I love September.
To me, it feels like the time of year when I can reset – have a fresh start. September feels just as much like a renewal as New Year’s Day does.
I hope you feel the same.
It’s a time of year when fall is going to begin – a new season of foods, a new season of weather, new routines. The kids head back to school and that opens the perfect opportunity to recommit to health goals – maybe set back at the beginning of the year and placed on the back-burner for the warm summer months.
As a child, I remember September being the mark of an even more important “new year,” – a new year of school.
We were surrounded by new and exciting things, from fresh new haircuts to the freshly sharpened pencils and maybe even a fresh wardrobe if we’d experienced a sudden growth spurt.
To this day, I love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, it just gets my creativity juices flowing.
For me, September has always been a time filled with possibilities and hopefulness and a chance for new beginnings.
It’s the perfect time for reflection and even for transformation.
I like to take a few moments at the beginning of September to reflect on what’s happened so far this year, revisit my goals and check my progress. I’ll review my journal and even dig a little deeper into some of my reflections looking for areas of growth and progress.
I highly recommend this practice for you too:
- Check back and consider the intentions you set for yourself at the beginning of the year
- What can you check off that list
- What’s remaining and what’s still important to focus on
- Determine what’s worked
- Figure out what’s stopping you up or holding you back
- Set clear intentions for the rest of the year. What should you focus on?
- Create an action plan so that you can finish strong
Autumn is a wonderful time year – a time of transition.
Some of you are fortunate enough to already see the tinges of color coming to the leaves – a pivotal point in the rotation of the year.
As the seasons change in most parts of the world, our moods tend to shift as well. It’s important to give yourself extra grace as the seasons shift.
With all of this said about reflection and renewal, here are some tips to ease from summer into fall in the most positive way:
1. Set Intentions (rather than resolutions)
A simple tweak in language can change your perspective and plans in a positive way.
New Year’s resolutions are often set as very specific, concrete, long-term goals that can be easier to “fail” at completing.
If your resolution is to go to the gym every day and then, you miss a day, you can become disheartened and discouraged.
You may even ‘give up’ on the whole goal.
This is where effective goalsetting can make a massive difference.
If you set an intention of embracing and increasing physical activity – with a sense of enjoyment and the purpose of honoring your body and giving it what it needs, you’ll have a much better chance of succeeding.
Framing your goal in this way allows more flexibility.
For example, if you’re just starting out and don’t exercise at all (0/7 per week), the first week you manage once (1/7 – week 1) and build from there – 3/7 the 2nd and 2 months later, you’ve managed to build up to 5/7 – where you’d like to be) – you’re making progress!
Or maybe you progress from walking the dog around the block each day to walking a mile each day.
Be creative and have fun with your intentions and build as you go.
2. Grant Yourself the Gift of Grace
Building a well-balanced life, one that fulfills you and lights you up, doesn’t happen in a day.
When the decision is made that changes are necessary, it can be overwhelming if you try to change or improve everything about our lives all at once.
We can’t possibly build our best selves in one day.
Grant yourself the gift of grace and patience and trust that the pieces will fall into place.
Some tips to help:
- Take some time to determine what you want your best life to look like and who you have to become to achieve that outcome.
- Prioritize what’s most important, and
- Address one intention at a time and replace habits or behaviors that don’t support your goals with ones that do
3. Schedule Rest
We’re often so consumed with crossing ever item off the ‘To Do’ list and zeroing out our inbox that we don’t get the important rest we need.
Being intentional about your rest and replenishing time – and actually scheduling it right into your day-planner will go a long way in increasing your productivity.
A well-rested person is more focused, more efficient during productive time and you’ll be better equipped to maintain the emotional and physical energy you need to tackle that list and even feel more positive throughout your day.
Rest can look different for everyone, so find the mode or two that works best for you:
- Take an afternoon nap
- Schedule an evening to read a book
- Book a date night with your partner to watch a movie
- Go for a walk with your family
- Do some yoga at a regular time each day
- Go to bed earlier than usual
- Take a day each month or each week to do something just for the pure enjoyment of it – develop a talent, take up a hobby, visit a new city or meet with a friend or relative… the possibilities are endless
- Think about how you can fit rest into your routine and add it to your weekly schedule – make it a ‘date with yourself’ and then…KEEP your date. You are, after all, worth it.
Think about how you can fit rest into your routine and add it to your weekly schedule – make it a ‘date with yourself’ and then…KEEP your date. You are, after all, worth it.
4. Accept Where You’re At – This Very Moment (and believe in the power of your dreams and goals)
You may be reading this thinking, ‘September reset??? I don’t have the capacity to even think about that right now.’
But here’s the thing: If not now…when?
There will always be stress, there will always be a miles-long ‘To Do’ list, there will never be the perfect time.
Thinking about making changes, and going through the process of actually making them, is challenging.
And people in general, are resistant to change.
Change is most likely to happen only when you desire the outcome the change will require greater than the pain, discomfort and inconvenience there is to make the change.
That involves acceptance too – you have to be willing to accept that where you are right now isn’t where you want to stay.
And I have these words to inspire you:
You are an incredible, unique being, capable of creating whatever it is that you want for yourself…if you’re willing to take the actions and do the work to make it happen.
And that journey is yours to determine and yours to follow.
I’m here to tell you that you’re a worthy human being just as you are – filled with incredible value, wisdom, knowledge, unique gifts to share – and dreams that you’re worthy of having fulfilled.
I can’t overstate how important this is.
I’m also here to remind you that YOU are the author of your story. You hold the pen. You get to create what you want for yourself.
And the time for that is right now. Not next September. Not even next January 1st – right now.
5. Get Your Movement Going
Autumn is full of fun and outdoor activities that can keep you active and healthy. The cooler temperature keeps you alert to power through even the most challenging workouts.
Even better – exercising outside allows you to breathe fresh air, which helps clean your lungs and strengthen your immune system. It’s a change of scenery from being confined for months in sweaty gyms.
Consider an alternative to an expensive gym membership this fall. Instead, take advantage of the beautiful weather with these seven outdoor exercises instead:
- Walking
- Hiking
- Trail Running
- Outdoor Sports
- Yard Work
- Biking
- Outdoor Classes
Pro Tips:
- Use reflective gear or flashing lights if you’re running or biking at night.
- Dress for the weather. Wear layers so you can shed some extra clothes when your body starts warming up as you get moving.
- The right footwear for the activity is critical
- Stay hydrated. Since the weather isn’t as warm, you may forget to hydrate even when you aren’t thirsty. Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after you exercise.
- Be creative. If you live in the city, it can be hard to find the right spot to try out your new outdoor activities. Take advantage of neighborhood parks or an empty playground for a unique workout.
It’s important to make exercising part of your daily routine and not just during certain seasons. Fall gives you the chance to try something different. So get out there and get active!
6. Nourish Your Body
Nourish your body with foods that are in season. By choosing ingredients that are naturally in season, you’ll get fresher, sweeter, and perfectly ripe produce that tastes better.
Eating with the seasons supports your body’s natural cleansing and healing processes, and helps you to avoid seasonal imbalances.
In fact, eating foods out of season can go as far as throwing your mind and body out of alignment.
Out-of-season produce is shipped from far-away places. The produce must be picked before it’s ripe. Studies show that prematurely picked produce lacks nutrients compared to in-season produce that is grown naturally and allowed to ripen on the plant.
Not only is in-season produce healthier, but it tastes better too. Aligning eating habits with seasonal foods will lead to better nutrition and increased energy.
Autumn is also the time of year when our immune systems start needing an extra boost again. Foods that are in season (mushrooms, red cabbage, sweet potatoes…) all contain vitamin D and C and others, minerals, and nutrients that your body needs for the autumn season to keep your immune system healthy and strong.
For example, in autumn, our bodies are adjusting to colder days, less sun, and needing more sustenance to get through the day. Squashes (pumpkin, butternut, acorn, potatoes) that are in season now are all hearty, filling foods that contain healthy carbs and nourishing vitamins.
Eating in-season food creates an environment for our bodies to thrive.
7. Nourish Your Skin
Make it a habit this fall to renew your skin routines.
It’s easy to forget our skin – our largest organ is always there, providing a barrier to the elements and protecting our body, but the indoor heater is not it’s friend and the dryness of the weather and damaging effects of the sun has an adverse effect on it.
If you’re looking for a natural moisturizer for your body, check out SheaMoisture’s Daily Hydration Body Lotion (also on Amazon).
Here’s some elements from my skin-care routine:
Brush: I love dry brushing my skin before a shower because it gets your blood flowing, unclogs pores, and helps to remove any dead skin. Start at your feet and move upwards in long sweeping motions toward your heart.
Scrub: What better way to get your skin back into its supple state than with a good body scrub. I like Coconut and Hibiscus Scrub from SheaMoisture which I buy on Amazon.
Glow: If your skin is looking a little lackluster, use rosehip oil on your face before bed because it helps even out skin tone and creates a glowing complexion. Check out Amazon for Organic Rosehip Oil from Teddie Organics!
Take the time to rejuvenate your skin. Skin care a critical piece of a well maintained Self-Care routine.
As the summer comes to a close and the weather turns crisp, we naturally focus inward through the autumn months. When you feel this shift happening, try to ease into it and bring balance from those extroverted seasons into these more introverted ones.
- Consider what you LOVE to do and do more of that.
- What lights you up?
- What feeds your soul?
Take some time each week to pursue something that makes you feel fully alive. Schedule time in your calendar to connect your mind~body~soul on a daily basis.
If your health, well-being, or relationships need attention, make it a priority to find time to nurture these areas. If you set up lofty goals back in January, now’s the time to double down on your commitment and make good on them.
Your future is yours to create. Take time to appreciate the beauty of nature, and acknowledge, with gratitude, all the changes you see in your own life.
I hope you’re as excited as I am for the September reset – a chance for renewed energy, and renewal as you tackle our next season.
This September, the Ladies in my private Facebook group, The Energized Healthy Women’s Club, will be talking about renewing our health and wellbeing, reconnecting on a Mind-Body-Soulful level and fun ways to make that part of our daily lives. There will be a fun activity this month leading into the final quarter of the year – so we can all finish strong – and we’d be delighted if you’d join us.
Click the picture below to join us.
