Progress requires unlearning. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity. — Jame Clear
August has always been my least favorite month of the year. The heat. The humidity. The end of summer break (at least when my kids were little!) The wishing for the next season. I wanted to break those habits this year… habits of dislike. Of wallowing in the misery of August (most of which was self-made misery!)
So this month I took a step back and looked back on all I have discovered about authenticity this year and set about unlearning of what August always has been… and to find a new outlook.
I started with a list of all that I have learned… a Road Map to Authenticity of sorts. And I embraced the silence versus trying to fill my day with noise. (Thanks Kym for this brilliant inspiration!) I leaned into the quietude this month… and it was amazing! In the silence I found so much to love about August!
And pairing a list with the silence… well, that has been the winning combination! My gift to myself this month will be taking my list and putting it on a bookmark to use in my calendar/journal… a reminder every day of where I am heading… what I want to be… and that, my friends, might be the best gift I will ever give myself – a gentle nudge to keep myself on the path.
And I am departing August with a new-found love for all things late summer…okay maybe not the humidity! But I have appreciated how my tomatoes have loved all that heat and humidity… and those tomatoes have provided August with the best thing ever about late summer… an abundance I can share!
As always, I would like to thank Carolyn for providing us the space to share our journeys! I will see you all back here on Wednesday!
Nice! Congratulations to you Kat for turning a negative into a positive (minus the humidity, of course). So inspiring!!
I’m applauding you for finding much to love about August! It’s my least favorite also, and I tend to approach it like a battle – if I can just make it to September, then it will be cooler, less humid, and my outlook will be better. But there is no good reason why I shouldn’t change my outlook in August. So thank you for the inspiration and the suggestion of silence!
I’m a summer girl so I love August and always feel a mix of sadness and nostalgia when it comes to an end. I’m glad you found things to enjoy about this month!
A beautifully written post. So glad you enjoyed the silence and the month. Have to say it’s the first August I have enjoyed in donkey’s years.
This post spills over with zest and celebration, Kat. Makes me want to keep on reading, rereading. (I feel like I have some ‘survivor’s guilt’ these days, because while so many were suffering miserable temps, it was absolutely divine weather in our neck of the woods. Probably the most comfortable month of the season! Believe it or not…)
Kudos for continuing to ‘edit, update, expand.’ That wisdom from James Clear is so helpful, in so many pockets of life. (And I love that we both quoted James Clear in our August updates!)
I *try* to think that there is good in every season. But, August …..not my favorite month either. To me it is the roadblock to fall…and I shouldn’t think of it that way.
Still…..I’m excited that September is just a few days away.
So glad you were able to turn August around, Kat. Here’s to more good things to love about every day of the year. XO
August has always been difficult for me to love, so I’m glad you’ve managed to find the trick to it! I hope you can savor these last few days — and that the humidity gets out of here soon!
I enjoyed reading about how you found things to enjoy and savor in August. Maybe the heat and humidity of August teaches us to slow down and enjoy a quieter slower pace. At any rate, we have a full moon to look forward to before the calendar flips to September.
our wedding anniversary is in August and now our granddaughter was born in August – so those two events make me dislike it less. This August wasn’t too hot but still the humidity is what makes me feel unwell.