September Reset: A Fresh Start for Healthy Habits

I love throwing myself into summer, soaking up the vibrant atmosphere and embracing a slower pace of life. That said, as the seasons change, I always look forward to re-establishing my routine, setting new goals & leaning into habits which make me feel great. I see September as a fresh start and a real opportunity for positive change.

However, sometimes establishing new habits & routines can seem a little overwhelming, not to mention difficult to stick to long-term. Below are my top three tips for making your habits stick this autumn.  

Be clear with what you want, why you want it & how you will get there.

Goals such as ‘I want to eat more healthily', ‘I want to feel less stressed’ or ‘I want to exercise more’ are extremely vague. So, achieving & sustaining them will be challenging.

When setting goals, I find it helpful to think about the following:

• What does this look like? E.g., what does ‘eat healthily’ mean?

• Why is this important to me? E.g., why do I want to feel less stressed; how is this going to benefit me in the short/long term?

• How will I do this? E.g., what changes will I implement on a daily/weekly basis?

• When will I fit this into my schedule? E.g., when will I go for my weekly run?

When we are clear about these points, our goals become much more achievable, as we understand exactly what we need to do each day. 

Plus, when we understand why we want something (and that reason is genuine & personal to us), we want to act in a way which brings us closer to that vision. In other words, when we feel excited by our goals, we’ll be far more motivated to achieve them.  

Your goals & habits should be realistic.

When we’re hungry for change, it can be tempting to set very ambitious goals. ‘I’m going to do an hour of meditation, breathwork and journaling every morning.' Or, ‘I’m going to go to the gym every day after work'.

The trouble is, these goals often aren’t realistic long-term – so, they end up fizzling out after a week or two, and we’re back to square one.

Whilst small, incremental changes might feel less transformative at first, they’re much more likely to stick. This means that they can become a part of your lifestyle, ultimately leading to longer-term success.

Make yourself accountable.

Without a form of accountability, it’s easy to de-prioritise new habits or give up on your goals – no one will know, and you can start again on Monday, right? The thing is, this can turn into a never-ending cycle of ‘tomorrows’, and years later nothing has changed.

When we make ourselves accountable – to ourselves (using diary / habit tracker), a friend or a professional - we have another external motivation to stay on track.

So often, we know what we want to achieve, but we struggle with motivation and knowing how to get there. That’s why coaching is so powerful – it empowers us to make impactful improvements to our health by providing the perfect combination of guidance, resources & support.

Ready to supercharge your health this autumn? Book a free Discover Call to find out more about my services & how I can help.