You Dont have to wait till january

There’s something about September that has always felt like a reset to me.

Maybe it’s because school starts back up.

Maybe it’s football.

Maybe it’s the slight change in the air that reminds you summer isn’t going to last forever.

Whatever it is, September has a way of making me look around and take inventory.

This year, that feels especially true.

I’m sending Jackson off for his final year of college, which is one of those things I knew was coming but still feels strange to say out loud.

When he started college, graduation seemed far away.

Now we’re here.

There’s a lot of pride in that, but also one of those subtle reminders that life keeps moving whether we’re paying attention or not.

At the same time, I’m preparing for another NFL season, once again fully convincing myself that my Chiefs have all the weapons they need and that everything is going to go exactly as planned.

That’s what September does to football fans.

And then there’s summer.

Every year, I tell myself I’m going to slow it down a little.

Take a few trips.

Play more golf.

Spend more time outside.

Leave a little more room in the calendar.

And somehow, summer still disappears faster than I expect.

Not because it wasn’t good.

Actually, the opposite.

It gets filled with work, travel, family, golf, and all the things I wanted it to be filled with.

Then suddenly, September shows up.

I think that’s part of why I like this time of year.

It gives us a chance to recalibrate without all the pressure that comes with January.

January tells us we need a resolution.

A new goal.

A new routine.

A new version of ourselves.

September feels different.

It simply asks:

How do you want to finish the year?

That question feels much more useful to me.

Maybe there’s something you said you were going to do this year that hasn’t happened yet.

Maybe you wanted to get healthier.

Reconnect with someone.

Start something.

Stop something.

Take the trip.

Spend more time with your family.

Or maybe nothing dramatic needs to change at all.

Maybe you just need to pay a little more attention to what’s already right in front of you.

That may be the biggest reminder for me this September.

Jackson’s final year.

Another football season.

A few more rounds of golf before Colorado decides golf season is over.

Work I’m excited about.

People I love.

None of those things require some major life transformation.

They just require me to notice them.

We tend to give January a lot of power.

We treat it like the only acceptable starting line.

But some of the most important shifts in our lives don’t happen because the calendar tells us to change.

They happen because something causes us to see things differently.

And sometimes that’s all we need.

A new season.

A new perspective.

A small reminder that there’s still plenty of year left.

You don’t have to wait for January.

September works just fine.