The Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is a time of celebration. Each year is associated with one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, with 2025 being the Year of the Snake. The Chinese associate the snake with attributes like wisdom, intuition, and transformation.
As global mobility professionals, what can we take away from the meaning and lessons of the snake?
- Embracing Rejuvenation and Embarking on New Beginnings: The snake sheds its skin, and we can too. We are not beholden to the ways we’ve been operating or who we’ve embodied. This year especially, we have the right energy and luck on our side should we consider wiggling out of our old ways of work and taking on a new form. Whether this means working with a new relocation management company or refreshing your policies, we can all leverage the momentum of this time to make efforts frictionless and fruitful.
- Restarting with Clean Slates: Growth often involves letting go of the old to let in new energy necessary to continue with our journeys. All of us can come up against friction and resistance in our jobs, and project progress can come to a stop in one way or another. In truth, it doesn’t matter that things have stopped; what matters is that we begin again. While we cannot control delays in upper-management decisions, projects encountering roadblocks, or resources not secured as expected, we can control our commitment to begin again. We just need to stop and consider the new form we may need to take to progress or what preconceived notions we must shed to make the necessary moves for desired outcomes.
- Relying on Our Instincts and Insights: Snakes are cold-blooded creatures; they must rely on their environment to regulate their body temperature. Because it is essential to survival, there’s no question that they will move to a more suitable environment. There are times in our lives and jobs that we disconnect from our own instincts and operate in environments that are not ideal for our well-being. We must remember that we have the calling and power of the snake to move and shed our surroundings for better outcomes. If you feel you’re not fully supported by your organization, your relocation management company, or other entity, you have the power to make change.
- Moving with Deliberation: In colder months, snakes will slow down their metabolism and conserve energy as they await warmer times. We are wise to remember that workloads and requirements can ebb and flow in seasons — especially in this industry with the summer season always marking our peak time and outputs. If we can think of the bigger picture and manage our energy and commitments seasonally, we’ll be more balanced for it. And when it comes to the snake’s signature slither, we may see snakes as inefficiently moving in a sideways motion rather than a more effective straight path forward, but it’s a reminder to us that “detours,” or check-ins with the perspectives on either side of our own view (in our peripheral), are necessary for moving forward in a holistic and inclusive manner.
- Making Transformative Decisions: The snake does not fulfill its destiny if it does not shed. While its bones, muscles, and organs grow throughout its life, its skin doesn’t, so shedding what is too tight and worn is necessary for growth. There are times we can keep ourselves confined to playing it small or self-suffocating by not using our voice or unique gifts. Consider your role in your mobility function and how you are uniquely suited to keep your program growing, moving forward, and helping others. Don’t be afraid of transformative decisions; without them, we stop moving, and our world becomes constrictive. If you’re faced with choices that are “big decisions” or seemingly risky, make the choice that forces the most growth. Consider it fate and consider yourself supported by the universe, especially this year.
The formal Lunar New Year greeting involves a 15-day festival in China and many parts of Asia, with the last day devoted to lighting lanterns with wishes for the new year. Each ceremony is meant to invoke deeper connection and renewal, in harmony with the snake’s spirit.
From all of us at Bristol, we wish you a happy Lunar New Year and invite you to connect with us at any time, whether you want to shed your skin or maintain some semblance of the environment you’re in. We delight in guiding all kinds of companies and stakeholders on their relocation journeys, and our role takes on many forms.
If you’d like any assistance this new year, please contact your Bristol Business Development or Client Engagement Director or reach us at info@bristolglobal.com to discuss how we may assist you!
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