The Four Seasons of Flourish

A New Way to Rethink Your Retirement Rhythm

Written by Dr. Steve Sandoval | Founder, The Flourishing Retiree

Retirement is often sold as one long, unstructured stretch of time—an endless summer, maybe. Especially if you live in Hawaii, Florida or Southern California. But having spent most of my life in Colorado and some in Nebraska, where we experience four very distinct seasons, I’ve come to see retirement differently. It’s easier to imagine how flourishing in this next chapter can follow a more seasonal rhythm.

No matter where we live, we humans are cyclical by nature and most of us respond to rhythm, season, and structure. So here’s a better idea: what if you used the actual seasons of the year to shape how you live in retirement? Call it seasonal living with purpose. Or just a practical way to keep your days—and your spirit—from drifting.

Each season carries its own energy and opportunity. When you align your habits, focus, and even your calendar with the natural flow of spring, summer, fall, and winter, you create a rhythm that invites growth, connection, contribution, and rest. In other words: existential vitality in motion.

Colorful fireworks burst in the night sky, illuminating the darkness with vibrant hues of pink and gold.

Here’s what that can look like, along with a few strategies to try (or adapt) for each season:

Spring: Renewal, Rebirth, and Learning

Spring is for starting. Nature knows it, and so do we. This is the time to plant new seeds—literally or metaphorically. It’s the season of curiosity, creativity, and just enough sunlight to nudge us out of our comfort zones.

Spring Strategies for Retirees:

• Build Something. Whether it’s a raised garden bed, DIY home project, or even a piece of furniture from a kit, spring is a great time to put your hands to work and see a physical result.

  
  

• Design your Personal “Learning Lab.” Use March–May as a personal semester—one new subject, one hour per day. No exams, no pressure, no judgment. This lab is for you only unless, of course, you want to invite another.

  
  

• Spring Cleaning 2.0. Don’t just declutter closets—declutter commitments (like digital habits, binging, and even relationships) that no longer serve you.

  
  

• Create a Spring Connection Map. Identify 3–5 people you’d like to reconnect with or deepen ties to. Schedule coffee, phone chats, or walk-and-talks during the season—connection doesn't have to be big to be meaningful.

Pro Tip: Whatever you choose, start something in spring that you’ll harvest by fall, like a garden, a manuscript, a volunteer project. Think forward.

Summer: Expansion, Social Connection and Joy

Summer is extroverted by nature—sunshine, gatherings, movement. It’s the time to connect outwardly and revel a little more “skin,” so to speak.

Summer Strategies for Retirees:

• Tackle a Summer “Mission.” Choose one larger-scale personal project (e.g., getting that new hot tub to host parties, finally organizing the garage, planning a legacy trip) and make it your summer mission with a deadline.

  
  

• Start a “Yes Day” tradition. Pick one day a month to say “yes” to new invitations, spontaneous outings, or quirky opportunities, even (especially) the ones you’d usually decline. Let summer shake up your habits.

  
  

• Take a Digital Detox Weekend. Unplug completely—no news, no scrolling, no email. Replace screen time with sunshine, movement, books, or real conversation. Reclaim what you give your attention to.

  
  

• Join a Community Rec League or Pick-Up Sport. Many communities offer casual softball, tennis, pickleball, or cornhole tournaments—low stress, social, and competitive enough to stay interesting.

  
  

Mindset shift: Summer is about being free and alive. Let movement lead.

Fall: Harvest, Contribution and Legacy

Fall is reflective and productive. The leaves turn, the pace slows, and we start gathering the fruits of our labors. For retirees, this is the perfect season for giving back or finishing what was started in spring.

Fall Strategies for Retirees:

• Mentor or Teach others. Use your expertise to offer a workshop, guest-speak at a school, your HOA, or run a free local “skill swap” in your neighborhood or community.

  
  

• Create a Legacy Project. Record family stories, start a grandkid journal, digitize old photos with commentary, or write the personal memoir no one else can.

  
  

• Flourishing: This is a great time to reassess how your time, money, and energy are aligning with your values—and redirect if needed.

  
  

• Audit Your Time Like a Pro. Fall is the perfect season to track how you’re actually spending your time—then ask: does this reflect what matters most to me? Use a one-week log, then reorganize your calendar intentionally.

Don’t miss: Fall’s beauty is in the balance between action and reflection. Let it ground you.

Winter: Rest, Reflection and Spiritual Health

Contrary to the retirement “tapes” running in our heads, we don’t need to be “on” all year. Winter reminds us that rest is not laziness; it’s a life skill.

Winter Strategies for Retirees:

• Design a Restful Routine. Create slow mornings, digital sabbaths, or “snow day rules” where you give yourself guilt-free permission to do less.

  
  

• Go inward. Journal daily. Revisit your purpose statement. Explore meditation or contemplative walking.

  
  

• Build a Winter Prep Kit or Go Old-School. Organize emergency supplies, sharpen tools, do cold-weather vehicle checks. Useful, grounding, and oddly satisfying.

  
  

• Cook with Intention. Choose 3–5 nourishing winter recipes and treat them as rituals. Invite someone over to cook with you or deliver a dish to a neighbor or friend. There’s quiet purpose in slow, seasonal food—and sharing it turns solitude into service.

  
  

Big idea: Winter is when we prepare our soul’s soil for what comes next. Embrace the silence—that too is important work.

Final Thought: Start Where You Are--In This Actual Season

While existentialism values flexibility and personal meaning-making (and I’m all for it), let’s not get too abstract here. The power of this approach lies in aligning your life with the real seasons of the year—not just the metaphorical ones in your head.

So don’t overthink it. If it’s spring outside, start planting something new. If it’s fall, reflect and harvest. Let the rhythms of nature guide your actions with a little more structure and a lot more clarity.

Here’s your challenge: Map out your Four Seasons of Flourish for the coming year. One page, four sections. What will you learn or begin in spring? How will you connect and expand in summer? What will you harvest or share in fall? And how will you rest and reflect in winter?

This isn’t about rigid planning, but about rhythm. Intention. Living seasonally and with purpose. And it starts right now. In whatever season you're standing in.

Want help getting started? Take the Existential Vitality Index through our Self-Serve Package or perhaps book a Signature Service (EVI + Interview + Coaching) to see which domain of your life might need a seasonal shift.