Why Winter Is Not the Time to Push Yourself (And What to Do Instead)
Every January, the message is loud and relentless:
New year. New goals. More discipline. More output.
But winter is not the season of acceleration. It is the season of conservation.
When we try to force summer-level productivity onto winter bodies, something breaks—not because we are weak, but because we are ignoring the intelligence of the season.
Winter doesn’t reward pushing. It rewards listening.
What Actually Changes in Winter
Shorter days and reduced light directly affect:
- Circadian rhythm
- Hormone production
- Energy availability
- Mood and motivation
The nervous system shifts toward conservation mode. Focus narrows. Social energy drops. The body prioritizes warmth and safety over output.
This isn’t a flaw, it’s adaptive and deeply supportive.
When we ignore this, winter resistance shows up as burnout, irritability, brain fog, low motivation, and increased illness.
Not because we’re failing—but because we’re pushing against the current and nature’s rhythms.
What Working With Winter Looks Like
Instead of forcing yourself to push, winter invites you to change the rules.
Working with winter might mean:
- Fewer goals, chosen carefully
- Shorter workdays or fewer obligations
- Longer rest cycles
- More margin between commitments
- Letting “enough” be enough
Progress in winter is not visible, it’s subterranean.
The most critical time in determining whether something sprouts is when the seed is in the ground. Is the seed is properly watered and cared for? If it’s not, it will never even break the surface and have a chance to bloom. Winter is the time underground, when we are tending to the seeds.
Nothing appears to be happening on the surface, but what we do in these quiet, in-between moments of darkness, and how deeply we trust divine intelligence, will determine whether or not these seeds sprout and bloom in the spring.
Winter Alternatives to Pushing
If pushing feels like sprinting uphill, try these instead:
- Simplify: Choose one or two priorities, not ten
- Contain: Create predictable routines that support safety
- Slow: Build extra time into everything
- Rest: Without earning it
- Listen: To fatigue before it becomes collapse
Winter is not asking you to quit your life.
It’s asking you to soften your grip.
Rest Is Not Falling Behind
The culture treats rest like a reward. Winter treats it like a requirement.
What you allow to rest now will return with more integrity later.
What you force through winter often fractures.
You need to root, and that is its own kind of strength.