September Is My New Year, but August Is Where It Begins
Why I’m using this month to look back, listen inward, and intentionally choose what I want my next year to hold
August 2026
It’s August, and I can feel the energy shifting.
Maybe it’s because this is the beginning of my birthday month. Maybe it’s because fall, my absolute favorite time of year, is getting closer. Or maybe it’s because I’ve never really believed January gets to have all the fun when it comes to fresh starts.
September has always felt more like the beginning of a new year to me.
There’s something about the subtle change in the air, the return to familiar rhythms, and the sense that a new season is waiting just around the corner. January can feel like pressure. September feels like possibility.
So yes, screw January.
September is my New Year.
And that makes August something special too. It’s the month between what has been and what’s beginning. A chance to pause, take inventory, and decide what I want to carry forward with me.
This year, that pause feels especially meaningful because so much has already begun
Before I look ahead, I want to notice what’s here
In July, I wrote about a practice I call Pages of Proof™ and the way it helps me notice the evidence of my own growth.
The small choices.
The moments I listened to myself.
The things I followed through on.
The times I rested instead of overriding what my body was telling me.
The experiences that once existed only as ideas and are now part of my actual life.
Pages of Proof™ has reminded me that before I start reaching for the next thing, I need to see what’s already here.
That feels especially important this August because one of those ideas has already become something more meaningful than I imagined.
Last month, my friend and collaborator Jami Altwies, founder of She Reclaims, and I held our first Back to Me Connections gathering. Jami helps women reclaim their strength through fitness and nutrition, and while our work takes different forms, we share a deep belief that women deserve spaces where they can reconnect with themselves and what matters to them.
Back to Me grew from that shared belief.
We wanted to create something that felt less like traditional networking and more like what women are often really craving: honest conversation, meaningful connection, laughter, reflection, and a little space to hear themselves again.
That first gathering was everything we hoped it might be.
Women who barely knew one another shared honestly. We laughed. We listened. We celebrated one another. The room held the kind of connection that can’t be forced or manufactured.
Our second gathering is happening on August 11, and it’s already filling.
That’s a Page of Proof for me.
An idea Jami and I trusted enough to act on is becoming a real community. Something we created because we wanted it ourselves is resonating with other women too.
And I don’t want to rush past that on my way to whatever comes next.
August is where I listen
I think many of us begin setting goals by asking, “What should I accomplish next?”
I’m trying to ask different questions.
What do I want my life to feel like this year?
What do I want to experience?
What am I ready to give more of my time, energy, and attention to?
What am I no longer willing to keep carrying?
What parts of myself want more room?
I’ve used a Post-it note process created by identity and business coach Natanya Bravo to help me explore those questions. In her YouTube video, Manifest on Post-its (It Actually Worked), Natanya walks through the method she uses to move from imagining the life she wants to identifying the actions and identity shifts that can help bring it to life.
And yes, I love an entire wall covered in colorful possibilities.
But what I appreciate most about the process is that it gives me permission to think beyond what feels practical or immediately achievable. I can name what I actually want before I start talking myself out of it.
There’s room for the meaningful goals and the seemingly ridiculous ones.
There’s room for the places I want to visit, the work I want to create, and the way I want to feel in my own life.
There’s room to imagine.
Then, once it’s all in front of me, I can begin to notice what keeps pulling my attention. I can listen for the ideas that feel most alive and decide which ones I’m ready to choose.
Not every Post-it note has to become a perfectly executed plan.
Sometimes we need to see our desires outside of ourselves before we can admit how much they matter to us.
Intention means more than making a list
I’ve created enough plans in my life to know that a beautiful wall of Post-it notes won’t change anything on its own.
The real work begins when I start making choices that honor what I said I wanted.
That’s where intention becomes self-trust.
It’s one thing to say I want more space in my life. It’s another to protect my slow mornings.
It’s one thing to say I want deeper connection. It’s another to create Back to Me Connections and invite women into the room.
It’s one thing to say my health matters. It’s another to rest when I have strep throat instead of treating my body like an inconvenience.
It’s one thing to say I want to write. It’s another to publish the blog post, send the Substack letter, and let my words be seen.
The version of me I’m envisioning isn’t a completely different woman waiting somewhere in the future.
She’s already here.
I’m uncovering her every time I listen to myself, honor what matters to me, and make a choice that reflects who I truly am.
My intentions for the coming year aren’t about reinventing myself. They’re about reclaiming more of who I’ve always been and building a life that gives her room to lead.
What if the life you worked so hard to build no longer feels fully like yours? That doesn't automatically mean you chose the wrong life or need to start over. It may be time to ask what still belongs in the chapter you're creating now. I explore that question more deeply in When the Life You Worked So Hard for Doesn't Feel Like Yours Anymore.
What if we did this together?
As I’ve started thinking about this year’s Post-it note process, I’ve realized I don’t want to do it entirely on my own.
I’d love to gather a group of women who also feel the pull of a fresh beginning. Women who want to set aside the usual resolutions and expectations long enough to ask what they genuinely want their next season to hold.
I’m imagining a space where we can reflect on the year behind us, notice our own Pages of Proof™, dream more freely, and begin naming the intentions we want to carry into our own new year.
We wouldn’t need to have everything figured out.
We’d simply need to be willing to listen.
Because there’s something powerful about dreaming in the presence of other women. Sometimes hearing another woman name what she wants gives us permission to be more honest about what we want too.
Sometimes she sees possibility in an idea we’ve been quietly dismissing.
And sometimes saying something out loud is the first choice we make in its direction.
I’m still deciding exactly what this gathering will look like, but if you read this and immediately thought, “I want to do that,” I’d love to hear from you.
Welcome to the beginning
I don’t know everything my next year will hold.
That’s part of what makes this moment feel so electric.
I know I want more meaningful connection. More writing. More experiences that make me feel fully alive. More work that helps women reclaim who they’ve always been. More mornings when I’m present enough to recognize that pieces of the life I once imagined are already here.
And I know I want to keep trusting myself enough to choose what comes next.
So for me, August isn’t a waiting room before September begins.
It’s where I look back and honor how far I’ve come.
It’s where I listen for what’s asking for my attention.
It’s where I let myself imagine what could be possible.
And it’s where I begin.
If September were the start of your own new year, what would you want it to hold?
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does September feel like a new year?
September naturally carries fresh-start energy. Summer begins winding down, routines return, and a new season approaches. For many people, it feels like an opportunity to pause, reset, and make intentional choices without the pressure that often accompanies January resolutions.
How can I use August to prepare for a September reset?
Begin by reflecting before you start planning. Notice what has changed, what you’re proud of, what no longer feels aligned, and what you want more of in the coming year. From there, choose a few intentions that reflect how you want to live, rather than creating another list of things you think you should accomplish.
What’s the difference between setting intentions and setting goals?
A goal identifies something you want to accomplish. An intention helps guide how you want to live and make choices along the way. The two can work together, but intentions keep you connected to what matters even when your plans change.
What is Pages of Proof™?
Pages of Proof™ is a simple reflection practice I created to help women notice the small moments when they listen to themselves, honor what matters, and follow through on their own behalf. Over time, those moments become tangible evidence of growth and a way to rebuild self-trust.
Add This to Your Pages of Proof™
Before you go to bed tonight, write down one piece of proof that something you once hoped for is already beginning.
It could be a connection you made, a choice you honored, an idea you finally acted on, or a moment when you listened to yourself instead of talking yourself out of what you wanted.
It doesn’t have to be extraordinary. In fact, the quieter it is, the more likely it is that you’ve been overlooking it.
If you begin using Pages of Proof™, I’d love to hear what shifts for you. Send me a note or share one quiet piece of proof you noticed this week.
And if you want to practice coming home to yourself alongside other women on the same journey, I’d love to invite you into The Soul Circle, a monthly space for reflection, self-trust, and small, aligned steps back to who you truly are.