September 1997: My first day of grade 8. I strutted into the schoolyard with a fresh pair of Air Walks, a Korn t-shirt and chain wallet — empty, of course — thinking I was going to be the coolest kid in school that year.
Last week, millions of kids and young adults probably had a similar feeling. September always marked a new year for everyone growing up, so it became a month of new beginnings – whether socially or academically.
‘97 was the last memorable year of excitement for me. Having to wear a shirt and tie to an all-boys catholic high school somehow failed to elicit any anticipation for the first day of school.
But once I started to work in the fitness industry, I realized that September was still a New Year for a lot of people, more so than January. So it became a month I looked forward to as a young trainer, a month where I would always self-reflect and strive for improvement.
Most people are surprised to hear that September is busier than January, but it sort of makes sense. Typically, summers are filled with a lot of socializing which comes with less-than-healthy foods and maybe a bit more alcohol. All those afternoon drinks on a patio, BBQ’s, weddings or cottage weekends slowly unravel all the work put in during the winter for that coveted summer body.
Leaving some people realizing its time to get back on track and others, realizing that they’ve been putting change off for far too long. The good news is, only two-thirds of the year have passed, so there’s still a ton of time to reach this year’s goals. And if you've been dragging your ass all year — September's a great month to get your act together.
So think about the last 8 months and answer these questions:
What were your goals in January?
Are you on track to meet those goals?
What went well?
What went wrong?
What can be done to change course?
Nowadays I rarely buy a new outfit for September 1st – although it’s tempting – but I still look at the month as a fresh start and you should too.
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