The Great Lock In: How September-December officially became grind season
TikTok has officially declared it grind season. A viral trend known as The Great Lock In is sweeping the platform, encouraging people to dedicate the final months of 2025 to extreme focus and self-improvement. What started as a meme about Apple’s Face ID in 2023 has since evolved into a recurring cultural ritual, with users posting motivational content, setting ambitious goals, and flooding timelines with “lock in” memes as they push to finish the year strong.
What is The Great Lock In?
To "lock in" means to get into a state of serious focus. The term first went viral in later 2023 when Apple's "Face ID" feature seemed to require serious expressions to work. By 2024, people were using the idea of being "locked in" to mean achieving a state of hyperfocus or achieving a lot in a short period of time.
Common examples included literary greats like Shakespeare who would churn out a play each year, if not more.
The concept is ideal for motivational TikTok—a highly popular content genre on the app. Fit and/or snappily dressed influencers can gain millions of views by claiming that their followers can achieve any and all dreams if they just try hard enough. Americans in particular eat that jazz up, with many embracing the "rise and grind" mindset.
It was, therefore, not so surprising when TikTok began to declare September through December 2025 as "The Great Lock In." Initially, this extended into August. One of the earliest videos using the phrase came from @shmeat27 on August 7.
"The type energy we bringing to the great lock in aug-oct 2025," it said over basketball footage.
Extending this through December made more sense, as humans love to set goals around the turn of the new year. Two days later, @meechiexx posted his Great Lock In video, revising the original end date.
@meechiexx It is upon us ladies and gentlemen #fyp #xyzbca #real ♬ Slowest Stargazing - Marcelo De Carvalho
"The Great Lock In of 2025 is upon us," he said. "The August to December fall/winter 2025 is The Great Lock In. We're eating right, we're f*cking working out, we're shooting our shot."
As last month grew late, the idea gained traction. TikToker @jason.dom gained 2.5 million views with a Great Lock In video published on August 31.
@jason.dom 4 months. No excuses. Lock in or fall behind. #motivation #inspiration #gymedit #lockin #thegreatlockin ♬ cant hold us - Mayti
"4 months. No excuses," he wrote. "Lock in or fall behind."
The Great Lock In trends on Google Search
These views aren't just happening because the FYP loves motivational content. The Great Lock In is dominating search engine trends, with the phrase "lock in" reaching greater heights this month than its previous peak in February 2023.
Searches for The Great Lock in have also exploded, and those for "best motivational speeches" spiked up over 250 percent in August before trending again in the first days of September.
This week, the top related searches to The Great Lock In are as follows:
- Great lock in rules
- Great lock in challenge
- Lock in September
- 75 soft challenge
- The great reset
Based on this data, it's safe to assume that whether they're on TikTok or not, people are looking for motivation. This hasn't been the easiest year for many, so it makes sense that they would be looking forward to 2026. The pervasive mindset that hard work always produces results often leads to end-of-year goals as folks hope that the next year will be all the better if they lock in now.
Experts in motivation often tout setting goals as a helpful method for self-improvement.
"The second half of the year is an amazing time to reset goals and hold yourself accountable," Manhattan Wellness Clinical Director Jennifer Teplin told Hello! "I like to see the fall season as the final lap of the mile. You know what's behind you and there's a lot of potential ahead, but not too much time that it feels unattainable."
Nothing motivates like memes
On the internet, massive trends like this always come with memes. X users provided the goods, delivering The Great Lock In memes to help bring the hype.
Batman locked in. Will you?
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