What Are You Ready to Leave Behind? Reflections for the End of Summer

There is something about the end of summer that feels like a transition.

Even if you haven't been in school for years, September can still carry that familiar feeling of a new beginning. The routines change. The light changes. Schedules shift. And suddenly, we're standing at the edge of another season.

New beginnings tend to make us think about what we want to start.

A new routine.

A new goal.

A healthier habit.

A fresh commitment to ourselves.

But before we start adding more, I think there's another question worth asking:

What am I ready to leave behind?

That was one of the questions I wanted us to sit with during the final weeks of the Healing Moments summer series on Healing Is My Hobby.

Because growth isn't always about adding something new.

Sometimes it's about recognizing what we don't want to keep carrying.

A Summer of Healing Moments

Throughout July and August, Healing Is My Hobby looked a little different.

Instead of our longer episodes, I created short Healing Moments—episodes under five minutes designed to give you one small opportunity to check in with yourself.

No huge assignment.

No expectation that you completely transform your life before the next episode.

Just a few minutes to notice something.

To ground.

To reflect.

To practice.

One of those practices was the familiar 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise, a way of bringing your attention back to the present moment when your mind is moving quickly or getting pulled into worry.

And as summer began winding down, we shifted from grounding in the present to thinking about what we wanted to carry into the next season.

The question became:

What do I want to leave behind before September?

Maybe You Don't Need Another Goal

We are very good at turning September into another January.

New planners.

New schedules.

New routines.

New commitments.

We tell ourselves:

This month I'm going to get organized.

I'm going to work out consistently.

I'm going to cook more.

I'm going to finally get ahead.

I'm going to meditate.

Journal.

Drink more water.

Go to bed earlier.

And none of those goals are inherently bad.

But if you're already overwhelmed, sometimes adding five new expectations isn't what you need.

Maybe instead of asking:

What else should I be doing?

you need to ask:

What am I tired of carrying?

Maybe it's a thought pattern you've been dragging around all summer—or much longer.

The belief that you're too much.

Or not enough.

The belief that you have to earn your rest.

The need to keep everyone happy.

The pressure to have everything figured out.

The habit of shrinking yourself in certain relationships.

The expectation that healing means you should never struggle with the same thing twice.

Maybe you're carrying a version of yourself that made sense once but doesn't fit anymore.

You don't necessarily need to know exactly how to release it yet.

Start by noticing it.

Healing Doesn't Always Look Like Progress

One of the reasons I created Healing Is My Hobby was because I wanted a place to talk about healing in a way that felt more realistic.

Healing isn't a project you complete.

It isn't a straight line.

And it doesn't require you to constantly be improving yourself.

Sometimes healing looks like learning a new skill.

Sometimes it looks like recognizing an old pattern a little sooner.

Sometimes it looks like resting.

Sometimes it looks like doing the exact same thing you've always done—and realizing halfway through:

Oh. I'm doing that thing again.

That awareness matters.

Because we can't make different choices around patterns we don't recognize.

Before You Rush Into What's Next

As we move out of summer and into a new season, give yourself a little space before immediately deciding who you need to become next.

You don't need an entirely new version of yourself for September.

Instead, take a few minutes and ask:

What thought pattern am I tired of carrying?

What expectation of myself no longer feels useful?

Where am I putting pressure on myself that I don't actually need?

What am I ready to stop proving?

What would I like to leave behind before I enter this next season?

You don't have to solve every answer.

Write them down.

Notice what comes up.

Get curious.

That is part of the work too.

What's Coming Next on Healing Is My Hobby

September also marks the beginning of Season 2 of Healing Is My Hobby.

After a summer of short Healing Moments, we're going deeper again.

We'll be talking about anxiety, nervous system regulation, productivity, rest, and the patterns we sometimes develop to help ourselves feel safe.

And we're starting with a question that I think a lot of us need to ask:

Why can't I stop?

Why do some of us feel compelled to keep doing, fixing, planning, achieving, or taking care of everyone else—even when we're exhausted?

Why can finally sitting down feel uncomfortable?

And why do so many of us feel like we have to earn the right to rest?

That's where we're headed next.

But before we get there, give yourself permission to close this season first.

You don't need to enter September carrying everything you brought into August.

Some things are allowed to stay behind.

Keep Exploring Your Healing

If something in this reflection made you curious about your own patterns, I've created a growing library of self-guided courses and resources to help you continue exploring outside of the therapy room.

Whether you're looking for a simple place to start, want to better understand your nervous system, or are ready to take a deeper look at the patterns keeping you stuck in constant doing, you'll find both free and paid resources designed to help you put what you're learning into practice.

Explore all courses + resources:
heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com/store

These resources are educational and self-guided and are not therapy or a substitute for individualized mental health treatment.

Jessica Colarco, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and CBT therapist specializing in anxiety disorders and nervous system regulation. Healing Is My Hobby and the educational resources associated with it are for educational purposes and are not therapy or a substitute for individualized mental health treatment.