Letting Go of Your Leaves: The Autumn Secret to Reclaiming Your Energy

The world around us is turning a magnificent hue of gold, crimson, and copper. We call this season “Fall” or “Autumn,” but in reality, the trees aren’t falling; they are simply letting go. They are not clinging to the dying leaves, spending precious energy trying to keep them green. They understand a fundamental truth: to prepare for future growth, you must first release what no longer serves you.

Imagine applying this powerful, natural wisdom to your own life.

We put so much energy into holding onto things that actively drain us. It takes enormous emotional effort to walk into a job we hate every morning. It requires constant mental gymnastics to maintain a toxic relationship or keep up with a friend whose favourite hobby is gossip.

What if all that energy—the energy you spend clinging to the withered, negative, brown things in your life—could be reclaimed and poured back into your own roots?

This autumn, let’s learn to let go of our past.

The True Cost of Clinging

The problem isn’t the task itself; it’s the clinging to it. The leaves in question are not the bright, shiny green ones that nourish you. They are the ones demanding water, sunlight, and effort without giving anything back.

We convince ourselves that we have to hold onto them:

• “I can’t quit my job, even though the stress is making me sick.”
• “I can’t stop complaining about my neighbour, because then I’d have nothing to talk about.”
• “I must keep this responsibility because I said ‘yes’ once, even if it leaves me exhausted.”

By pouring your vital energy into these “dying leaves,” you starve the rest of the tree—your true self, your health, your dreams, and your potential for new, beautiful growth in the spring. The tree knows that a withered leaf is a liability; it takes resources that could otherwise be used to protect the core during the long winter.

Your gossip, your resentment, your need to control, and your endless responsibilities are your liabilities. It’s time to reallocate that energy.

Try This: The Great Leaf Inventory

To successfully let go, you first need to identify exactly what you’re holding onto. Grab a journal, open a note on your phone, and follow the tree’s process:

Step 1: Identify Your Commitments (The Tree’s Branches)

List every major commitment you pour energy into daily, weekly, or monthly. Don’t censor yourself. These include:

• Work/Financial: Specific tasks you dread, committees you serve on, an unproductive side hustle.
• Relationships: A family obligation, a gossipy friendship, a one-sided connection.
• Home/Personal: The clutter you never deal with, the cleaning task you hate, the perfectionism that freezes you.
• Habits/Mental: Constant complaining, doom-scrolling social media, always needing to be right.

Step 2: Colour-Code Your Energy

Now, review each item on your list and ask yourself: “If this were an actual leaf on my branch, what colour would it be?”

1. Bright, Shiny Green Leaves: These nourish you. They are tasks, people, or habits that fill you up, inspire you, or are necessary and energising (e.g., your morning run, your passion project, a supportive partner). Keep these.
2. Withered, Brown Leaves: These are actively sapping you dry. They make you anxious, tired, resentful, or guilty. These are the release candidates.

Step 3: What Would It Take to Let Go?

Look at your “Withered Brown Leaves.” Next to each one, write the smallest action you could take to release it:

• Withered Leaf: “Attending the weekly staff meeting I hate.”
• Action: Delegate or decline 1 out of 4 meetings this month.
• Withered Leaf: “Responding immediately to demanding text messages.”
• Action: Put the phone away for one hour every evening.
• Withered Leaf: “Clinging to a grudge against an old friend.”
• Action: Write a short, final goodbye letter (but don’t send it). Commit to dropping the story.

The Freedom of the Shed

Letting go is not failure; it is preparation. It is the bold, decisive act of self-care that says, “My future is more important than my past.”

This autumn, permit yourself to be as wise as the trees. Shed those dying leaves and watch as the energy you reclaim immediately begins to strengthen your core. The space created by letting go will become the fertile ground for the beautiful, vibrant growth waiting for you in your next season.

What is the first leaf you are ready to let fall this week? Share your thoughts and commitments in the comments below!

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Neerja Bhatnagar

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I have written 3 solo books and 3 anthologies. You can buy my books on Amazon. If you are on Kindle Unlimited, you can read them for free. Pls, do check and share your reviews.