Day 1: Stop Fixing Yourself. Start Designing Your Life.
September Rentrée Series
🍂 Welcome to the September Rentrée!
Every weekday this month, you’ll get one bold, bite-sized piece to spark reflection, shift your habits, and help you design a life that feels good in real life.
1 month. 20 bold truths. A life-changing September.
In France, la rentrée (the return) is a national event. It’s about fresh routines, new ideas, and intentional renewal. And that’s exactly the energy we’re bringing here.
Most people treat their life like a never-ending repair job.
They look at themselves like broken machines: “Once I fix this one thing, I’ll finally be happy!” There is always one thing.
But you’re not a project in constant need of fixing. You’re a beautiful, imperfect human in progress.
Progress isn’t about fixing. It’s about designing.
Here’s the mindset shift that changes everything.
Designers don’t obsess over perfect. They play. They test. They iterate.
They approach problem-solving with empathy, curiosity, and playfulness.
And when challenges feel too big to handle alone, they collaborate, bringing in the right expertise for the job.
They ask, “What’s one small tweak that could make this better?”
They’re intentional yes, but open.
And when something doesn’t work, they don’t see it as a personal deficiency.
They see it as feedback. A way to learn and grow rather than fixating on failures.
Each tiny experiment is data, a way to gather insight. Then they use it to move on to the next version until they find a solution that works.
So if you’re trying to improve your life, let go of the constant self-repair mode.
Stop hunting for flaws. Start designing the micro-experiments and adjustments that actually move you forward.
Because your life isn’t meant to squeeze into someone else’s mould. It’s meant to be shaped around you. Around your energy, your season, your priorities.
Think of it like writing drafts of a book. Each version brings you closer to the story you really want to tell. Nobody calls a first draft “broken.” It’s just in progress.
So are you.
This September, ditch the harsh routines and all-or-nothing resets. Instead, experiment. Choose what energises you. Design habits that actually fit into your life, not the other way around.
You don’t need fixing. You just need the freedom to design.
Do this today: choose one area to redesign. Write one tiny habit using this formula:
“After [anchor], I will [behaviour] for two minutes.”
Then, celebrate it with something simple: a fist pump, a smile, or my personal favourite, a little whispered “yay!”
And now for the deeper part, ask yourself this:
If you stopped trying to fix yourself, what would you create instead?
That’s the question that opens up a whole new version of you.
Because design beats discipline when it’s tiny, repeatable, and rooted in who you really are.
September is your reset. Not by force, but by design.
With love,
Noemie
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