You already know the answer

It’s the first day of fall.

This season reminds me of a favorite childhood activity.

My dad would rake the leaves from our yard into what felt like a mountain at the base of our hilly driveway. My brother and I would wait at the top of the driveway on our Big Wheels, tapping our heels in anticipation.

When our dad said “Go!” we’d take our feet off the pedals and let gravity carry us straight into the pile of leaves.

How we didn’t crash into each other, my dad, or the garage door is beyond me. All I know is it was exhilarating, unlike any other thrill.

This memory popped into my head on a walk yesterday, probably triggered by the emerging fall colors and smells. It made me think about the knowings that live inside us.

In the summer, my brother and I ran through sprinklers. In the winter, we made snow angels. Nothing beat the fall leaf pile. I liked it more than any other seasonal activity.

There’s no rational, on-paper explanation for this preference. It’s just what is. I know it to be true for me.

We all have this internal guidance system, a knowing about what we want. And yet so many of us are disconnected from our preferences.

We allow ourselves to ruminate on decisions for weeks or even years, convinced we need more information to close the loop. It doesn’t help that we have other people’s opinions constantly coming at us in the form of advertising, social media, and podcasts.

Over time, this creates a distrust of your intuition, a deer-in-headlights experience when it comes to claiming what you want.

I invite you to consider that you do know. You know what you want. You already know the answer.

Just as an exercise, what if you accepted this as true? That the answer you’re seeking is not something you need more information to arrive at but something you need to get quiet enough to uncover. If that were true, what would you do next?

Fall is the season of letting go. To follow nature’s orders and drop the things that don’t serve you, you need to know what is worth hanging onto.

What do you want to move toward this fall? What do you want to move away from?

Got it? Now take your feet off the pedals and go.

Hudson Valley, NY
September 2026