The Four Seasons of the Mind

Lindsay Collier

Each October I set aside a day completely devoted to taking in the incredible autumn beauty
of upstate New York where I live. I jump into my 38 year old TR3A and spend the day driving the
hills and valleys in and around our Finger Lakes region. There are few places more beautiful and I
do some of my best thinking while driving. I think it has something to do with the purr of the engine
coupled with the constantly stimulating visual display. This year while making the trip it occurred to
me that the seasons are a very interesting metaphor for creative thinking. Each season provides a
different metaphorical twist to our thinking and, when we put these all together, the overall result
just might be spectacular. Let’s play with this for a while.

Autumn is a time for shedding a lot of the well-rooted, mature ideas that have been adding color to
our lives, but are getting tired. The great colors of summer give way to even more spectacular
autumn colors. The falling leaves represent our ability to break current thinking patterns and the
ultimate composting of these leaves represents the great idea enhancing value that our combined
experience and learning gives us. The absence of leaves exposes the wonderful trunk and branch
structure of the trees, which gives us a nice metaphor for the backbone of our thinking. If you were
a child growing up in a seasonal climate you probably felt compelled to save a few of the more
beautiful leaves and this is a good metaphor for building on past idea nuggets. The autumn season
of the mind is the time to challenge and shed old thinking and get reacquainted with the principles
and values that support your thinking. Late autumn brings that first killing frost which ushers us into
winter thinking.

Winter is a time for quiet thinking, contemplation, and introspection. As an author I find winter is
my best time for writing and for generating some great new creative ideas. Deciduous trees, bulbs,
and perennials are storing energy in their roots and gaining strength during the winter because they
don’t have to show off for a few months. A lot of our creative thinking is blocked by our need to
look good and show off. Winter thinking suggests that we think below the surface without worrying
about how we will be judged. A blanket of snow just adds a little more security to protect those new,
creative, and fragile ideas. As winter wears on, evergreens and the basic structure of trees that
became exposed in the autumn can really strut their stuff. Since these are great metaphors for the
basic principles and structures that guide our thinking it helps us to stay in touch and build from
them. The winter season of the mind is the time for understanding the roots of your thinking and
internally energizing the seeds of new ideas.

And then comes spring when everything comes to life again. It’s also a time for massive cleanup, as
any gardener knows. This is when new plants (ideas) really begin to grow and are nurtured along by
warmer temperatures, longer days, and rain. We rake, prune, cultivate, fertilize, plant, aerate, and
mow because we know that whatever we do now will stick with us for a good part of the year. We
also know that it will create healthier roots for new ideas in the future. What are some ways that you
and your organization carry out these tasks to help new ideas grow? The spring season of the mind
is a time for growth and expansion of new ideas.

Summer is a time for harvesting and enjoying the fruits of our labor. For many it means vacation, a
time to take your thinking to a more relaxing place and to view it from different perspectives. In
winter thinking the energy is concentrated below the surface, at the root level. Summer thinking
creates new ideas and expands on what is above the surface. We look at what we have and trim,
prune, and deadhead to create more beauty. The summer season of the mind is a time for
improving and enjoying our ideas.

Enjoy the seasons of your mind, expand on this metaphor and let me know what ideas come to
mind. If you are from an area that does not enjoy the different seasons and could make no sense out
of any of this, then I apologize to you and sympathize with you.

Lindsay Collier
Author, Speaker, Rocker of Organizational Boats
lindsaycollier@comcast.net