#323: Tired of Failing? Use September to Ignite Momentum & Crush Your Goals!

Kevin: So if you're ready to make some big changes in your life, if you're ready to understand why you've been doing it all wrong, why we've all been taught the wrong thing about starting big things in January, well, then this is the episode for you.

Kevin: This is episode 323.

Kevin: This is when we are trading January for September.

<v Speaker1>Yo, are you ready to flip the script on life? Because those bad days, <v Speaker1>they're just doors to better days.

<v Speaker1>And that's exactly what we do here at Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

<v Speaker1>Your host, Kevin Lowe. He's been flipping the script on his own life, <v Speaker1>turning over 20 years of being completely blind into straight-up inspiration, <v Speaker1>motivation, and encouragement just for you.

<v Speaker1>So, kick back, relax, and let me introduce you to your host, Kevin Lowe.

Kevin: I figure we might as well start our conversation off today by acknowledging the obvious.

Kevin: There's a lot of things that we get excited about when September rolls around, like pumpkin spiced lattes.

Kevin: Or if you're like me and you're a total pumpkin spice junkie, well, then you know it's pumpkin spice everything and you get excited about it.

Kevin: It also means that the weather is starting to cool off a little bit. it.

Kevin: You start to have those occasional cold fronts starting to move through.

Kevin: Now, of course, if you're down in my neck of the woods in Florida, you also know that September is the height of hurricane season.

Kevin: So, of course, you got that to worry about.

Kevin: But you do know that at least if a hurricane does come, well, that means you get out of work and school for a little bit.

Kevin: But beyond all of that, there's a deeper reason why I'm focusing on the month of September and specifically why I'm saying that September is the perfect month for change.

Kevin: September, if you think about it, it follows the natural change in the season.

Kevin: Fall, it's a time of transition. The weather cools, the leaves change colors.

Kevin: And we all love the fact that it's not unbearably hot anymore.

Kevin: We got past the dead of summer. Now, if you compare fall to January, more specifically, if you compare September to January, there's really no comparison because what do you think about when you think about the month of January?

Kevin: You obviously think of the dead of winter.

Kevin: It's dark, it's cold, it's dreary. And by that time, everybody is dreaming of the day that spring will arrive.

Kevin: So you have to think to yourself in terms of today's conversation, no wonder the majority of New Year's resolutions fail by February.

Kevin: It's like they're almost been setting us up for failure all along, starting us off in the worst time of the year.

Kevin: So then you might say, okay, but why September?

Kevin: Because spring represents new beginnings. Spring is when the flowers start to blossom.

Kevin: It's when we celebrate Easter. It's a chance of new beginnings.

Kevin: So wouldn't that be an obvious time for us to start something new?

Kevin: Well, I say no, that's totally false.

Kevin: Because even though spring might seem like a perfect chance, perfect opportunity for new beginnings, it is distraction season galore.

Kevin: Think about it. It's spring break. It's the dash to the end of the school year.

Kevin: It's everybody already thinking about summer vacations.

Kevin: And speaking of summer, you darn sure don't want to start anything big in summer.

Kevin: Because, well, summer is lazy days.

Kevin: Summer is time spent with family, doing stuff that's fun, trying to forget about normal everyday life. It's summer.

Kevin: But once you come back around, we've already went through winter, spring, summer. Check those off as no good.

Kevin: We're back to fall. We're back to September. The best time of the entire year for you to make some big moves in life, to set some big goals, and more so to achieve those goals.

Kevin: Basically, if you think about it, the world was set up this way.

Kevin: It's like literally the world has been telling us all along, guys, what are you doing waiting till January?

Kevin: The month of September is when Earth is designed for you to start something new. It just makes total sense.

Kevin: So if you're not convinced enough that September is better than January, simply based on the the seasons.

Kevin: But let me give you another point to prove what I'm trying to say.

Kevin: It's what they call the back to school effect.

Kevin: This is something that I had not thought about. And when I was researching for today's episode, I found this really interesting.

Kevin: This idea of a back to school effect, even for those of us who have been long past school days, don't even have children in school.

Kevin: And so you have to think to yourself at first, what is he talking about?

Kevin: I don't go to school. I haven't had kids in school.

Kevin: So why is the back to school effect going to affect me?

Kevin: Well, because for the first 18 years of your life, and if you went to college even longer, it has been ingrained in you that by the month of September, you're back to school. It's back to work.

Kevin: Summer's over. You went back to school shopping.

Kevin: You got all your school supplies. You got to get new clothes for the school year. You got to go meet your teacher. You got to start class.

Kevin: It's like the world gets back to work in September.

Kevin: It's basically a psychological shift that happens in September that we need to start harnessing for our advantage because, well, we We spent the last few months chilling, relaxing, enjoying the dog days of summer.

Kevin: But now it's September. It's time to get back to work.

Kevin: And like I said, it doesn't matter if you're in school. It doesn't matter if you don't have kids.

Kevin: You can't help but feel the mood in the air. There's kids in the neighborhood waiting on the school bus in the morning.

Kevin: Everybody just seems to be back in that hustle and bustle mood.

Kevin: And why not captivate on that? Use that hustle and bustle mood to get yourself hustling, to get yourself moving forward, to get yourself excited about the things that you want to accomplish.

Kevin: Especially now that we realize we don't have to keep waiting until January.

Kevin: No, we need to actually start right now in the month of September.

Kevin: If convincing you that September is better than January by focusing on the seasons, by talking about the back-to-school effect, if neither of those were enough to convince you, I got a third point.

Kevin: Starting in September, it's a shorter, more focused period of time for you to set and, better yet, achieve your goals. because let's think about how we've been doing it in the past.

Kevin: Starting January 1st, when we started January, we're staring down the barrel of a full 12 months.

Kevin: That, my friend, is a long time. And you know what happens?

Kevin: You barely started. It's February and you're already falling off track.

Kevin: And why is that? Because the year, it feels too long.

Kevin: If we fall apart in February, well, we might as well just give it up because the year is too long.

Kevin: Plus, there's also the thought that I've got all year. I can get back on track later.

Kevin: I don't have to rush and do it right now. Either way you look at the year ahead, both of them are setting you up for failure.

Kevin: Instead, let's compare it to starting in September. If you start your goals in September, you got a four-month sprint to the finish line.

Kevin: It's the last quarter of the year. You have an easy-to-see ending point.

Kevin: It's sometimes really hard for us to do our best to run the race when we can't see the finish line.

Kevin: It's like we're just running and running and running, and we have no idea where the end is.

Kevin: Instead, if we start in September and we realize that we got four months to achieve our goals, therefore, you have a start and an end.

Kevin: It's easy. It's short. It's powerful.

Kevin: Basically, think of it when you made New Year's resolutions on January 1st.

Kevin: It's like you had a marathon in front of you.

Kevin: And I don't know about you, but marathon sounds pretty darn long and pretty darn tiresome. But a mad dash to the finish line, I think we could all get on board with that.

Kevin: And that's exactly what happens when we start in September and realize, you know what?

Kevin: What goals do I want to accomplish by the end of the year?

Kevin: I only got four months to do it. And so even if you start to fall off track in October, you know, I don't got time to course correct.

Kevin: I don't have time to just keep waiting.

Kevin: No, I got to pick myself up and try again. Again, every day is a new beginning.

Kevin: Don't let a bad day turn into a bad week.

Kevin: Instead, you brush yourself off and you keep moving forward faster because you know it. You're on the final dash.

Kevin: So here's what I want you to take away from today's episode.

Kevin: I hope, of course, that you've come to realize I think Kevin is on to something here.

Kevin: Maybe September is more than about pumpkin spice lattes.

Kevin: It's more than just about getting the kids to school again.

Kevin: No, it's actually maybe a time for me to shine, for me to show up for myself, for me to get focused in identifying what I really want out of life.

Kevin: What do I want this year to end like? You got four months left.

Kevin: If this year hasn't gone like you wanted, well, why don't we make some big shifts right now so that the last quarter of the year, huh, you might reset the entire year because you're ending on a high.

Kevin: So with that, my friend, I'll see you at Starbucks grabbing a pumpkin spice latte right with you. And when you see me, I want to know what your goal is, what you're chasing after.

Kevin: Because, well, like I said, this is time to show up. It's not time to slow down.

Kevin: No, it's September. It's time to get to work.

Kevin: And just think, by the time the holidays come, you're already going to be ahead of the rest.

Kevin: Everybody else, they didn't listen to today's podcast.

Kevin: Instead, they're slackers waiting till January. But you, my friend, you got the upper hand because you realize it's all about the month of September.

Kevin: And with that, that was today's episode, episode 323 here on Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

Kevin: If today's episode encouraged you, inspired you, share it with a friend.

Kevin: Maybe you can help out somebody else, giving them a little boost.

Kevin: Maybe somebody who's been feeling a little bit down, a little discouraged.

Kevin: Send them today's episode and let's hope that it will brighten their day.

Kevin: And with that, I hope you have an amazing day yourself.

Kevin: I'll see you in our next episode.

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