Adopt a Back-to-School Mentality

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Remember when September was so exciting because it meant going back to school?

I was a back to school nerd.

Getting new notebooks, new pens, and all those new outfits, made September the most exciting month of the year. September is less exciting as an adult who’s not going back to school.

But if you adopt a back-to-school mentality, you can have a happier and more productive fall season.

Here are three ways you can bring excitement back into your September.

1) Look at your job like an intern.

Do you remember when you were an intern? When you would go wide-eyed into that office and think, “Wow, this is the coolest job ever.”

I remember going into a studio for the very first time as a TV producer and seeing all the lights. After a while, it’s not so exciting anymore. You’re just like, “Oh, here we go again, just another day.”

But the days I took interns into that studio and showed them what it looked like behind the scenes and saw their reactions was just amazing. If you’re having trouble picturing that intern attitude, I have an example for you.

Back in 2018, Cassie Simian, an intern from NBC News, went viral for her intern performance. She was covering the Paul Manafort trial and the verdict had just come out. And she sprinted out of the courthouse to deliver the news.

When was the last time you sprinted like that for your job? I love that video because it’s such a good reminder to think about what we love about our jobs and what we do.

Keep Cassie’s face in your mind the next time you’re like, “Oh, do I really have to do this?” to reinvigorate that back-to-school mentality.

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2) Envision happiness and make changes.

If you follow me, you know that I love Oprah Winfrey. I was just watching something the other day, where she was doing an interview with happiness expert, Albert Brooks. He’s the author of a book called Strength to Strength, all about finding success, happiness and deep purpose in the second half of life.

One of the things that he talked about was the bucket list. He says what happens when you make a bucket list is that your satisfaction actually goes down. According to Brooks, when you put all of the places and the things you want in one place, you actually become disappointed.

I never thought of it that way. Instead, he suggests creating a reverse bucket list to envision happiness.

Step one is to make a list of all of the material things you want – aka a traditional bucket list.

Then make another list of how you want to feel in five years. (I love this! Lists on top of lists!) What friendships do you have? What virtues do you embody? What does that feel like? What is your day like? What’s your best day?

Step three is to compare the lists. This is where it gets good. Ask yourself, will the things on the first list help you get to the things on the second list? Will having that material thing actually cause the reaction that you want in the second list. If it does, you pursue it.

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3) Find a mentor.

It’s a little easier said than done. Every opportunity I’ve ever gotten in my career and my life is because someone helped me.

Think it through. Who are the people in your life who could open your eyes to something bigger? Maybe you are interested in being an entrepreneur. Who is already doing that? Make a list of those people. Start to follow them. Examine what they do.

Having a mentor doesn’t have to mean someone you talk to all the time. It can be, but it can also be someone that you watch.

One of my big online business mentors is Amy Porterfield. She shares a lot about how to create online courses and webinars. She’s a great mentor. And before that, when I was first thinking about starting my own business, I went to LinkedIn Learning. I looked at courses about entrepreneurship, starting your own business and learned how to do those things for myself.

So if you pick something right now that you’re really interested in doing, and find a mentor to work with or follow it can help you actualize what it is that you’re looking to do.

So treat this September like you’re going back to school and set yourself up for a happier, healthier, and more productive year.

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