Every year around this time, somewhere in the back of your mind a quiet little voice starts doing math on your year. It counts up everything you said you would do back in January and compares it to what actually got done. I know that voice well. Most of us do.
Ahead, learn nine ways to happily navigate this season, instead of letting that nagging voice of self-doubt steal your joy.
1. Take stock of your wins
Grab a journal and look back on your year with purpose. Where have you been since January? What did you actually do, handle, survive, and finish? Write a list and place it somewhere you can see often. I promise you that your list will be longer than that voice wants you to believe. Remember, joy has a hard time getting through a door that guilt is standing in front of.
2. Choose one thing to close the year with
Instead of mourning the list you wrote in January, pick one thing, just one thing, you want to be holding in your hands when December shows up. Put real dates behind it and write them in ink. When you narrow it down that far, you stop being overwhelmed and start being proactive.
3. Make getting dressed in the morning a mini celebration for yourself
Fall is a great time to experiment with fashion! The colors are rich, the layers are back, and you can finally pile on the accessories that will have you looking and feeling your best.
4. Shift your surroundings
The season is changing whether you participate or not, so participate! Bring out the throws, adjust the lighting, move the furniture if the mood strikes you. When your space matches the season, you stop fighting the change and start settling into it, and settling in is one of Fall’s sweetest joys.
5. Give your house a signature scent
Every time you walk through your door, your home will greet you like it knows you. Play with oils and candles— a little jasmine here, a little frankincense there— until you land on a blend that feels like you.
6. Warm up a relationship that’s gotten cold
Sometimes a conversation is what you need to heal a relationship with someone you love. Pick a relationship that deserves more than it’s been getting— your parents, your sister, your college roommate, the friend you keep meaning to call— and set a date to reconnect. A pot of something good on the stove and a long conversation at the kitchen table will deliver more goodness than anything you can order online.
7. Set a creative goal for the gray days
The weather will not always cooperate with your outdoor plans, so it’s important to keep yourself busy at home. Learn to stitch, start the memoir, paint the thing you keep taking pictures of. It does not have to be good, and nobody has to see it. The goal is to be creative and have fun!
8. Take a walk without the headphones
I know. But leave the podcast at home just this once and let the season do the talking. The crunch under your feet, the air that finally cooled off, your own thoughts getting a word in for the first time in months. Grounding yourself in the actual moment you’re standing in is joy in its plainest clothes— and it’s free.
9. Make time for yourself the highest priority
Notice I did not say ‘a’ priority, I said ‘the’ highest one. Put “self-reflection time” on your own calendar like a meeting you wouldn’t dare miss. Every answer you’ve been looking for about yourself lives in that protected quiet.
