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# Life Works in Cycles: How to Use "Seasonality" to Get Rich and Stay Sane
- URL: https://barbarosozturk.com/blog/life-works-in-cycles-how-to-use-seasonality-to-get-rich-and-stay-sane/
- Published: 2026-02-11T17:44:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-11T17:44:29.000Z
- Description: We try to live in a permanent Summer. But nature, markets, and emotions run in cycles. The secret isn't to fight the Winter; it's to plant the seeds that will make you rich in the Spring.
- Author: Barbaros
- Tags: Personal, Productivity

### Anxiety comes from thinking a bad day is permanent. Wealth comes from knowing a bear market is temporary. Once you accept the cycle, you stop fighting reality and start leveraging it.

**Inspiration:** Realizing that my best financial gains came from investments made during peak fear, and my best mental clarity came after accepting that anxiety is just a passing weather system.

We are taught to expect linear growth. We want our career, our happiness, and our portfolio to go up and to the right, forever.

**This is a lie.** Nature doesn't work in straight lines; it works in **Cycles**. Jim Rohn talked about the "Seasons of Life." Once you accept this, everything gets easier.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_d2r8sdd2r8sdd2r8-Large.jpeg)

### 1\. The Cycle of Career (The Hunt vs. The Harvest)

You cannot be in "Empire Building" mode 24/7 for 40 years. You will burn out.

- **Winter (The Build):** No one knows you. You are grinding in the dark. This feels like failure, but it is actually **Accumulation**.
- **Summer (The Harvest):** You get the promotion, the exit, or the viral hit. This is when you cash in on the Winter's work.

**The Strategy:** When you are in Winter, don't look for fruit; look for roots.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_92tu3i92tu3i92tu-Large.jpeg)

### 2\. The Cycle of Energy (Circadian & Ultradian)

We try to be robots. But we are biological batteries.

- **Daily:** You have 90-minute "Ultradian Rhythms" of focus followed by 20 minutes of trough. If you fight the trough with caffeine, you ruin the next peak.
- **The Fix:** Ride the wave. When energy dips, rest. When it spikes, sprint.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_xiygjaxiygjaxiyg-Large.jpeg)

### 3\. The Cycle of Social Connections (Expansion vs. Contraction)

Sometimes you need a village. Sometimes you need a cave.

- **Expansion:** You are networking, traveling, and meeting everyone (My "Europe/SEA" mode).
- **Contraction:** You retreat to a small circle of deep friends (My "North America/Turkey" mode). Don't feel guilty for hibernating. You are recharging your social battery.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_4tlfwx4tlfwx4tlf-Large.jpeg)

### 4\. The Cycle of Romantic Connections (The Spark vs. The Embers)

Hollywood sells the "Spark" (High Dopamine) as the only valid state. Real love cycles between **Passion** (Summer) and **Comfort** (Autumn). 

If you panic every time the passion cools into comfort, you will blow up a good relationship. Stability is not the death of love; it is the foundation of it.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_jmfjq2jmfjq2jmfj-Large.jpeg)

### 5\. The Cycle of Physical Health (Anabolic vs. Catabolic)

You cannot be shredded and huge at the same time forever.

- **Bulking (Winter):** You eat more, lift heavy, and accept some fat gain to build muscle.
- **Cutting (Summer):** You diet down to reveal the work. If you try to do both simultaneously, you spin your wheels. Embrace the season of the bulk.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_6si5mm6si5mm6si5-Large.jpeg)

### 6\. The Cycle of Mental Health (The 24-Hour Rule)

This is the most important one. **Anxiety feels permanent.** When you are in a panic spiral, your brain tells you: 

> *"This is my life now. I will feel this way forever."*

**The Truth:** No emotion lasts forever. The neurochemistry of a panic attack usually burns out in 20 minutes. A bad mood rarely survives a good night's sleep. 

**The Strategy:** When you are in the hole, wait 24 hours. Don't make decisions. Don't send that angry email. Just wait. The weather always changes.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/81/648165b7-979e-43dd-9c43-02101159f467/content/images/2026/02/Gemini_Generated_Image_etvue6etvue6etvu-Large.jpeg)

### Conclusion: Be a Surfer, Not a Rock

A rock tries to stand still and gets eroded by the waves. A surfer accepts the waves and rides them.

**My Take:** The bad days are just Winter. They are necessary. They are the time you buy the assets—financial, emotional, physical—that will make you rich when the sun comes back out.