A planting season pep talk

Planting season is underway. Some farmers are already in the field while others are anxiously checking soil temperatures and double-checking equipment, waiting on conditions to be fit. No matter when planting starts, it can be a long and intense season. In an interview with Successful Farming, California rancher and life coach Kiah Twisselman Burchett offered this pep talk for farmers as they begin the busy season.

1. Gratitude

Life can get out of whack. When we fall into that victim mentality, when we aren't happy with where we're at, root yourself back in gratitude. Wherever you're at, whatever your life looks like right now, I know that you have so much to be grateful for. Just the fact that you have air in your lungs and a heart beating in your chest is a reason to be grateful. It's easy for us to want, want, want, all these things we don't have, but sometimes we lose sight of the things that we already have to be grateful for.

2. Grit

I know I don't need to tell farmers and ranchers this, right? We have grit bred into us. But if you want something, it's going to take showing up and taking actions to do it.

That being said, my encouragement when it comes to taking action is focus on the baby steps. Sometimes we put this pressure on ourselves that we have to make really big leaps and bounds. But if we can just take one baby step forward, if we can do it 1% better than we did yesterday, then we are on the right track. Those baby steps are what can create the most amazing transformation over time.

3. Grace

Remember, you're a human – a perfectly imperfect human. You are going to make mistakes. You are going to struggle. You are going to fall. That is OK… I really want to encourage people to learn how to make mistakes, and ask ‘What did I learn in this? How am I growing through this? How can I offer some forgiveness here to pick myself up and just keep going?’

4. Growth

Growth comes from those failures. If you're in a hardship, I want you to know there is something more beautiful on the other side of it.

Root yourself in gratitude, have the grit to take that action forward, give yourself grace when you make mistakes, and grow through all the struggles and hardships. Rinse, repeat, and keep going with those four G's. You'll find a lot of joy, some hardships, but a lot of joy along the way.