One of my favorite times of year is right now — September. I have always felt that “September is the new January,” given the fresh start of school, clearing out summertime energy, and moving into new rhythms. However, this year feels vastly different from past Septembers. The pandemic has pushed all of our routines and internal clocks off. Some days, I find myself wondering what day it is, let alone what month. With school starting online, gyms not open, and social connecting not favored, normal marks of time are completely different from years past. Come on … is back-to-school shopping on Amazon really the same?
Maybe this year, we need to simply reframe September as the new January. Here are three reasons to hit the reset button on September:
1) Remember what you set out to do. In January, you had vivacious and bold goals. Whatever they were, I guarantee they have changed given the current reality. With that said, it’s easy to throw the entire goal out the window. Instead, I encourage you to remind yourself what the goal was and why, and to continue to forge a path toward it, even if the path looks different. For example, perhaps you set a goal to get to the gym more often. Even if that’s not possible right now, maybe you’re walking while on conference calls or doing more meal planning because you’re not eating out as much. The real goal might be to get in better shape, in which case walking and healthier eating will help.