Hey Reader,

How many first-day-of-school pictures have you scrolled past lately? From kindergarten backpacks bigger than the kid wearing them to the (genuinely shocking, see below👇) professionally-designed college dorm transformations... it's everywhere right now.

Fun to see, but here's the interesting part: that whole back-to-school moment does something for our brains even decades past needing new pencils.

It's called the Fresh Start Effect. It shows up at New Year's, on birthdays, and right around back-to-school season, and it's a real, hardwired thing, not just nostalgia. It's part of why this time of year can pull us out of a slow (hopefully relaxing) summer and back into gear almost automatically.

You're probably feeling a little of that pull already. More energy, more clarity, more "okay, let's actually do this" than you've had in a while.

Here's the thing about that energy though: it's the exact moment the old pattern likes to sneak back in. The one where you take all that momentum and just push, solo, full speed, until you're the one running on empty by November while everyone else is still riding the wave.

So, quick note: I have two open spots for 1:1 coaching this fall, timed so we finish the work before we all take time off in December. Instead of spending this energy the way you always have, you get support turning it into something that actually holds, so when November comes, you're finishing the year strong, not just hoping you make it to the finish line.

One of my clients, Shanda, put it this way: "Amanda helped me follow through on changes I'd been thinking about for years. She helped me work with my capacity, not against it and even when a crisis hit, I navigated it well because of the changes I had in place."

If that's speaking to something in you right now, book a free discovery call, I'd love to talk about whether it's the right fit.

Amanda McKinney | Accountability Coach Website (amandamckinney.com) Podcast (Accountable.) Book (Why Not You?)