with all your heart, embracing your passions, your dreams, your goals, pursuing them with relentless determination that I spoke about recently a couple of episodes back. Don’t be thinking that relentless determination means exhausting yourself because it doesn't. Just go back, check out that recent episode where I cover it in more detail.

And desire isn't just about wanting something. It's about feeling a deep and powerful longing and being all in on that because that desire and that commitment is what will drive you to take action. That pull will propel you forward even in the face and especially in the face of obstacles and challenges. And the summer season with that intense and passionate energy is such a great time to tap into desire, especially if you're someone who struggles to know what you actually want.

Next up on our qualities of summer, we’ve got joy and abundance. Think about what's going on with the earth in summer and in nature. It’s abundant with life and growth during the summer and that is going to relate to our internal experience too. There’s a lightness and energy. There’s joy. There’s celebration. And I'm so excited because this week I'm going to celebrate my client, Ami’s wedding. By the time this comes out, she’ll be married. So, congratulations Ami.

But joy is more than feeling happy. It's about a deep and profound sense of contentment and fulfilment or experiencing a sense of wonder and awe. When was the last time you felt that? Can you think of a time recently where you felt a sense of wonder and awe or perhaps where you appreciated the beauty and the magic of life. This is one of the top benefits I would say of working with the seasons in this way and appreciating the qualities of each season. Because you really connect to that cycle that's going on around us and it's happening within us as well.

And so, I would just love for you to recognise these shifts in yourself, not just what's going on around you. And summer is very abundant, there’s plenty of life and growth around us. What's going on inside? Do you feel abundant or lacking and deficient? It’s just helpful to take note of these things especially at the start of a season because it helps to inform how we’re going to prioritise and experience the season that we’re moving into.

When it comes to abundance, we’re not talking about having a lot of something. That can actually come from lack. But it’s about feeling a sense of plenty within you, whether you have something or not. So, it is somewhat to do with having resources and being able to access them but it’s also feeling resourced within yourself. Because this is important, especially when we think about how summer is also a time of expansion and risk.

So, it’s a great time to push, push past your limiting beliefs and your boundaries. I don't mean boundaries in terms of the important ones that you have, but other people or certain situations and how you go through life that are about honouring what's okay for you and what's not. I mean the boundaries like the way you hold yourself back and what you think is possible for you.

So, when we’re working with that summer energy, we’re pushing past those things and being like, “Whoa, this is actually what I can do.” We’re taking risks, stepping out of our comfort zones, growing, evolving and taking that leap. Think about the ads that we see for travel agencies and holiday destinations, that quintessential image of someone jumping off a cliff into the turquoise waters below and then laughing with their mates after.

I don’t know, maybe I’ve just been really well marketed to over the course of my lifetime, but that is the image of summer, going for it, leaping even when you're scared to and relishing in the joy of it, having that connection and laughter. Now, you won't catch me jumping off cliffs at all. That’s not me. I’m not going to be doing that. But there are other things that I will intentionally leap into this summer and limiting beliefs that I’m going to be pushing past and saying goodbye to.

But risk isn't just about taking those chances, it’s very much about embracing uncertainty, stepping into the unknown and just exploring new territories both within you and around you. And we do that by being curious, being open, being willing to learn, to explore and discover. And that requires trusting yourself no matter what else is going on. So really the foundation of all of these other qualities is self-trust and self-love, connection to yourself and your inner guidance system.

And if you want help accessing and embracing any or all of these qualities that I’ve mentioned today, just make sure you come to the webinar on July 3rd. It's free and the recording will be available, but you need to sign up at maisiehill.com/events. Or just click the link in one of my emails and we will count you in.

Okay my lovelies, that is it for today. Have a beautiful solstice and I’ll be back next week.

Hey, if you love listening to this podcast then come and check out my membership, The Flow Collective, where you get my best resources and all the coaching you need to transform your inner and outer life. Sign up to the waitlist at theflowcollective.co/join, and I’ll see you in the community.