For many of us, fall is a time of renewal and for hitting the refresh button, at least that’s how I feel when that fresh autumn air starts blowing. We tend to shift our thinking to health care once again and start eating healthier, stepping up our workout routines and being a little more conscious of what our body needs.

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

J. Scott Fitzgerald

Following the hot days of summer, and the busyness of children being out of school, vacations, and excursions, fall is a time to come back to self, to reevaluate, renew and ground ourselves once again.

And it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few simple ideas to help get you started:

Refresh Your Habits

Fall is a great time to eliminate the habits that aren’t serving you.

I like to start by taking something unhealthy out of my routine. Maybe in the summer you indulged in some habits that really don’t align with your health goals. Poolside parties and afternoon BBQ’s can lead to increased alcohol intake and more unhealthy snacking.

We all have habits that could use some healthy tweaks or even complete overhauls as we move away from the lazy days of summer and into the more active autumn ones.

What’s something simple and unhealthy that you can remove from your routine?

• Have you been hitting the drive-thru on the way home more often than you’d like?
• Have you been snacking more after 8:00 pm?
• Have you been thinking of getting back to the gym but haven’t started up yet?
• Have you been skipping your daily self-care routine?
• Are you behind on some tasks that have left you feeling overwhelmed and stressed?

What other habits could use a refresh?

Refresh Your Plate

Now we’ve talked about eliminating some not-so-healthy habits, let’s see what you can add to the mix. It can be as simple as drinking more water and eating more fresh, whole foods.

Sometimes, making lasting changes can be as simple as that. Add some healthy items to your plate. What can you add to your weekly menu that can catch on as a healthy habit? For example, instead of rice or mashed potatoes, try cauliflower rice or mashed sweet potatoes.

If you focus on adding one new healthy item to the mix every week, you’ll have your whole plate looking delicious and nourishing within a few short ones – definitely in time for the holidays!

The change of season is the perfect time to refresh your diet.

Maybe you even want to take it a step further and detox yourself of sugar and junk food – if so…let me know. I have a simple detox plan to pass along.

Renew Your Mind

Do you find relaxing your mind and quieting your thoughts a tricky process?

If you’re anything like me, your mind is a crowded place full of to-do lists, shopping lists, project lists, lists of things I want to read, lists of client deadlines and all sorts of other niggly little bits just demanding my attention.

There’s so much bouncing around in your mind throughout the day, which makes it hard to actually feel relaxed.

It does take some work, but clearing your mind is a habit worth cultivating.

Try downloading an app such as Headspace, and start with a few minutes a day. You can work your way up from there, when you begin to get the hang of it. These mental breaks are essential, so start with 5-8 minutes a day, increasing to 15-20 over the next month.

Pro Tip:

If you’re not sure how to focus and quiet your mind so you can really tap into that mind~body~soul connection, here’s what I like to do:

Focus on allowing your mind to be surrounded by nature’s beauty.

In the moment when you’re sitting outside and you hear the birds chirping and you feel the sun infusing your cells with Vitamin D, be still and silence in nature’s beauty.

When you allow yourself to experience the outdoors, you’ll begin to feel the benefits of fresh air, of being still, of practicing being calm, of stopping the tick tock of the clock called ‘life’, and your racing mind will begin to slow down.

This is an awesome emotionally healing process that renews your mind and helps you connect with your soul.

Taking the time to be still and experience the beauty all around you is extremely important. We often forget that our minds need nourishing too.

Refresh Your Sleep

A good day begins with good quality sleep.

We all sleep every night, but the question to ask is: do you feel rested when you rise in the morning?

One of the most detrimental epidemics in modern culture is our lack of good quality sleep mixed with our lack of knowing how to unwind in healthy ways.

We guzzle coffee throughout the day to help us keep going, and then we crash by the time we reach our bed at night. Yet, when morning comes, we’re still tired.

You can try a gentle yoga sequence before bed, or some simple stretching. If you usually watch TV right before turning in, try hopping in bed with a book instead. Come off all screens at least an hour or two before heading to slumber – it can make a significant difference in the quality of sleep you get each night.

Living a healthy lifestyle includes getting enough good quality, rejuvenating sleep every night.

Relax and Reflect

This probably means something different to each of us, but what I mean is take a few seconds to just breathe!

That could mean yoga for you, meditation for another person, or just talking with some friends. The summer season has just ended so take a moment for reflection.

Some ideas for you to try:

1. Write down your thoughts in your diary or journal
2. Start a gratitude journal and reflect on what you’re grateful for
3. Create a fun fall life list (things you want to do or achieve this season), or
4. Simply allow yourself to feel the great grounding and renewal you can experience in the autumn

Rejuvenate Your Goals

With all the fun of summer, maybe you’ve fallen off track a bit when it comes to achieving your goals, but that’s what fall is for!

• Take a few minutes to sit down and reassess what’s important to you
• What do you want to accomplish before the end of 2022?
• Write down all your goals and check in each week to see where you’re at and what you need to still do to achieve them

Refresh your commitment to your health – moving more each day, eating healthier, getting enough hydration and sleep.

Renew and Refresh Your Life

It can be an exciting time as that “renew and refresh” desire hits us during this time of year.

Remember, when it comes to renewal, you can take it one step at a time. You can try one of these things each week or begin incorporating them into your daily life. Take it at your pace to be more successful.

Renew Your Wardrobe

And for a bit of fun…… why not renew your wardrobe?

Buy a couple of new fuzzy sweaters, put on some cute boots, buy some flowy fall dresses with those gorgeous autumn hues. You’ll feel inspired and confident with these small indulgences.

And don’t forget to enjoy those yummy fall foods all this season has to offer!

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If you’re searching for ways to renew, recharge, and refresh this fall, I’d love to chat.

Contact me via email at lwadsworth@verizon.net to schedule your FREE Renew & Recharge Clarity Call.

By the end of the call, you’ll have:

• A customized Action Plan
• Simple steps to move forward confidently, with a better understanding of what’s right for your body plus
• Some free resources to help.

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