There is something about September that has always felt a little like a second New Year to me.
Summer begins to wind down, kids go back to school, routines start to return, and there is a new vibe in the air that seems to signal a fresh start. I immediately start thinking about getting back on track, organizing things, recommitting to exercise, finishing projects and looking at everything I still want to accomplish before the end of the year.
Maybe you do that too.
But lately I’ve been realizing that I don’t really need another list of things to accomplish right now.
What I need is a little renewal.
I need to slow down a bit. I need more quiet. I need to spend some time checking in with myself instead of immediately jumping into the next thing that needs to get done.
And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve wondered if you might need that too.
What Do You Need Right Now?
We spend so much of our lives responding to what is happening around us that it can be surprisingly easy to lose touch with what is happening within us.
There are people who need us. Work that needs to get done. Decisions to make. Emails, texts, appointments, errands, news, social media and a seemingly endless stream of information coming at us every day.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that is you.
What do you need?
What have you been feeling lately?
Is something in your life asking for your attention?
Is there something you know you want to change, even if you aren’t quite sure yet what that change looks like?
These are the kinds of questions I’ve been sitting with myself, because I’m becoming increasingly aware of how easy it is to look everywhere except within when we’re trying to figure out what comes next.
I love books. I love podcasts. I love learning from people who make me see things differently, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop doing that.
But I also know that no one outside of me can tell me exactly what is right for my life.
And the same is true for you.
At some point, we have to get quiet enough to hear ourselves.
Creating Space to Hear Yourself
I think that is what I want September to be about.
Not reinventing myself. Not dramatically changing my life. And definitely not adding twenty new things to my calendar in the name of becoming a “better” version of myself.
I just want to create more space to listen.
To pay attention to what feels good and what doesn’t.
To notice what gives me energy and what depletes it.
To become more aware of what I am being drawn toward instead of immediately dismissing it because it doesn’t fit neatly into whatever plan I thought I was supposed to follow.
And maybe, most importantly, to trust myself a little more.
Because I really do believe that our power comes from within. We just have to create enough space to connect with it.
Start With Your Morning
One of the easiest ways I know to do this is through a morning routine.
My mornings have always been important to me because they give me time to connect with myself before I step into the rest of the world. And I don’t mean that you need to wake up at 4:30 a.m., complete a ten-step wellness routine and become a different person before breakfast.
Your morning routine should actually work for you.
Maybe it’s meditation or journaling. Maybe it’s reading something that inspires you, taking a walk, stretching or simply sitting quietly with your coffee for ten minutes before picking up your phone.
There is no perfect morning routine.
The point is to intentionally create a little space that belongs to you.
This is why I created The Reset. It is a simple morning practice guide designed to help you curate a routine that feels meaningful to you, so you can begin your day feeling more grounded, intentional and connected to yourself rather than immediately moving into reaction mode.
If your mornings have gotten a little rushed or you’ve simply fallen out of the habit of giving yourself that time, September might be a wonderful month to begin again.
I also have an episode of the You Can Emerge Positive podcast dedicated to morning routines and why I believe those first moments of our day matter so much. If this is something you want to work on this month, you can listen here:
The Power of Morning Self Care: 10 Minutes to Change Your Day | Emerge Positive
What Is Your Life Asking of You?
I think all of this becomes even more important as we move through different seasons of our lives, because what we wanted five or ten years ago may not be what we want today.
We change.
Our priorities change. Our definition of success changes. The way we want to spend our time changes.
And sometimes we don’t even realize how much we have changed because we haven’t stopped long enough to ask ourselves.
It is one of the reasons Design Your Next Decade™ has become such meaningful work for me.
It isn’t really about creating a ten-year plan.
It is about giving yourself permission to step away from the noise for a moment and ask some questions that we don’t ask ourselves nearly often enough.
How do I want to live?
How do I want my days to feel?
What do I want more of?
What am I ready to let go of?
What would I create if I stopped worrying for a moment about whether I knew exactly how to make it happen?
You don’t have to answer all of those questions this month.
But maybe you can start listening.
That is what I’m going to do.
I’m going to let September be a month of renewal—not because anything needs to be fixed, but because I want to be more intentional about reconnecting with myself, listening to what is coming up and trusting where it might be leading me.
And if that sounds good to you too, maybe we can do it together.
Slow Down. Listen. Learn. Grow.
That’s my mantra for September.
Maybe it can be yours too.
Positively,
Deanne
P.S. I’ve been working on something new for women who are ready to create a new chapter and begin before the new year. I’ll share more soon, but if that sounds like you, I created it with you in mind.
