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September's "fresh start effect" encourages setting new goals and routines.

Usually, optimistic motivation doesn’t last because of conflict among the parts of a person's psyche.

Being willing to listen to the different voices inside may help with decision-making and commitment.

In 2014, researchers at Wharton pulled attendance records for 11,912 gym members tracked over 442 days. What they were looking for were points in time in which people’s attendance at the gym rose.

The researchers found that attendance wasn’t random. People came more at the start of new weeks, new months, and new academic semesters, and, of course, around New Year's Day.

This phenomenon was given a name: The "fresh start effect." The idea is that temporal landmarks create enough psychological distance from a "past self" that goals which originally felt stalled suddenly feel reachable.

A current landmark we’ve all just experienced is September. It’s relevant not just for people who started a new school year. For most of us, the transition from summer mode to our regular routine comes with the thought: Time to get back on track.

For some people, that means going back to the gym. For others, it’s finding the right meal prep routine, deciding to drink less, or just making a vague promise that this year, they'll eat better. This mindset of a fresh........

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