Getting Ready To Cross The September Threshold
For many people, January is considered a time for change. But I'd like to call September the true moment when change starts. The Irish philosopher John O'Donohue says it best in his essay ‘Thresholds’. A threshold, he says, "is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms and atmospheres," but crossing one rarely feels like a single dramatic step. More often it happens the way spring arrives, "secretly at work within the heart of winter," underway long before we can see the daffodils blooming. For business owners and job seekers alike, autumn can be our threshold, a time to move us into a steadier rhythm.
If you are a business owner, you might resonate with my story. Last September was a true threshold for me. Taking a year out to recover from burnout, I had time to grow and explore the vision of my next business. Over that year, I met people, I asked questions, I tested the waters. In September, I was ready to launch my coaching practice and Her Circle, a support community for women in business. So for me, last autumn marked the start of a new life phase and a new identity. This year has been different again. This time the business is set; now it’s time to focus and make sure my goals for January are both realistic and supported by a solid plan.
Similar to me, for Lisa, a local life coach specialising in ADHD, who raises three children with additional needs, September is a sprint to the end of the year, squeezing out what's left of it. She declared “yes to everything” for the next three months: she’s taking chances, getting support, making that push to get her new business off the ground, and not letting her fears stop her.
But for Helen, a freelance graphic designer with primary school-age children. September is when the kids go back to school, and she will have time to focus on her career. This year she would like to find a part-time job to complement her freelance work. She is on the hunt for a local employer that would value her wealth of experience in design and be ready to provide flexible work that would suit her family's demands. Helen is treating the job search as a job by itself. Flexible work, sadly, is not common, so Helen is using a proactive approach, researching local businesses that might need her skills and preparing her pitch.
So if you are a business owner, launching a new business, wanting to make the most of 2026 or a job seeker, I’m inviting you to consider the next three months as a time to pause and reflect, and envision how you want to enter 2027 and put a solid plan in place.
To get you started, I’d like to share questions inspired by John O'Donohue and some great advice from both Karen O'Reilly of Employ Flex, a recruitment agency based in West Cork and myself.
Get started by asking yourself: What am I leaving behind this September? What am I stepping into? What is stopping me from crossing? And what gift could carry me over?
For job seekers, here is wise advice from Karen: Treat the search itself like a job, show up on time, and stay focused and organised. Have a gap in your CV? Own it, don't apologise, make it work for you. If you can't find a company that is advertising for your desired position, take it into your hands by searching for companies you would like to work for and finding a soft contact through LinkedIn or your personal connections. In her own words: "Ask them to meet for a cup of coffee. Everybody in Ireland will give you half an hour." And prepare for the meeting; come with a proposal for what you could fix, the value you could add, not just a CV.
If you're running a business, I recommend using September to December as a sprint. Break the twelve weeks into small, real steps, each with its own deadline. We tend to overestimate what we can get done, so keep every step small enough to actually finish. And don't do it alone. Say your plan out loud to a coach, a friend, or a group like Her Circle, and let them challenge you. Having someone to answer to is often the difference between a plan that happens and one that fades away.
And to close, I'd like to offer another lesson from nature: some change only needs us to watch and let things happen at their own pace. Being a busy fool doesn't bring you anywhere.
Need a little help moving forward, imagining your next career, starting a business, or growing one? I'm just an email away. Book a free discovery call at thinkvisual.ie/letschat or drop me a line at naomi@thinkvisual.ie.
Prefer to sit with these questions on paper? Click here to download the printable worksheet
