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9 reminders to Start September Smooth

  • by Inese Muceniece
It's September, and it can be a great month to start something new, re-evaluate your life or go for better habits. In this article I am sharing some ideas and exercises that can be helpful when starting the month.

This article is a summary of 9 ideas & exercises that can help you focus more on starting something new in your life, at the same time staying sane, healthy, and happy. It was a part of a “Start September Smooth” challenge I did once to create a positive change within a community. Why September? I find this time magical –  it is a transition from Summer to Autumn but not the end of the year yet (when people usually freak out about New Year’s resolutions).

It can be a good moment to slowly get into a new routine and not leave things you want for later. Remember that any time is a good time to start.  So if it resonates with you, here are the 9 visual cards and little descriptions of each. You will see that the tasks are inter-connected.

1. Start with self

Everything starts with ourselves. You probably have heard that before. It is true that starting something new is not easy and it requires our attention, patience and energy.

Whatever it is that you want to start doing this month, you will need to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself.

Activity:

Think of and write down what would you like to achieve this month. Now add how you could support yourself in the following 3 areas: 

1. Self-development (making sure you grow and develop while achieving your goals)

2. Self-care (taking care of your mental/ emotional/ physical health)

3. Self-compassion (treating yourself with kindness in whatever you do, being your own support).

Remember about these 3 aspects when moving towards your goals, make sure your goals are healthy and good for you.

 

Stopp method

2. Learn to stop

To start, we also need to stop.
It is good to start new things but one of the mistakes people make is adding more to our already busy lives, without removing anything. 

Activity: 

Think of activities you would like to stop doing this month to support what you actually want to do. 

For overwhelming moments, try the STOPP method:

S – Say “Stop” in your mind and pause
T – Take a breath or several to calm yourself down and get out of the overwhelming state
O – Observe. What is going on? What are you thinking about? What did you react to?
P – See the bigger Perspective. Change the way you see the situation.
P – Practice this new perspective – take the best action you can in the current situation to move forward.
 
Energy

3. Energy is everything

Do you want to achieve things but feel like lacking energy? Let’s see where your energy goes and how to create more…

Activity:

Step 1: In 2 different columns write down what gives you energy and what drains your energy daily. See which side dominates and how balanced the columns are.

Step 2:

a) If you have more energy sources compared to drainers – think of ways to expand this energy even more and share it with others.
 

b) If you have more drainers than energy sources – think of more ways/activities that can give you energy you need daily and choose to stop some activities that drain you too much.

Here the previous exercise can be a handy reminder too.

 
Now - Mindfulness

4. Focus on NOW

The only moment you have is NOW. And now is when you choose to focus on what matters. Maybe it’s your goals, maybe it’s quality time, a rest… everything has its moment.

Activity:

Try this month to find moments to simply be. Be as present as you can. 

When you plan to do something – do it truly with your full attention, listen to the conversations you have around when you are with people, enjoy every moment you live and experience it as it is now. 

You can choose to be in flow and alignment with what you want to do and be mindful with every moment that life brings.

It probably sounds easier than it is. Some activities that can help you be in the now – mindfulness, meditation, creating focus time, turning off notifications and other distractions.

Inspiration

5. Inspire and be inspired

Do you feel inspired about what you want to do this month and life in general?

Activity:

If you feel a lack of inspiration or “meh” moments often, these questions might be helpful to answer.
 
  1. What (who) inspires you?
  2. How can you inspire others?
 
Having these written down will already make you feel more inspired and remind yourself about the sources of inspiration you have. Try to take some ideas from this list or add more whenever you feel like you need some inspiration.
Picture

6. Picture your life

Vision helps to create an action and move forward. It can also be a great source of inspiration.

Activity:

Create a vision for your desired life. You can be creative with the format. (painting, collage, mood board, writing, photography)… whatever feels right and resonates with you. 

You don’t have to be very detailed in this task (it is up to you), you can simply put together some images of the things you are working towards or the things you like.

Keep this picture in a visible place so it reminds you of what you want.

September can be the starting point for this new picture.

Plan positively

7. Plan positively

Life does not always follow a plan but it’s helpful to have one to focus on what is in our control.

Activity:

Plan your routine (day/week/month) with activities that are important and inspiring to you and your goals in a more positive way.  To do that – check if your schedule is:

Playful – do you (on some level) enjoy these activities and like the dynamics of your day?
Peaceful – is there time to have a rest, breaks or time without anything planned too?
Purposeful – do the activities align with your vision – your future picture of life? 
Answer

8. Look for the answer

Let’s get a bit abstract on this one! 

Activity:

Ask yourself one question – the most important question for you at this moment (about yourself, life, your goals or anything else) and try to find an answer to it. Or at least some clue leading towards the answer. You can use this method as a guide:

Allow –  allow yourself to be present and find some space to focus on the question – be open to all the answers and signs that might be coming your way.
Acknowledge – what is there in this day? Acknowledge what you already know about the question.
Act – act from your heart and allow to take any necessary action that can lead to more clarity for your question. Try to get one step closer.
Appreciate – whatever happens, try to be grateful for every experience you have moving towards this answer.
Ha[ppiness

9. Happiness. Don't forget about happiness.

Remember that whatever you do, happiness lies within you. If you have noticed, reading all these letters from this one towards the first one, you actually get a word “Happiness”.

There is no specific activity for this one but it is a reminder that whatever you do in life – live with a whole heart and remember that you deserve a better and happier life.

Being joyful, happy and hopeful can help us moving towards the things we want. Not every day it is possible or easy but on majority of days it will help you.

I hope that these reminders and activities gave you some ideas or impulses to keep doing, keep learning and trying out new things, same as caring about yourself on the way.

I hope your September will be as smooth as it can be!

 

Cheers!

Inese

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