Spring into Action
Issue 4 | October 2025
Think big. Act small. Fail fast. Learn rapidly. (Poppendieck & Poppendieck)
The arrival of Spring is often a time we clean the house, refresh the garden, and tidy the Shed. With nicer weather, you can focus on getting things in place and finding a place for everything. If you have outer order, you can enjoy inner calm. You made plans earlier this year for what you wanted to achieve, right? Now is the time review how realistic those plans actually were.
Spring is an excellent time to reflect upon how you’ve been travelling, and adjust behaviours and plans as necessary for the remainder of the year. You can do this by ticking off completed items from your to-do list, and comparing how much your life looks like your vision-board.
In light of how you’ve been doing, how healthy and happy you are, and what is important to you, the next step for your life journey is to revisit your big picture. This means considering what you are good at, identifying other passions, accessing resources and support people (like other Shedders), and deciding on a timeframe. Consider why you get up in the morning, what gets you excited, and how you’d like people to see you. Remember, goals without timeframes are simply wishes destined to be only visions in your imagination.
It is invigorating and energising to work from the premise that (almost) anything is possible. For myself, to get anything important done requires a little luck, quality people around me, and consistent daily focus to work in a way that assumes I can’t fail.
We all have intentions to do extraordinary things, however, if your life choices are not delivering the desired outcomes, you need to tweak your choices. Everyone has a goal to have a great relationship, a rewarding retirement, and a good life, but only some people have routines to increase the likelihood of these goals materialising.
Goals are for dreamers—routines and systems are for winners!
Article by Dr John Barletta
(Maleny Men’s Shed)
Health and Wellbeing Specialist
Queensland Men’s Shed Association
Johnb@qmsa.org.au
Published 2025
