It’s the “Fresh Start” Month, But What Do You Want to Leave Behind?
We are just a few days into the month I, and so many others, dub as the “back-to-month.” Even if you didn’t take a summer holiday, you probably slowed your pace a wee-bit. But now that we are a few days into September and in the midst of celebrating the holiday weekend — individually and collectively, we know a shift is afoot.
You can feel the “back to energy” in the air. Much like you might feel at the beginning of the year. (Besides, you know September is often referred to as the “second New Year,” right?) You might even feel a bit of pressure to reset your routines, make different choices, and re-arrange your priorities.
I know I certainly do.
Because like in January, September tends to come with an emotional undercurrent to make up for lost time and capitalize on the time ahead. To assess where you are vs. where you want to be or need to be.
The way I see it, this conundrum shows up in three key ways, a:
Desire to renew what matters
Need to acknowledge your real capacity
Want to be intentional about how you spend your resources
And while all of this is inviting, maybe even necessary as September “taps” you on your shoulder to try to become more disciplined, more organized, more efficient, more everything — I think it’s just as important to keep in mind that a:
“Fresh start” isn’t just being clear about what you want to leave behind, but also about identifying what you wish to return to.
That’s why this month, I want to explore what it means to return to our lives and work with intention — not by demanding more from ourselves, but by noticing what truly sustains us.
Here’s what tends to surface first: your patterns — how you’re spending your time, attention, money, emotional labor, and physical vitality — and your focus — whether you’re dwelling on how far you’ve come or how far you’ve yet to go. Both are worth sitting with. But underneath them is something bigger.
What about your energy?
I think about energy through three prisms — mental, emotional, and financial. Or, as I’m known for asking — what’s feeding and energizing you vs. what’s depleting and draining you? Are you carrying responsibilities that should be shared or released entirely?
That’s where we’re headed this month — not a “fresh start” checklist of things to fix, but three weeks of sitting with each kind of energy, one at a time. Because a fresh start built on borrowed energy doesn’t last past January. Never mind September.
About Jacquette
I love to ask questions and spark aha moments. I love to talk about why success with money is about more than just the numbers, and how the cultural impact on the intersection of money, business, and life matters–A LOT! And, I really hope I help people feel seen, heard, and not judged—especially since money is emotional and personal.
