There’s something about September that has always felt like a fresh start. Perhaps it’s years of associating this time of year with new school terms, new stationery and getting back into a routine. Or perhaps it’s simply the change in the air as summer begins to soften into autumn. Whatever the reason, September can bring a natural urge to reset.
And unlike January, when we can feel under pressure to completely reinvent ourselves, September offers an opportunity to make some quieter changes. To take stock. To notice what’s working, what isn’t, and what might help you feel a little more like yourself again as we move into the final few months of the year.
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How are you actually feeling?
Summer can be wonderful, but it isn’t necessarily restful. Holidays, days out, children being home, social plans, disrupted routines and trying to fit everything in can leave us arriving in September feeling more frazzled than refreshed.
So before rushing straight into the next busy season, take a moment to ask yourself: How am I actually feeling? Not how you think you should feel. Not whether everybody else seems to be coping. Just you.
Are you energised and ready for what’s ahead? Or are you feeling tired, overwhelmed, stressed, scattered or simply a little unlike yourself? Sometimes we become so used to powering through our days that we don’t notice how much we need a pause until we finally give ourselves one.
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You don’t need to overhaul your life
A reset doesn’t have to mean a dramatic new routine, a long list of goals or changing everything at once. In fact, one of the most useful questions you can ask yourself this September is: What would help me feel more like myself again?
Your answer might be getting outside for a walk each day, going to bed a little earlier, picking up a hobby you’ve neglected, creating some boundaries around your time, seeing more of the people who make you feel good, or simply giving yourself permission to stop occasionally without feeling guilty about it.
Choose one or two things that genuinely support your wellbeing and start there. Small changes that you can actually sustain are often far more valuable than an ambitious September reset that has disappeared by the end of the month.
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Give your mind somewhere to be still
If your mind constantly feels full, creating even a few minutes of quiet can make a difference. Meditation doesn’t require you to empty your mind or somehow stop thinking. It simply gives you an opportunity to slow down, bring your attention into the present moment and step away from the constant stream of things you need to remember, organise, solve or worry about.
Even ten minutes can become a little pocket of calm in an otherwise busy day. If you’d like to try it, I have a free 10-minute guided beach relaxation on my Meditation page. Find somewhere comfortable, pop your headphones on and give yourself ten minutes where absolutely nothing is required of you.
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Put something in the diary that’s just for you
We’re often very good at making time for work, family, appointments and responsibilities, while the things that restore us tend to get fitted around everything else. September is a good opportunity to change that.
Look at the month ahead and deliberately put something in your diary that you’re looking forward to and that exists purely because it makes you feel good. That might be a coffee with a friend, an evening class, a massage, an hour with a book, a meditation evening or simply an afternoon with nowhere you need to be. It doesn’t really matter what you choose. What matters is recognising that your own wellbeing deserves a place in your diary too.
If you’d like to make a little more time for yourself this autumn, you can take a look at What’s On at Align Wellbeing to see my upcoming meditation evenings, workshops and wellbeing events in Gamlingay, Biggleswade and St Neots.
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Start September from where you are
You don’t need to become a new version of yourself this September. Perhaps the better goal is simply to come back to the version of you that gets lost underneath the busyness sometimes.
Take stock of how you’re feeling. Decide what you need a little more of, and perhaps what you need a little less of. Then choose one small thing you can do to support yourself as autumn begins.
And if you’re heading into the latter part of the year feeling overwhelmed, tired, stressed or simply not quite like yourself, giving yourself some dedicated time to stop and reset can be a lovely place to start. A Reiki & Crystal Healing treatment at my peaceful garden space in Gamlingay gives you time to completely switch off while we focus on bringing you back into balance. You can find out more about Reiki and my other wellbeing treatments in Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, on my Wellbeing Treatments page.
You don’t need to wait until January for a fresh start. Sometimes September is exactly the invitation we need.