The Summer Reset We Actually Need

Some of the most important work you'll do this summer isn't adding something new—it's finally letting something old go.

Every summer, I find myself doing something I never seem to do on January 1. I take inventory.

Not in my closet. (That would require confronting a frightening number of T-shirts.)

I take inventory of the emotional baggage I’ve been carrying.

There’s something about the start of summer that feels like a psychological reset. The days are longer, the pace shifts, and it becomes easier to ask a question we often avoid:

What’s taking up space in my head that no longer deserves a permanent lease?

Maybe it’s a conversation you’ve been putting off, a mistake you’re still replaying, a fear that’s quietly making decisions for you, or a relationship that’s been draining more energy than it gives back.

The funny thing about emotional baggage is that it rarely announces itself. It just sits quietly in the background, like 37 browser tabs open on your laptop, slowing everything down while pretending it’s not the problem.

Years ago, I realized that becoming a better person wasn’t just about learning new skills. It was also about putting down the weight I was never meant to carry forever.

Three practices have helped me more than almost anything else:

• If you’re worrying about it, confront it.
• Forgive others and yourself.
• Have the conversation that scares you the most.

None of those is easy.

But every time I’ve done them, I’ve noticed the same thing: more energy, more clarity, more creativity, and a greater ability to be fully present with the people who matter most.

This summer, my own baggage has a name.

It’s a handful of lingering fears tied to past failures. I hadn’t realized how quietly they’d been influencing my decisions until I finally stopped long enough to notice. Now it’s time to put them down.

Summer isn’t just a season. Sometimes it’s an invitation. An invitation to travel a little lighter.

As we begin Summer 2026, what’s one piece of baggage you’re ready to leave behind?