Six Fall Kickoff Self-Improvement Tips

Fall Kickoff Article by Guest Author Gail Goolsby

Goodbye to lazy days of summer and vacation leisure. Hello to set schedules for kids and adults. Time for school and daily routines. Fall kickoff is here. Freshly sharpen pencils. New clothes and un-scuff the shoes. Sports teams with unblemished records. Blank report cards ready to register best grades ever.

Your own fall kickoff presents new opportunities. Make the most of Self-Improvement September by focusing on areas of your life left unattended over the summer or needing a reboot. Here is a brief checklist to get you started.

Six Fall Kickoff Tips

1. Take inventory. Identify dissatisfaction with your current life patterns and habits. Ask God what could be working better in your relationships. Physical and emotional health? Career activity? Home tasks? Spiritual growth?
2. Recognize feelings. However, focus on actions. Feelings are important and you need to read the signals they send. Because your actions impact feelings, assess behaviors with sound reasoning. Feelings change easily and can form a trap and hindrance to life satisfaction. What actions need to be ramped up or altered to feel better about your life?
3. Check self-talk. Do you constantly criticize or speak negatively to yourself? Do you cheer yourself through hard tasks? Or easily give up and berate your poor performance? Taking on new challenges requires a positive attitude and ongoing encouragement. Remember past accomplishments to minimize recent failures.
4. Set steps for reaching goals. Formulate a plan of action toward self-improvement. Smaller, measurable steps are needed at regular intervals. This requires commitment and work. Motivation advances with documentation as you inch closer to your goals.
5. Utilize resources. Prayer and God’s Word offer powerful inspiration and reminders of Who is always working for your good (and His glory!). Friends, co-workers, life coaches, and family members can be earthly gifts of accountability and encouragement. Let them celebrate with you as they support your efforts (and maybe join you in their own self-improvement goals).
6. Embrace hope. As you develop new activities, relationships, and daily disciplines, keep your head up and recognize each day signals possibility and hope for better. Look for God helping you in small and big ways. Tell yourself this truth, you can improve.

Kick yourself into gear this fall and make September a trophy month of self-improvement!

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Self-improvement Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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About the Fall Kickoff Article Author:

Gail Goolsby, MA, MEd is a lifelong educator, including past leadership at an international school in Afghanistan. Gail and her pastor husband of 39 years live where the wind blows over the prairie in south Kansas. She counsels and coaches using God’s Word to help others learn to live well.  Read more at www.gailgoolsby.com

“Oh God, teach us to live well…wisely and well.”

– PSALM 90:12 –

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Another fall kickoff article Autumn Season of Peace devotional by Janet Chester Bly.