Eight prompts for your latter year hard launch.
It was late August and 9 o’clock at night when I first closed the curtains on a serene Atlantic sunset. Looking back, this was the beginning of the end…
The sun has outdone itself this summer and under these eighteen hours of daylight, we have descended into a tornado-like spin of dissolving time, overflowing work and domestic chaos and we loved every minute of it until…I looked around our house; the piles of toys, the overflowing inbox and thought “God, I really wish it would rain”.
The universe must have noticed my “Sun shun” and dealt out my punishment by way of a ten degree temperature drop and a chill in the air; a timely reminder not to get too big for my boots. We were left in woolly jumpers - wearily composing our to-do lists and reminising about the summer of ‘25.
September feels like a mini New Year; a place of resolve and courage. The month carries a sort of structured energy: a cultural nostaglia of fresh pens and crisp notebooks (I may or may not be drafting this with a new ball-point).
So with this in mind, September’s prompts are all about approaching the crossroads, glancing backwards and inspecting right and left before sticking your chin out and marching into the final four months of the year.
1. Go ahead and smile
Weird and wonderful habits can be oddly comforting and sometimes the easiest to maintain. So whether it be smiling at yourself in the mirror, grounding like a tree in your garden or writing love notes for your later self - what tiny and whimiscal habits have you managed to keep up so far this year?
2. Fresh willpower
“The first hour of your morning acts as the rudder for your day.”
It has been well documented that habits are easier to maintain first thing in the morning whilst energy is powered up and resolve is at its peak. A one minute meditation, a morning mud water or a five minute journal - what tiny habits have you not managed to maintain and could move to the morning to create a small but mighty win?
3. Rage against the resolutions
Name a resolution or intention that you had at the start of the year and are now currently breaking (and don’t care).
4. Back to life
Which forgotten habit from earlier in the year is worth reviving in a gentler way now?
5. Football friends
Picture one expected and one unexpected person that has given you life this year. Name one loving way that you can nurture each of those relationships.
6. Plant the seed
I am no gardener but I am pretty sure that if I want my bulbs to grow next spring, I have to think about planting them now. What seed can you plant in your life right now so that it blooms next year for future you?
7. Cancel subscription
Whose voice and influence do you need to dial down?
8. Jumble joy
Define your year so far with one word or phrase….and make it kooky.
