Forget New Year’s Resolutions—Here’s Why September Is the Best Time to Reset

September Is a Fresh Start

I used to think January was the only time you could hit the reset button. New year, new goals, new planner, new routines. But lately, I’ve realized something important: September carries its own kind of magic.

Growing up in the Midwest, fall was always my favorite season. I loved everything about it—the leaves changing colors, the smell of apple orchards, the crisp air that whispered change was coming. It felt like nature itself was showing me what it meant to let go and begin again.

Now, after living in the sunbelt most of my adult life, fall looks a little different. The air doesn’t turn crisp, the leaves don’t turn those fiery shades I grew up loving.

But the meaning of fall shifted for me—it became a season of rebirth. A time when I take inventory of the past year and start planting the seeds of what I want in the year ahead.

And here’s the thing: September kicks off the final quarter of the year. We still have four whole months left in 2025. That’s 120 days of possibility, energy, and change. Just because January gets all the hype doesn’t mean we need to wait until then to start fresh.

✨ September whispers: What would you change now?

For me, I love the idea that I don’t have to drag old habits or stale energy all the way to the end of December. I can pivot today. I can decide what’s worth carrying forward and what I want to let go of before the ball drops.

Questions I’m sitting with this month:

• What do I want the end of 2025 to look like for me?

• What small shifts can I make right now that my future self will thank me for?

• Where do I need to stop waiting for “someday” and take action today?

  
  

September is proof that it’s never too late, and it’s never too early, to start again.

Journal Prompts

1. If you treated September like the start of your new year, what would your intentions be?

2. What’s one habit, thought, or story you’re ready to leave behind before 2026?

Photo: Thrive Studio