Every new season feels like a little chance to reset. This fall, I’ve been thinking less about what I want to add to my life and more about what I’m ready to leave behind.

Sometimes growing means realizing that certain habits, relationships, and ways of thinking just don’t belong in your life anymore. You don’t have to carry everything with you just because you’ve carried it for a long time.

Overexplaining Myself

• Not every decision needs an explanation. The people who understand me don’t need one, and sometimes I just need to trust myself.

Forcing Relationships

• I’m leaving behind relationships that only work when I’m the one constantly reaching, fixing, or trying to keep them alive.

Worrying About What Everyone Thinks

• I don’t want other people’s opinions making decisions about a life they aren’t living.

Saying Yes When I Want to Say No

• Protecting my time doesn’t make me difficult. I want to spend more of it doing things I actually want to do.

Holding Onto Old Versions of Myself

• I’m allowed to change my mind, want different things, and become someone different from who I thought I would be.

Fall has always felt like a season of letting go. Maybe we’re supposed to take a little inspiration from the trees and realize that not everything is meant to come with us into the next season.