September is the new January.
And if you know, you know.
Summer is fun. Schedules get loose. Vacations happen. Patios happen. Kids are home. Work routines change. Training gets moved around. Meals become a little more spontaneous.
And then September hits.
Suddenly everyone is ready to get their shit together again.
But here's where I want you to do things a little differently this year:
Don't start over.
You don't need to punish yourself for summer.
You don't need a detox.
You don't need to cut everything you enjoy out of your diet.
And you definitely don't need to go from zero to seven workouts a week.
You need to decide what you want the next four months to look like — and start building the habits of the person who gets there.
Because there are still four full months left in this year.
That's a lot of time.
Enough time to get considerably stronger.
Enough time to change your body composition.
Enough time to improve your energy.
Enough time to rebuild a routine.
Enough time to walk into January already feeling like you're ahead.
YOUR SEPTEMBER RESET
Before September gets busy, ask yourself:
What are the 3 things that would make the biggest difference if I consistently did them between now and the end of the year?
Not 17 things.
Three.
Maybe it's:
- Strength training 3–4 times a week.
- Hitting your protein consistently.
- Planning your meals before you're starving and standing in front of the fridge.
- Getting to bed earlier.
- Walking every day.
- Drinking more water.
- Setting boundaries around your time.
The goal isn't to control every minute of your life.
It's to become someone who can consistently keep promises to herself.
And that leads me to something I've been thinking about lately:
The more consciously you practice discipline with the things you can control... your training, your nutrition, your habits.
The more effortless it becomes to feel in control of everything else in your life.
There is something powerful about knowing:
I said I was going to do this, and I did.
That confidence doesn't stay in the gym.
It follows you into your career, your relationships, your boundaries, your decisions and the way you show up for yourself.
Discipline in one area has a funny way of spilling into everything else.
THIS MONTH'S RECIPE - Egg White Burrito
Because starting your day and eating toward your goals should be easy and taste good.
You don't need another September diet.
You need meals you actually enjoy, enough protein to support your goals, and a way of eating you can picture yourself doing long after September is over.
ONE LAST THING...
If you've been telling yourself:
"I'll get serious again after summer..."
This is your reminder that "after summer" is basically here.
You don't need to wait for September 1st.
And you don't need to have the perfect plan before you begin.
Start with the next decision.
Then the one after that.
That's how you create a shift.
Strong Women. Strong Careers. Stronger Lives.
Virginia Bain
SHIFT(ED) PERFORMANCE | OWN YOUR SHIFT PODCAST
P.S. If you've been considering coaching and want to make this fall the season you finally stop starting over, reply to this email with SHIFT. I'll send you the details and we can see if coaching is the right fit.
