Are You Showing the Symptoms of CASS?

Hi! New here? Welcome to the Uplifters! I'm Aransas Savas. I've spent the last 20 years at the intersection of behavior change research and coaching. On The Uplifters Podcast, we share diverse stories of women who have found something beautiful on the other side of the hard stuff. Despite self-doubt and fear (and honestly, who doesn't have those?), they've done big, brave things anyway, and show us how we can too!

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I’m really really grateful that my teenagers still love to frolic in spring rain

I opened my windows for the first time this week, and the house exhaled six months of held breath. Suddenly, there's movement everywhere—curtains dancing, dust motes spinning in afternoon light, tiny ants coming back from wherever they’ve been since last spring, the whole space stretching and waking up. Spring doesn't tiptoe in—it throws open every door and window like it owns the place.

This is the season my clients and I call "creatively ambitious spring syndrome," aka CASS. You know the symptoms: volunteering for three new committees, sketching business plans on napkins, saying yes to co-hosting that party, launching that rebrand, taking on that dream project. All at once. All right now. Because the energy feels so good and the light is returning and why the heck not?

Here's what I've been sharing with clients this week—a few strategies that honor our spring ambition while setting us up for sustainable success instead of summer burnout.

1. It's Not Whether, It's How

First realization: You probably already know whether you want to do the thing. The real question is how to do it in a way that works with your life, not against it.

Take Sarah, a client who wanted to launch her consulting practice this spring. Instead of diving headfirst into building websites and business cards, we spent time mapping her existing experience, identifying potential roadblocks, and designing systems that would support her energy rather than drain it. She launched three months later with half the stress and twice the confidence.

Chances are, you have relevant experience for whatever's sparking your interest. Get those insights out of your head and into your planning. What could go wonderfully right? What might trip you up? How can you design around both?

2. The Peripheral Shelf Strategy

Here's my favorite tactical move: when a big idea hits, I don't say no. I send myself an email with a delayed delivery date—usually four months out. The subject line? The idea. The message? A quick brain dump plus permission to feel zero guilt about not making progress on it.

This isn't procrastination. It's strategic timing. Ideas need to marinate. Context needs to shift. Sometimes what feels urgent in March makes perfect sense in July—or doesn't belong in our lives at all.

Your future self has more information than your present self. Trust her judgment.

3. The Perfect Moment Question

If I'm known for anything in my coaching work, it's this question: What is this moment perfect for?

Not: Can I do this?
Not: Should I do this?
But: Is now the right time?

Think of it like gardening. You could plant tomatoes in February if you really wanted to. But why fight the season when you could plant them in May and work with natural momentum instead?

This moment isn't perfect for everything. No moment is. But it might be perfect for one or two things that will thrive with the tailwinds available right now.

4. Focus Inward to See Outward

When my head gets crowded with a million external possibilities, the clearest path forward usually comes from simplifying inward. Pick one basic physical practice—drinking more water, taking evening walks, doing five minutes of stretches each morning—and commit to it for just one week.

It's strangely clarifying how taking care of our bodies helps us see through the noise of endless options. Sometimes the best business decision starts with getting eight hours of sleep.

Questions for Your CASS

As you navigate your own season of possibility/overwhelm, here are some questions I've been exploring with clients:

• What past experiences give you clues about how to approach this new thing?

• If you sent this idea to your future self, what context would you want to include?

• What is your current moment actually perfect for—not everything you could do, but what would thrive with the energy and resources you have right now?

Spring reminds us that growth happens in seasons—sometimes explosive, sometimes subtle, always in its own time. This week on the podcast, you’ll meet

Sarah Gormley

, who knows a lot about BIG change. She left her fancy and miserable San Francisco tech marketing career to care for her dying mother on her family farm in Ohio. After years of therapy, she was ready to fully redefine her vision of “success”, experience deep love and joy, and share her story. Today, she likes herself, has a partner she’s madly in love with, owns a contemporary art gallery in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is the author of The Order of Things: A Memoir About Chasing Joy. Her book and her story are so freaking good and I can’t wait to share this episode with you on Thursday.

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