7 Things I'm Doing for Myself This Month
Less "New Season, New Me." More Returning to What Makes Me Feel Like Myself.
September has always felt a little like a second January to me. This sentiment may land deeper being it’s my birthday month!
It’s also a leftover programming from all those years of back-to-school. New notebooks. Fresh schedules. Summer ending and life suddenly becoming structured again.
But I'm not particularly interested in another "new me."
I've spent enough years becoming different versions of myself.
At this stage of my life, I'm much more interested in returning to the woman underneath all of them.
So this September isn't about a giant wellness overhaul.
It's about seven small things I'm intentionally bringing back.
1. Morning Light Before Morning Noise
I'm trying not to let my phone be the first thing that enters my brain every morning.
Some days I'm better at this than others.
But getting outside, opening the curtains, having my coffee, walking on grass or simply experiencing actual daylight before disappearing into emails feels different. It feels personal.
There's something wonderful about beginning the day in your own life before entering everyone else's.
2. Moving Because I Want to Feel Strong
My relationship with exercise has changed.
I'm less interested in what burns the most calories and much more interested in what keeps me strong, mobile, energized and capable.
Walking. Strength training. Stretching. Moving lymph. Getting circulation going.
The aesthetic benefits are lovely.
But increasingly, my motivation is longevity, strength and bone health.
I want a body that continues carrying me into interesting places.
3. Making Skincare a Ritual Again
There are nights when skincare is a beautiful ritual.
There are also nights when I'm washing my face while mentally composing tomorrow's to-do list.
September is my reminder to slow that part down.
I've been especially focused on consistency after doing my recent multi-month skincare experiment. One thing it reinforced for me was how much skin responds to regular care rather than occasional intensity.
My iS Clinical Warming Honey Cleanser has become one of those products I genuinely look forward to using.
And when my skin needs comfort rather than another active, I reach for something nourishing like Code of Harmony Copious Barrier Balm.
Three intentional minutes can feel very different from three rushed ones.
4. Cooking at Home More Often
Summer makes everything wonderfully spontaneous.
Dinner out. Travel. A glass of wine here. Something delicious here, there and overthere.
No regrets.
But by September, my body starts craving rhythm.
More vegetables. More protein. More food I actually prepared. More meals that leave me feeling good afterward rather than merely entertained during them.
Healthy living has become less about restriction for me and much more about noticing how I want to feel.
5. Protecting My Evenings
I'm becoming increasingly protective of nighttime.
Not every text needs an immediate answer.
Not every show needs another episode.
Not every thought needs solving at 11:37 p.m.
There is a particular kind of luxury in an unhurried evening: shower, body lotion, skincare, book, quiet.
I'm beginning to believe peace might be one of the most underrated beauty treatments available.
6. Editing What I'm Consuming
Not just food.
Information.
Social media.
Opinions.
People.
Noise.
At some point we have to acknowledge that what we repeatedly consume becomes part of our internal environment.
I'm paying more attention to whether something leaves me informed and inspired or anxious, inadequate and depleted.
That distinction matters.
7. Leaving Space for Something New
This may be the biggest one.
We're taught to fill empty space quickly.
An empty calendar? Make plans.
Empty shelf? Buy something.
Relationship ends? Find another.
Career changes? Immediately determine the next identity.
But perhaps empty space isn't a problem.
Maybe it's where the next chapter has room to arrive.
I've become much more comfortable not knowing every detail of what's next.
Which might be one of the great gifts of this stage of life.
Maybe Reinvention Isn't Becoming Someone Else
We hear so much about reinventing ourselves after 40, 50 and beyond.
I love reinvention.
Kismet is practically built around the idea that life can surprise us.
But lately I've wondered whether some of our most powerful reinventions are actually returns.
Returning to our intuition.
Returning to the foods that make us feel good.
Returning to movement.
Returning to curiosity.
Returning to friendships that nourish us.
Returning to caring for ourselves because we matter, not because we're trying to fix ourselves.
That's my September reset.
Nothing radical.
A little less noise.
A little more intention.
And hopefully, a little more of myself.
Currently in my September ritual: iS Clinical Warming Honey Cleanser and Code of Harmony Copious Barrier Balm, both available at KismetK.
Here's to coming home to ourselves.
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