Are you caught in the loop of constant growth and rigid planning? What if you could organize your life and business in a way that honors your natural rhythms instead?

In this episode, I sit down with Kate Vanden Bos, creator of the Growth Cycle—a revolutionary framework for personal evolution rooted in rhythm, not hustle. We explore how to align your life and work with your own energy cycles, using Kate’s 12-phase growth model as a map for intentional living.

Kate shares how her years of study in somatic healing, nature-based coaching, and her own burnout led to the creation of this grounded and magical system. We talk about ditching the five-year plan, redefining productivity, and letting the wisdom of nature shape your timeline.

What You'll Discover:

• The origin story of the Growth Cycle (05:19)
• How the Growth Cycle helps you identify what season you’re in (13:44)
• Why traditional planning fails most entrepreneurs (25:06)
• What rest really looks like in the growth cycle (26:33)
• How to make room for both structure and soul in your personal and professional life (42:11)

This episode is for the seekers, the overthinkers, the perfectionists, and the creatives. If you’ve been searching for a way to plan that actually makes sense for how you move through the world, this conversation will feel like coming home.

You can watch this conversation between Maegan and Kate on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fnQgV5hovWs

Connect with Kate Vanden Bos

• Get your free personalized Growth Cycle map

Connect with Kate on Instagram: @katedvandenbos

Mentioned in this episode:

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[00:00:47] Kate is the creator of the Growth Cycle, a personal evolution framework, rooted in rhythm, not in hustle. She helps high achieving women break free from burnout and reconnect with what matters to their own natural energy cycles. In this conversation, Kate explains what the growth cycle is, how you can use it in your life and business to create more ease and flow so that you can do more of what matters to you while becoming deeply rested.

[00:01:46] Welcome to Deeply Rested, the podcast that helps people doing good work in the world take incredibly good care of themselves. I'm your host, retired therapist, and disillusioned business coach, Megan Meson. I'm on a mission to help people like you unlearn the rules that keep you trapped in self-doubt so that you can recover from burnout, and finally become deeply rested if you enjoy today's show. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and join our weekly newsletter@deeplyrested.com slash newsletter. Now it's time for the show. Kate, welcome to Deeply Rested.

[00:02:43] Maegan: It's so good to see you, and I'm very excited today. To talk all about this incredible system that you have created, designed called the Growth Cycle, right out of the gate, can you just tell us a high level overview what the growth cycle is?

[00:03:31] Maegan: Okay. We have a lot to discuss. This is so beautiful. I've used the growth cycle personally, so I have experienced it in… and it's so rich and nuanced and I love the way you just captured it. It's a way to track my personal evolution in a really natural, organic way and there are some specific applications for business owners that we’re going to talk about a little bit later, but before we get into the nitty gritty details about the growth cycle, Kate, I am always the most interested in hearing about how you channeled this idea.

[00:04:10] Maegan: How you created this incredible resource and you mentioned earlier that the growth cycle was actually birthed in a swimming pool.

[00:04:21] Maegan: So I'm wondering if you can just tell me that story.

[00:05:00] I am dying after 20 lengths because I thought, I'm looking at all these people and the other lanes that, from the outside, they're making it look so easy and effortless and they're flowing length upon length, and I'm fighting with the water, and after 20 lengths, feeling exhausted at the end of it. And this was going on and on and on and I just, I had the mentality at the time of, again, coming out of the backend of being a personal trainer and a sports therapist and very heavily involved in the sport world and the fitness world, and then moving into body work and medicine but you just have to work harder. Just work is clearly my problem, that the water is stronger than me, so I just need to become stronger than the water. And I'm sure we all can understand what that feels like it's a beautiful analogy 'cause we've all been there, right? There's that resistance that water gives you when you fight with it and we can continue just fighting with it and I always just thought, well, I have to get stronger. I have to push harder, I have to do more, I have to train more and it will get easier. It did not get easier, and I did not look any classier or smoother doing it. And it was actually one day where I was handed a book called The Art of Swimming, which is all about the Alexander technique and applying that to the swim, stroke, and cutting a very long story short what actually meant, and literally overnight, I went from.

[00:07:58] Maegan: Oh wow, I love the term functional framework and I think I was starting to say this to you before we hit record. I love hearing these creation stories because it is such a beautiful reminder that we all have the ability. To channel these ideas and to new things in our businesses and in our lives.

[00:08:26] Maegan: because they think that they can’t put something out into the world until it’s polished and it's been tested and it's just perfect and ready to go. And hearing you talk about the growth cycle that it's in its seventh iteration and you keep seeing new layers and tweaking things and finding ways to make it more functional so that other people can adapt it and use it. There's so much wisdom in that alone, Kate so thank you for sharing so honestly about how this has come through you and how it just keeps coming in. One chapter after another.

[00:09:31] To have it all... Nothing can happen until you've got the five year plan, and then you've broken the five year plan down into this milestone and this target and you need the marketing design. Who is your audience? Who is this? And this did not happen that way at all. I used it myself. That's the first couple years of actually using this and applying it. And so it actually has proof of concept and I think that's a stronger thing than anything else is actually look at what's working and keep doing it. And the more years I've worked with it and the more and more clients I work with, the more it's a gift that keeps on giving. I am learning more, which keeps me interested in it.

[00:10:37] And then suddenly it unlocked and became... I saw how it laid out. It was like, well, actually it could be self-guided. If I did this, and this, and if I put myself into it, if I put, again, it was more of an efficiency thing because I was saying the same thing to clients over and over again. It's like, why don't I just record this for them? And then I can say, you're in phase two. Listen to this. You're in phase three. Listen to this. So that's actually how the course was truly born, the online framework, because I wanted to be efficient and not keep saying the same things over and over again. And out of that, a whole new level of growth came from that.

[00:11:40] Kate: Yeah.

[00:11:47] Kate: It's funny you say that 'cause the book that just popped to mind is The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. And that's one of, again, one of those books. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you go and grab a copy of it, but it is one of those books that I've read a dozen times at least, and it's one of those magical books that when you're reading it, it's different every time. Right? And they're like, oh, I don't remember that from last time, because I'm different. I'm 12 times different every time that I've read it and If you haven't read it, the Alchemist talks about the journey of the boy that is searching for something and it's his quest and the internal growth that needs to happen for him to actually realize what he was looking for all along. And I love that. That's life and again, full of symbolism, full of guidance. I love Oracle cards. That's my preferred divination tool. And the growth cycle works with or without it, it works with, the idea is that you are paying attention.

[00:13:29] Maegan: And the growth cycle is a system, and we're going to talk about it now in more detail. It's a framework that helps you kind of, I think I. It gives a little bit of structure to your own. Evolution process. So what you’re saying about when I change, my world changes, everything changes. The changes, but the change process, the personal growth process can be so overwhelming can be just like we can feel lost in the forest.

[00:13:55] Maegan: The growth cycle is this beautiful piece of... You'll have to give me the words for it. It's this beautiful framework that helps you see, oh, actually you're not lost in the forest. You’re right here, and here’s how you can move through this particular phase of your journey through the forest. So do me a favor and make what I just said sound smarter. Basically tell me.

[00:14:49] So part of what I've realized is that the growth cycle, because there is a tangible structure, it has numbers, it has a sequence, it has dates, it has a tangible framework that your intellectual brain can feel comfortable with. 'cause it knows like it's again, like looking at your calendar for the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, you know what day it is today.

[00:16:36] Maegan: Actually,

[00:16:39] Maegan: I would love to actually, for people who haven’t seen it, the visual image of the growth cycle. Can you just describe what it is, how many phases there are?

[00:16:47] Maegan: Paint us a picture, Kate.

[00:18:01] Each of them are seasons and each of them has a theme and so we will all go through the same cycle every year. We all experience the same phases, the same themes. We just do it at different times of the year because we were all born differently. We had a different code at our birth time. And so therefore, yours and mine particularly as a good example, we are in different phases right now and clients that I work with could be in completely the opposite side of the cycle at the same day. So today's date, you are in a different phase or a different part of your cycle than somebody else, but we're all walking the same path, if that makes sense.

[00:18:42] Kate: And we repeat it. That's the other thing to recognize every year, is that it isn't just once and another really good visual. If you imagine, yes, we're looking at a circle, but I want you to also imagine a spiral. So you're going to walk, and you have been walking this path every year of your life, and you've just been doing it unconsciously.

[00:19:30] Maegan: Give us an example of some of the phases of the growth cycle.

[00:20:08] How, who am I here to be? So that was my last phase. The phase I'm in right now is the second part of that where I'm now putting roots down, so I'm paying attention to my house, my security, and my money comes up as a big theme in phase two. Your environment. Who are you actually surrounding yourself with? Because you want to be building a really strong, healthy foundation and root deep into this part of your life so you're actually giving good, strong roots to the intentions that you've set for the year. And so if we were to swing around completely the other side. As you're getting closer to your harvest, per se, you go through, one of my favorite phases is actually a very much a values dominant phase. You're encouraged to look back at the year and ask yourself basically, how did I do?

[00:21:30] Maegan: Say a bit more about what information you use to determine where somebody starts on their growth cycle.

[00:21:57] Wherever you are today, you start where you are today. Again, from a conscious awareness, you don't have to, it's again, it's not a program. It's not a course. You don't wait until a starting point at phase one.

[00:22:09] Maegan: It’s the information that you would gather from someone to learn where you are on the growth cycle is your birth chart information.

[00:22:16] Maegan: And then it basically creates a framework specific to you.

[00:22:21] Maegan: Okay, we're recording this interview in mid-May. So, I can be like, okay, so where am I in my growth cycle in min-May?

[00:22:28] Maegan: you might be anywhere from one to twelve, but then once you know where you start, you’re going to move forward in a predictable space.

[00:22:37] Maegan: growth cycle, there are dates, right? From these dates you’ll be in and these dates you’ll be in this phase.

[00:22:57] Your business is you. And so if you know your own energy cycle, you know what is required of you or what you will require from your environment, from the people around you, from your business, how creative you're feeling versus how much rest you need. It actually helps you plan. So a lot of conversations I have with clients are around launches, right? And again, somebody who can come to me and say, well, I'm planning on launching here and I'm like, that it's going to be particularly challenging 'cause your energy is not supportive of that at the time. And we think about swimming in the water, right?

[00:24:08] If you have that information upfront, you can again look at the year as a big picture and maybe plan around it as necessary. I'm going to need more recharge time here. I'm going to feel particularly creative here. I'm going to feel more social here. I'm going to feel more isolated here and make any necessary decisions that you can around that information knowing that you have it upfront. Does that make sense? That kinda gives you a bit more.

[00:25:14] Kate: What you're offering with the growth cycle is a system that is more rooted in nature. A system that says hey, actually we're not all the same. We are all different.

[00:25:32] Kate: Yes. That's the key. Mm-hmm.

[00:25:42] Kate: Yes.

[00:26:29] Kate: Yeah, that's a really great question. And again, I'm with you on this one because there's again, a perception that resting means stopping and not doing anything. And one of my favorite quotes is, I'm going to butcher it. It's just left in my head, but you'll get the concept that doing nothing does not mean nothing is being done. Intellectually we understand how a plant grows because we've all seen it. So intellectually, if you attach that to your life, it makes more sense. 'Cause our brains want meaning, right? That's what they're seeking for all the time.

[00:27:35] Maegan: There is a difference between collapsing

[00:28:13] You have to learn how to navigate through it so that you are moving forward, getting more done, but it feels at more ease. It feels more in flow. Again, we've all had that situation, I'm sure, where there's a deadline, and it's usually when we're younger, right? Where we're just pushing. It says, I gotta go. And I'm just going to push through it. Just push through it, and invariably. That took you four times as long because you were doing it more tired than if you'd actually just taken a break, collected yourself, had some sleep, and you would've actually been able to focus more.

[00:29:35] Maegan: I love the specificity, again, that you get with your own unique seasons, which I think it’s worth noting, might not be in sync with the seasons of nature around where you live, I think can be another really helpful “aha” in looking at the growth cycle for people is, my gosh, no wonder I always feel so self-critical in summer when everyone is like, yes, let’s get out there and go, go, go. But actually, if you’re looking at the growth cycle, you’re in your winter. I think when you get those little insights into your own energy cycles and then you get to start… I love how you were talking earlier about imagining layer upon layer right? So when you can layer what’s happening in your family, what’s happening in nature around you, what’s happening with your unique growth cycle, you all of a sudden have this much more holistic view of who you are. How you are meant to operate in the world, and permission slips galore.

[00:31:07] Kate: Yeah, absolutely and, I love all of those things. Again, the more I can learn about myself, and again, my clients feel very much the same way, and I'm sure all your listeners feel the same way, too. That is all valuable information. Again, the more you can...

[00:31:25] Kate: Yeah, no absolutely. And in fact, they're extremely complimentary to each other. The more you know of yourself, the healthier and happier you are in yourself. My personal distinction between all of those, whether it's my Myers Briggs human design, your basic astrology and, is there a very big picture. They tell you you know, like your life path number, right? There's this sense of where your north note is and they're very epic. It's wow. Like, which is great to know because oh, that makes sense because in this situation I respond like this or I tend to be triggered like this. It's a deeper understanding of why I think.

[00:32:50] And also though how that is,contributing to the growth of my year because every day has a purpose. Again, if it's building on top of each other and the other thing, which I think we kind of glossed over, but it's really important to know is, the growth cycle puts you in control of where your intention and attention goes throughout the year because you decided what seeds to plant. They didn't get planted for you, you didn't wake up in. you're planting seeds phase and get handed a packet of seeds and here's your year, deal with it. This is what's going to happen. The control is actually in your hands if you're using it consciously. So, when you made the decision.

[00:34:37] Maegan: I can't believe I didn't ask you that question sooner. 'Cause that answer is so obvious now that you say it, and I love it. It really resonates that most of these systems are so that what you said, you epic tales. Yeah. Like your human design chart is wow, this epic amount of information about who you are. Same with Enneagram and Myer Briggs where it's telling you in short broad strokes who you are. Now those broad strokes have a lot of nuance in them, but it can be really challenging to trickle that down into, okay, and what does that mean for me this week? You know what that means right now in this moment/ So the growth cycle is a way of saying, yes, gather up all of that information about who you are and what your purpose is and here’s your map.

[00:35:25] Maegan: That can actually, if we're going back to your map, I’m kind of lost in the forest.

[00:35:34] Maegan: This doesn't have to be a challenge. It doesn’t have to be a hero’s journey, right? Where this is the heroine’s tale. This is more feminine .There can be more flow and more easy and self-discovery. And the more flow and in this process. And another thing I love that you're saying, Kate, is which I have experienced since I first looked at my growth cycle with you a couple of years ago. It really is easy to dip in and out of. That’s kind of who I am as a person.

[00:36:00] Maegan: I dip in and out of these things as they call to me, I just trust intuitively that, you know, when there's something for me to glean from the growth cycle, I'll get a little ping about it and I'll check same with my human design chart. When I get a little ping of being like, hey, maybe go look at this specific thing and I'll go look at it. And I never feel like I'm behind when I dip back into the growth cycle, if that makes sense.

[00:36:31] Maegan: I think you've done a phenomenal job truly. Yes, that is absolutely like when I dip back in, it’s just like, okay. Here we are. It doesn't matter that I haven’t looked at it for however many months because that is where I am at this moment. And it doesn’t actually matter where I was two months ago or where I'm going to be in two months. From now I'm here in this moment and I can just breathe and relax and this is where we really have a practical application for releasing the need to do this very conventional long-term planning, which I think is just such a joke.

[00:38:03] Kate: Again, it was, for personal use that just was like, this works, so let's share it and it's just grown and grown and again, remembering that wherever you go there you are, right. We don't give ourselves permission to do that enough and there's this sense of it being okay. Whatever is going on right now, everything is okay and coming back to yourself and to your center and to whatever. You know, in this instance, we're talking about a personal framework. It's a way of understanding. It's a way of actually going, oh yeah, that makes sense.

[00:39:22] Again, if we think about the tree putting down a new ring at the end of every year, a really successful healthy tree has one more ring added to it. Its base is stronger, its roots are deeper. It's reached a little higher up to the sky. It's more rooted in who it is as an entity, because it went through something to grow that ring that year. And we do that every year. So this isn't about avoiding the uncomfortable, it's actually about leaning in and understanding the uncomfortable and using it to your growth advantage so that you come out of it a stronger version of yourself, not one that has lost its confidence. Having self-doubt and feeling disorientated. It's like, all right, yeah, that wasn't great. That didn't feel good. I'm picking myself back up. I know where I'm going and I know how to get back on track. That is my wish for my clients and for everyone, you know?

[00:40:46] Yes, we are people who will always live intensely. That doesn’ t mean it has to be heavy or hard or challenging or a struggle. Like we like in these intense growth cycles and just be so full of ease and flow and curiosity, and this gives us a compass to help us stay in that alignment. Going back to your swimming story, we never feel like we're winded after only 20 laps across the pool. Like we can flow 60 laps with ease and feel invigorated on the other side of it.

[00:42:06] Kate: Yeah, that's a really,final wrap up point around that is,we do want to produce, we do want to grow. We are naturally growing whether you want to or not, there's always going to be, the case. So grow in the direction you want to grow in, and the other thing is, while it's just so important, is on that point to me, is to grow from a place of integrity and authenticity so that what you are putting out in the world, what you are creatively contributing to the world actually comes from a place of deeper knowing of authenticity, of integrity. And for that to happen, it means that you've done that work, that you actually do know who you are, that you're not just falling into the trap of-- and we all do it, and we've all been there-- of just producing. 'cause that's what we have consistently been trained to do is that I am not a value unless I'm getting dollars in exchange for X. And that is, not going to change per se anytime soon 'cause that is how we express our value in the world through money right now. But do it in a way that's actually inauthentic and coming from a place of love and that you enjoyed creating and that you've left a legacy in the world that is a piece of you that is bigger than a dollar sign.

[00:43:39] Kate: Thank you

[00:44:20] Kate: Yeah. Right?

[00:44:40] Kate: Yeah,

[00:44:56] Kate: Good question. If you want to head on over to my growth cycle.com and you can just put your birth details in and you will find out where you are today on your own personal growth cycle and if you want to continue the conversation, we can do it from there.

[00:45:37] Kate: My Growth cycle.com.

[00:45:58] Kate: Yeah, that nothing gives me greater joy than coaching people on this process.

[00:46:13] Kate: Yeah, absolutely the framework of the growth cycle is actually underpins the work, but in a live session I like to pull out my Oracle cards and we have some fun and we do a deeper dive. After we've kinda established where you are on the growth cycle, maybe some themes that are coming up, maybe explain, walk through some of the experiences you've just had and integrate where you have just been so that you know where you're going next.

[00:47:07] Maegan: Incredible. It's such a gift that you're doing this work, and it's one of my favorite things in the world is when we strike a balance between the grounded and the magical and the energetic and this is such a beautiful encapsulation of that, of this blend, this integration of the masculine and the feminine, the doing and the being and the structure and the soul. It's all of it wrapped up in one package, and I am really grateful to you for being here and sharing your wisdom with all of us on the Deeply Rested podcast. Kate, thank you so much.

[00:47:41] Maegan: And if you loved this conversation with Kate, the most helpful thing you could do to support us here at the Deeply Rested Podcast is to share this interview with a couple of your business besties. We are really focused right now on just spreading the word far and wide that this show exists and that these conversations are happening. So if it feels right for you to share this episode via text with some people that you love, we would really love you for it. So thank you everyone for being here, and we'll talk to you next week on the Deeply Rested Podcast.