ProEdge Life Coaching
The Follow Through: Beating the Back-to-School Blues (Seasonal Reset)
“
Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.
— Abraham Lincoln
Why Motivation Peaks—Then Crashes—at Seasonal Resets
The first week of September often feels like whiplash. One moment, the days carry a summer looseness—late dinners, lighter inboxes, permission to pause. The next, calendars snap tight: school schedules, work deadlines, and the quiet message that it’s time to “get serious.” It’s a shift that leaves many people feeling both eager and oddly unsettled.
Psychologists call this the “Fresh Start Effect”—the idea that certain times of year act as psychological reset buttons. Research from the Wharton School (Hengchen Dai, 2014) shows that moments like a new year, a birthday, or yes, back-to-school season, boost motivation to set ambitious goals.
But here’s the twist: motivation rises fastest when expectations do too, and without an anchor, that spark often collapses into overwhelm.
The real work isn’t in pushing harder, but in redefining accountability. Not as punishment, and not as performance—but as the practice of keeping one promise to yourself at a time.
That’s where consistency begins: not in chasing everything at once, but in building trust that you’ll follow through on the small things that matter most.
The One-Promise Reset
- Look at the week ahead.
- Choose one small promise you can realistically keep (e.g., finish your day without reopening email, block 30 minutes for focused work, or take one evening walk).
- Write it down, then share it with someone—or simply mark it boldly in your calendar.
- Honor it fully, without bargaining.
Each kept promise becomes a quiet vote for the identity you’re shaping: someone who doesn’t just plan, but follows through.
Reflection:
If you chose just one promise to carry you through this season, what would it be—and why does it matter to you?
If you feel like naming it out loud, just hit reply and share your one promise. Sometimes saying it to someone else is the first step in keeping it.
