Posted by Eric Wilson
September hits and suddenly everyone’s talking about “fresh starts” and “new beginnings.”
Gym memberships spike. Planners get purchased. People reorganize their entire lives like it’s January 1st all over again. There’s this collective feeling that fall is when things really begin, when we finally get serious about the changes we’ve been putting off all summer.
But here’s what I’ve noticed: by mid-October, most of that energy has fizzled out. The planners sit unused. The routines fall apart. People feel even more defeated than they did before September’s enthusiasm hit.
This isn’t because you lack willpower or discipline. It’s because you’re trying to force change from the wrong consciousness level—and you’re fighting against natural seasonal rhythms instead of working with them.
The September Reset Pattern
There’s a reason fall feels like a fresh start that has nothing to do with school schedules or calendar dates. As I explore in my book “The Attention Compass,” consciousness doesn’t operate in isolation from the natural world—it responds to seasonal rhythms that affect our energy, focus, and capacity for change.
Summer operates at a different frequency than fall. Summer is expansive, social, outward-focused. Your attention naturally scatters across multiple experiences, relationships, and possibilities. That’s not a problem—it’s the season’s rhythm.
Fall is when energy naturally consolidates and focuses inward. The days get shorter. Temperature drops. Nature itself demonstrates this shift—trees pull their energy back from leaves, animals prepare for winter, the whole ecosystem moves from expansion to consolidation.
Your nervous system feels this shift even if you’re not consciously aware of it. That “fresh start” feeling isn’t just psychological—it’s your three brains (gut, heart, and head) responding to actual seasonal changes in light, temperature, and environmental rhythms.
Why Fall Resolutions Fail Differently Than New Year’s
January resolutions fail because they’re usually made from Level 5 consciousness (Desire)—”I’ll be happy when I lose weight, get organized, make more money.” They’re driven by dissatisfaction with who you are now and attachment to some future version of yourself.
Fall resolutions fail for a different reason: they’re made during a brief window of natural energy shift, but then try to sustain themselves through forced willpower instead of aligned action.
Here’s what typically happens: September’s energy gives you a genuine boost. You feel motivated, focused, capable. You set ambitious goals and start strong. But then October arrives, and the energy that felt so natural in September now requires constant effort to maintain.
By November, you’re exhausted from trying to sustain something that was only meant to be a seasonal shift, not a permanent new baseline. The “fresh start” becomes another failure to feel guilty about.
The Consciousness Levels of Seasonal Change
Understanding the nine levels of consciousness in “The Code” helps explain what’s really happening during fall transitions:
Summer typically operates at Levels 5-6: Higher energy, more desire-driven, sometimes scattered but dynamic. You’re reaching outward, exploring, expanding.
Fall naturally pulls toward Level 7: Acceptance of what is, consolidation of energy, turning inward. The wild expansion of summer gives way to focused presence.
The mistake: Trying to maintain summer’s outward expansion energy while fall is calling for inward consolidation, or forcing Level 7 depth work when your system is still in summer mode.
The “fresh start” feeling you get in September is actually your consciousness naturally shifting from one level to another. But if you try to use this shift to force outcomes (which is Level 5 Desire consciousness), you work against the very energy you’re trying to harness.
How to Actually Use Fall’s Energy
Instead of treating September like January 2.0 with another list of resolutions, try working with fall’s natural rhythm:
Let go before you build up. Fall energy is about release first—trees don’t grow new leaves before dropping the old ones. What needs to fall away from your life before you add something new? This isn’t goal-setting; it’s clearance.
Focus on depth, not breadth. Summer was for trying lots of things. Fall is for going deeper with fewer things. Instead of ten new habits, what one practice could you deepen? Instead of five goals, what one intention could guide your actions?
Work with shortening days, not against them. Your body wants to slow down as daylight decreases. Fighting this natural rhythm exhausts you. What if you designed your fall around having less scheduled, not more?
Use the inward pull. Fall’s energy naturally draws attention inward—toward reflection, consolidation, depth. This is when practices like journaling, meditation, or simply sitting with your own thoughts become easier, not harder.
The Weather Lesson: Seasons Don’t Force
During my meteorology career, I learned that weather patterns don’t force change—they create conditions where change naturally occurs. A cold front doesn’t make the temperature drop through willpower; it creates atmospheric conditions where cooling is the natural result.
Fall works the same way. The season creates conditions where certain changes become natural rather than forced. The energy for deep focus is available now in ways it isn’t during summer’s expansion or winter’s dormancy.
But you have to work with these conditions, not against them.
My Own Fall Pattern
I used to fight fall every year. Summer would end and I’d panic, trying to squeeze every last bit of social connection and outdoor activity into September. Then I’d crash into October feeling depleted and behind.
Now I recognize that September feeling—that “fresh start” energy—as an invitation rather than a starting gun. An invitation to let what needs to fall away actually fall away. An invitation to deepen something rather than start everything. An invitation to turn inward without judging it as antisocial or unproductive.
This shift came from understanding the Attention Compass. When my attention was constantly pulled East (into future plans) or North (into identity concerns about being “productive enough”), I couldn’t access the natural rhythm fall was offering.
When I brought my attention back to center—to what’s actually present right now—I could feel fall’s invitation clearly. And working with it required less effort than fighting against it ever did.
The Simple Fall Practice
Instead of making a list of ambitious goals this September, try this:
Ask yourself: “What am I ready to release?” Not what you should release or what you think you’re supposed to release. What actually feels ready to fall away naturally, the way leaves fall from trees?
Then ask: “What wants to deepen?” What practice, relationship, or focus has been present in your life but deserves more attention now that you have energy consolidating inward?
Finally: “How can I make space for more darkness?” Not darkness as depression, but darkness as rest, reflection, slowness. How can you structure your fall to honor the fact that days are getting shorter rather than fighting against it?
These aren’t goals to achieve. They’re natural movements to allow.
The Permission Fall Offers
Here’s what fall is really offering: permission to do less while going deeper. Permission to release what summer’s expansion revealed wasn’t actually essential. Permission to turn inward without apologizing for it.
You don’t need another fresh start that requires forcing yourself into new patterns through willpower. You need alignment with the rhythm that’s already trying to move through you.
Fall feels like starting over because it is a beginning—but not of busy-ness and striving. It’s the beginning of depth, consolidation, and inward focus.
The question isn’t “What goals should I set this September?”
The question is “What’s naturally trying to deepen, consolidate, or release through me right now?”
Tired of fresh starts that fizzle by October? The solution isn’t more willpower—it’s aligning with the seasonal rhythms your consciousness naturally responds to. Email me at eric@theattentioncompass.com
Eric Wilson helps people work with natural consciousness rhythms instead of forcing change through willpower. His approach shows how seasonal awareness creates sustainable transformation.