Most people have the annual rhythm of the changing seasons.

I have a six-month one: the rhythm of changing countries.

It’s that time again when I join the swallows and swifts and head south from Portugal to Cape Town, to the second summer of the year.

There’s a familiar ritual to it now.
Every six months.
Closing up one home for winter: packing away sun umbrellas, clearing out the vegetable garden, covering the furniture.
And then, a few days later, opening up another, sweeping out the Cape dust and setting up life again for the warmth ahead.

It’s a moment of transition.
And for me, a natural point for reflection.

Every time I make this journey,
I find myself taking stock:
What have I achieved these past six months?
What do I still want to move forward on?
And maybe most importantly, is what I’m doing still aligned with what matters most to me now?

Life and leadership evolve, but our values aren’t always as quick to catch up.
What once motivated us can shift quietly over time.
And unless we pause, we can find ourselves running hard in the wrong direction.

So this half-year migration has become my built-in “strategic review.”
I ask myself:

·       What should I continue, because it’s working and aligned?

·       What should I stop, because it’s draining energy or no longer fits?

·       And what should I start,  because it lights me up or moves me toward where I want to be next?

I use a similar process with many of my clients,
Especially founders and leaders at important transition points.
Those moments when one chapter is ending and the next is just starting to take shape.
We step back, recalibrate around what success really means now.

And we design the next phase of their leadership and business growth from there.

For me, this biannual rhythm is both grounding and energising.
It’s a reminder that clarity rarely comes from running faster, but from pausing to realign.