Happy New September!

On planning, ambition, and remembering what we're actually doing all this for.

September has always felt more like New Year’s Day to me than January.

Maybe because summer gives us something January rarely does: perspective.

You slow down. You sleep. You eat slowly. You have conversations that aren't squeezed between meetings. You spend time outside. And somewhere along the way, you remember what actually matters to you.

Then September arrives, and the temptation is to jump straight back in.

This September, I have a lot to jump into. My clinic, my coaching practice, and a whole collection of projects that I’m picking up again after the summer.Yesterday was a beautiful sunny September afternoon. I had a long list of things to do. So naturally, I wanted to do all of them.

Immediately.

Instead, I stopped. I made a plan.

Not the kind of plan I used to make in my consulting days; milestones, deadlines, deliverables, the whole shebang. This time, it was much rougher. A little map of where I want to be, when I want to be there, and, more importantly, how I want to feel when I get there.

And that changed something.

Looking at my goals through that lens reminded me why I want them in the first place. What they will add to my life. What genuinely lights me up. And, perhaps most importantly, what doesn't deserve quite as much of my energy as I initially thought it did.

There’s that saying that if you don’t have 30 minutes to meditate, you should meditate for an hour.

I think planning can be a little like that.When you're very busy, the instinct is to do more. Faster. To open the laptop, work through the list and feel virtuous about getting things done.

But sometimes the most useful thing you can do is step back long enough to remember what you're actually doing all this for.

Funny thing is, I know this about myself. I seem to work surprisingly well with a good deadline. It forces me to regroup, get clear, and decide what really matters.

Perhaps that is what I like about September.

It gives us a natural moment to pause and ask not only What do I want to achieve this autumn? but also:

How do I want to feel while I’m achieving it?

The question sounds simple, but I have a feeling it changes the answers.

So here’s to September.

Not rushing straight back into the life we needed a holiday from, but taking a little of that summer perspective with us.

And seeing what happens when we build the next season from there.