September is My New January

Several weeks ago I read author Gretchen Rubin’s blog post “Why September Is the Other January, and How to Take Advantage of This Clean Slate” and have been thinking about it ever since.

“September feels like a good time to make a new push. Orange is the new black, breakfast is the new lunch, Monday is the new Thursday, sitting is the new smoking, self-expression is the new entertainment, and September is the other January.” - Gretchen Rubin

I have made a decision. I am making September my new January. To most, the start of the calendar year signifies new beginnings, a chance to be better, perhaps a “tabula rasa.” If you are over the age of twenty, you have most likely made at least one New Year’s resolution in your lifetime. And probably failed. As mentioned by David Ropeik in Psychology Today, “New Year’s resolutions are examples of the universal human desire to have some control over what lies ahead, because the future is unsettlingly unknowable.” 

Perhaps this makes sense as to why January carries the weight that it does despite the fact that most people overwhelmingly fail to achieve their resolution goals (except for the year my husband decided to floss his teeth daily, a habit he continues to keep). January arrives amidst an extended period of darkness and bleakness following the indulgent holiday revelry, where the days are short and the nights are long.

After the stroke of midnight one is expected to muster up the strength to practice things for which they have had no mental fortitude to put in place for the past eleven months, and then keep it up for eternity. As ridiculous as it looks in writing, it pales only in comparison to how hard it actually is to implement.

January and its expectations show up like a pajama-clad toddler standing next to your bed at the break of dawn insisting you wake up and make breakfast. I don’t blame January’s eagerness, but this year, I think I am going to tell her to go back to bed because I will most likely be tired and would love nothing more than to discard the dead Christmas tree, enjoy a good cup of coffee, and settle down for a long winter’s nap. Is that too much to ask?

I know what you are thinking, “Don’t you work in the fitness industry that capitalizes on the advantageous exercise and nutrition commitments made each January?” Yes, but unlike the other eleven months of the year, January has been set up to fail with its lofty goals attached.

Therefore, I have decided that I am going to take off January’s crown and place it on the head of September.

For certain, these last six months have shown me the unpredictability of life, so if any time seems appropriate to make a mental switch, this September feels like the right moment to do so.

In normal years of past (granted this is no normal year), I have ended summer refreshed, ready to settle back into the rhythm of activity and school. Leaves begin to turn a different color, there is an obvious change in the weather, and routines in many schedules resume once again.

Perhaps September and January have more in common than one would think, as September could be January’s less eccentric twin, similar to the “Full House” Olsen twins where the more sensible Ashley is always standing next to her flamboyant sister Mary Kate. They definitely resemble each other, but one is more subdued and toned down, just like September and January.

Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen

A certain sensibility and wisdom accompanies September as goals and commitments seem less daunting and more achievable. I am unlikely to hear a prospective client say that they are looking to increase their gym visits from zero days per week to seven to achieve the chiseled body of Brad Pitt in Fight Club, like one man once told me at the start of the new year. I doubt if he would be this overzealous in September.

“But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.”  ― Stephen King, Salem's Lot

Just like an old friend sitting down for a chat, this month has the possibility to cut through the rubbish and offer a new perspective, leaving one challenged and inspired.

So that is it. September will be my new January. I have made a goal related to my mental, physical, and relational health.

My September Resolutions:

Mind-Related Goal: I will be meeting weekly with my mentor for a period of time to increase my knowledge about practical application from his extensive experience in personal training.

Body-Related Goal: I am planning a season of more structured strength training workouts that I will follow each week with input from my mentor.

Heart-Related Goal: I will be engaging in a weekly book study and staying accountable with a girlfriend over text.

While I am doing nothing dramatic such as “eliminating alcohol” or “stopping cursing,” my resolutions are reasonable and appealing enough that I have confidence that I can pursue them consistently without feeling like I am suffering.

I am not hopeful that many will choose to make September their new January, as resolutions in January look more outrageous, and we have already flipped the page on this calendar month. But as yesterday officially marked the end of the summer season, perhaps for some of you, like me, this month might be ripe for growth.

Go on then if you dare. Show up to the party with Ashley Olsen, and if you happen to see her sister Mary Kate in the bathroom, tell her I say hi. For now though, I am going to forget about January, because September is my new beginning.