Episode 185: September Self-Care Capsule: "Trust Yo'Self!"

It’s September, and if your feed has convinced you it’s time to “lock in” for the last four months of the year, this one’s for you. Erin checks in after a wildly overstimulating (in a good way) summer and names the low-grade insecurity that crept back in once the goal-tracking stopped. The antidote isn’t a new framework — it’s trusting herself. She’s calling this season Trust Yo’Self, a riff on Parks and Recreation’s Treat Yourself and this year’s word of the year, sovereign, and walks through her September self-care capsule across four buckets: read, rest, play, and think. What we talk about - Where September’s “back to school” energy and the viral Great Lock In trend actually come from — and why they inflate ordinary goal-setting into pressure - The insecurity that crept in after losing momentum on tracking since Episode 182 with Stephanie Cunningham - Trusting two decades of lived experience (20 years at SickKids, 20 years married) over internet expertise - Read: recommitting to a diverse TBR after drifting from a 45% goal down to about 35% - Rest: physical (17-minute naps), mental (dance workouts), emotional (leaning into the songs that make her cry), and sensory (phone boundaries) rest for the fall - Play: a nail polish capsule turned watercolor palette turned playlist turned September wardrobe - Think: the mantra anchoring the month — “Trust yourself. You already have what you need to do what you want.”   Frameworks & mentions - The Great Lock In — the viral trend framing September–December as a final push before the new year - Read / Rest / Play / Think — Erin’s self-care capsule buckets for the month - Word of the year: Sovereign   Books & music mentioned - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - “Wizard and I” from the Wicked soundtrack   Episodes & links mentioned - Episode 182: What Happens When You Track the Simple Stuff? with Stephanie Cunningham — listen here - Episode 115: Five Things You Can Do Right Now to Survive September — listen here - Episode 81: September Self-Care Guide: Overcoming Resistance to Change — listen here - The “Wizard and I” reel that inspired this episode’s emotional rest bucket — @darlowbarlow on Instagram     Connect with Erin - Instagram: @medium.lady - Email: mediumladytalks@gmail.com - More book content on Medium Lady Reads — Instagram: @mediumladyreads