Is September YOUR new January?
From sending kids back to school, to strategic fiscal planning at work, this is a time of year normally marked by transitions and the anticipation of fresh starts.
However, this year is completely different. But with change comes the opportunity to make a new start, to do things differently.
With September now upon us, it is the perfect time for a fresh start. September has been billed as the unofficial second New Year, where resolutions and targets can be made. And personally, I couldn’t agree more.
There’s Added Urgency
Where September beats January though is the looming deadline of Christmas. (really!) When we start a project in January the sense of a whole year to achieve it can lull us into a false sense of security. The added urgency to get something done before Christmas helps us focus.
The days before Christmas are long enough to get something substantial and meaningful done. But not so short that it is super stressful to squeeze everything in.
The Clean Slate
The appeal of both January and September is the clean slate they offer us. We can erase the old goals and create the newer ones.
September then is just as logical a starting point as January, isn’t it? So why don’t we use NOW as a chance to reflect, refocus and rededicate ourselves. The calendar is arbitrary, so why wait?
Anyway…isn’t the best day to start always today?
3 Comments
Nicely said!
In Sunday’s lifestyles magazine, on the page of the Baker Boyer ad is a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “We stand in life at midnight; we are always at the threshold of a new dawn.” In the Chinese concept of yang/yin, yin ends at midnight and yang begins to ascend. It is the constant interaction of yang/yin that keeps nature working. Once while attending a conference in Virginia Beach, I had a motel room facing east on the beach. Since I arose early, I watched the sun rise; it was a big ball of fire coming up out of the water, truly a holy sight for me. I also remember a time when I was living in Daytona Beach and working as an instructor for a nursing school. I had to be at the hospital before dawn with the students to listen to the report from the night shift. We met in a conference room which faced east. Even though the night nurse had our attention, when the sun broke the horizon, every face turned to watch. The very wise nurse knew she had lost our attention. She simply said: “Renew your soul, girls”. That’s what we all have to do every day. We are earthlings traveling on a planet orbiting a big fireball in a universe too vast for our puny minds to comprehend. How can we not believe in a higher power?
Mary Kay, thank you for sharing your experience here. “Renewing our souls” can be whenever we remember! Daily, or weekly, or even monthly. Happy September!