Ah, the joys of summer: long sun-filled days, freedom from school, hanging out with friends, and sleeping in. As students (and teachers), we look forward to summer. It is not surprising that as September draws near, students may feel the weight of a new school year approaching, with early mornings, long commutes, and the return of homework and assignments. It’s worth remembering that every September is filled with possibility and an opportunity for re-invention. This new beginning has been researched by psychologists and given a term, the Fresh Start Effect (Dai, Milkman, Riis, 2014). And you guessed it – it’s a real thing. The Fresh Start Effect refers to the psychological concept that we feel more motivated when presented with “fresh starts”, i.e., New Year’s, Monday’s, and birthday’s, to name a few. September offers students the opportunity to meet new teachers, try new classes, and start with a clean and blank academic record. As Guidance counsellors, we are in the privileged position to help our students reset with intention, with the goal of not having them fall back into the same old habits that they left behind last June. How do we help students use this clean slate? What strategies can we help them practice? In this article, I will focus on two strategies: helping students develop positive self-talk and making small behavioural changes that can build lasting habits.
Self-Talk – How to adjust negative self-talk
Most students don’t just carry backpacks. They all have stories about themselves. They use self-talk that is not always positive. Examples include I’m not university material; I’m the athlete; I’m not good at math; I’m the straight A student; I’m not good at making friends. To help our students understand that they do not need to live in this narrative any longer, guidance counsellors are tasked with guiding our students to question those narratives before they become self-fulling prophecies. We do this work by gently challenging this negative self talk and asking our student to imagine the opposite; to explore the “what-ifs” and help them make an achievable plan to get there. For example, to respond to the student who believes they cannot do math, we can challenge that belief by asking them to add the word “yet” to that sentence, “I’m not good at math, yet.” Together with the counsellor, tools can be put into place, in September, to help the student with math. The student and counsellor could brainstorm strategies, such as signing up for after school math help, accessing a math tutor, use the ministry of education online math tools. Instead of “I’m not good at math,” encourage students to tell themselves, “I may not be good at math yet, but with the right support, strategies, and practice, I can become better.” As counsellors we can help students re-direct their self-talk.
Small changes – Habit building
Many students will begin the school year, ready to take everything on, join lots of clubs and try out for many teams; get all A’s; complete all their homework early. Although huge resolutions are great in theory, as we all know from our New Year’s Eve resolutions, many of us tank by February. It is difficult to keep the stamina going and for our students, our goal should be to help them with their motivation and build on small, attainable changes. For example, when a student says that “this is the year I will get all A’s”, this is a goal we want to encourage. We need to help the student create sustainable behaviours and practices to achieve that goal. The student requires a plan and steps to make that happen. We, as counsellors, can suggest students work on habits and habit formation. We do so by acknowledging that their goal is a good one and then together brainstorm what habits could be used to achieve that goal. One habit might include, asking the teacher for afterschool help when part of the lesson is unclear; regularly visiting teachers at their office hours to go over work or any questions; spending 20 minutes daily reviewing notes. Small habits that students can achieve, with practice will aid in helping the student grow in confidence. Monthly guidance check ins will also support and help keep the student accountable and motivated.
As guidance counsellors, we know that September is not simply the beginning of the school year. It is an opportunity for our students to begin again, to believe that fresh starts are possible and that the practice of re-invention can be highly motivating. We need to help our students see themselves in a positive light and provide strategies that can build their confidence, resilience, and sense of purpose. When we intentionally create spaces where students feel seen, heard, and valued, we remind them that growth is always possible and that they do not have to navigate their journey alone. By encouraging positive self-talk and helping students build small, manageable habits, we can give them practical tools to turn fresh starts into lasting change. September is not just a new chapter in the school calendar; it is a chance to help students rewrite the stories they tell themselves about who they are and who they can become.
References:
Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, Jason Riis (2014) The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior. Management Science
