I just love Fall.

 

From an Minnesota weather perspective the oppressive heat of summer is gone and the oppressive cold of winter has not yet arrived, the changing leaves create beautiful paintings that vary daily, and the bugs of summer are basically gone.

 

But did you know that Fall is one of the best times for us to start thinking about new beginnings? You’re probably asking yourself, “how can Fall be about new beginnings when it is the end of summer?”

 

I’m glad you asked.

 

Although Fall is the end of the warm weather for most of us in the north, it’s also the beginning of a new school year, the beginning of the holiday season, and it’s the very time we should start planning for a successful New Year.

 

For too many people the end of the good weather means the end of happiness, however it actually represents a fantastic opportunity for us to reboot.

 

As humans, it’s very easy to get stuck in a rut. At these times a symbolic new beginning can be very welcome in one’s life. There are several of these options throughout the year, of course starting with the big one on New Year’s Day (and the dreaded resolutions), but there are also other softer reboots on the calendar, for example: springtime, the beginning of summer, the new school year, and our current one, Fall.

 

Wait a minute! Why am I talking about New Year’s Resolutions already?

 

Another excellent question!

 

When setting goals (and resolutions are nothing more than goals that are usually poorly planned out) it is important to be extremely detailed, organized, and start early. When making goals that require considerable life changes, we need to give our subconscious a solid three months to work on these goals in the background before we start our plan in motion.

 

So, if you are even halfway aware of math, you can see that our New Year’s resolutions/goals need to be started in the Fall to allow for three solid months of subconscious prep.

 

More specifically they need to be started October 1st. Today.

 

So enjoy the cooler weather, the relief from all of that stifling heat and humidity of summer. Enjoy the beautiful leaves. You can even enjoy that a great period of rest and opportunity to recharge is coming down the road…

 

But also understand that this is the time to prepare if you want to successfully begin the next year. In my next post I will share in detail how you can scientifically set goals and make your New Year’s resolutions much more successful. In the meantime spend some time visualizing vividly how you would like your life to look at the end of next year, be as detailed as possible and we will use this vision to guide our next step.