Autumn’s Lesson: Shedding the Past to Create Space for Growth 🍂
As the calendar turns to October, the summer’s warmth begins to yield to the crisp air of autumn. Nature offers us one of the most powerful and beautiful lessons in renewal during this season: the falling of the leaves.
Think about the mighty oak or the vibrant maple. For months, those leaves were vital—they captured sunlight and fueled growth. But as the light changes, the tree doesn’t cling to them. It performs a natural, necessary act of shedding. It lets go of what once served it perfectly, allowing those leaves to drop, decompose, and nourish the soil. This act of letting go is not surrender; it is a profound preparation. By shedding the past, the tree conserves energy and makes itself ready to survive the winter and grow even further and stronger in the spring.
Our lives mirror this natural cycle. We often carry habits, routines, beliefs, or even relationships that once served us well—they helped us survive, thrive, or fit in at a particular stage. But as we evolve, those things can become heavy. They clutter our emotional and mental landscape, consuming energy that could be used for the next season of growth.
The Seasons of Life: When Shedding Becomes Necessary
Life is a constant series of transitions, and each one creates an urgent need to renew ourselves by shedding old habits and strategies. These shifts can include:
A New Job or Career Change: The habits that made you successful in your old role might hinder you in a new one. (e.g., Shedding the need for solo achievement to embrace team collaboration.)
Moving to a New City: Leaving behind old social circles means shedding familiar routines to make space for new connections.
Welcoming Children or Launching Them: The transition to parenthood demands shedding old personal freedoms; later, graduating children to their own lives requires shedding the intensity of the parent-child co-dependence and renewing your identity.
These moments of transition are often where we feel the most friction. We know we need to change, but we aren’t sure what to let go of or how to create the new space.
Finding Your Partner in the Process
This is where the power of therapy comes into play. You don’t have to navigate this shedding process alone. Finding a partner in a therapist is like having a trained botanist guide you through your own inner landscape.
A therapist’s objective, non-judgmental perspective can help you take an unflinching look at what’s currently working and, more importantly, what’s not working in your life. They can help you shine a light on the habits and patterns that are currently weighing you down—the “leaves” that need to fall.
The goal isn’t to judge the past, but to understand it. Your therapist can help you:
Identify the Clutter: Pinpoint the old coping mechanisms, negative self-talk, or outdated relationship dynamics that are blocking your next stage of development.
Facilitate the Shedding: Give you the emotional permission and practical tools to safely release those things.
Prepare the Soil: Work with you to explore and cultivate new, healthy habits that will serve as the seeds for your spring growth.
Like the tree preparing for a deeper, more resilient spring, the work you do now—the honest work of looking at your life and choosing to shed what no longer serves you—is the most valuable investment you can make in your future growth.
Don’t cling to the old growth when a new, stronger version of you is ready to emerge. Take the first step this season. Reach out to Stride Forward Counseling to find a therapist who can help you embrace the power of letting go.