At the end of August I was feeling pretty shit. Not the enthusiastic, organised, motivated self that my social media consumption would have me believe I should be experiencing.
But, honestly, how often does that actually happen? That you feel exactly as you think you ought to?
And how much do you underestimate how much September is a smack between the eyes?
September is a mixed up, muddled up, shook up month
Of all the months of the year, September is the most dramatic.
We’re conditioned at the end of August to get into a back-to-school mindset. Even if your school days are a long distant memory, and you don’t have school aged children, that early habituation is ingrained.
In September the weather starts changing and the darker evenings are more noticeable. But September is unpredictable. Last week when it was cold, grey and gloomy we reluctantly turned the heating on one evening. Today it’s boiling hot and bright.
It brings back a distinct memory of my first day of secondary school. All us little first years dressed in heavy welsh wool tunic dresses, woolly knee lengths socks, turtle neck jumpers and blazers. And all the older kids able to fish their light cotton summer uniforms out of the wardrobe (I know! Welsh school uniforms were hilarious and impractical back then).
So it’s hard to make the switch into the more serious mindset that September requires.
The external cues are all of a muddle. And it can be challenging to get back into rituals and habits that you’ve eased up on over the summer.
How to feel good about a change of season
The French have a word for the back-to-school, back-to-work September feeling. It’s Rentreé. And it’s a bit like New Year. It’s a time to set resolutions and goals and get ready for the darker months.
Even though you might think you ought to feel a certain way at these times of year, there’s no reason that you should. You might, like me, just not be feeling it. And that’s alright.
Despite that, Autumn is coming, like it or not. And work always ramps up at this time of year. Change happens. All the time. Whether you want it or not.
So how can you feel good about the changes that happen in September if you are feeling a bit gloomy?
Honour Your Feelings
Show yourself grace
Nurture Joyfulness
Get shit done
Nourish your body and mind
Starting next week I am running a Feel Good Fortnight challenge to provide you with practical prompts for getting Autumn off to a good start.
As with all my work it will simplify change. You’ll receive a simple prompt each day that will make a huge positive difference. So if you want to simply your September and feel confident about change, sign up for the Feel Good Fortnight here.