Some Relationships Are For a Season

By Patty Roe, Founder of PS Society

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growth—and more specifically, how often we block our own growth by holding onto things and people that no longer fit where we’re headed.

It’s sneaky how it happens. One day you realize you’re showing up to situations, conversations, even friendships, with the unspoken goal of proving yourself. Trying to make everyone happy. Trying to fix what feels off. Wondering why you’re exhausted, second-guessing yourself, or worse—feeling small in spaces where you used to feel big and bright.

For many of us, especially women, this pattern starts early. We’re taught to nurture, to smooth things over, to be “the glue” that holds it all together. But here’s the truth I’ve had to learn the hard way: You can’t grow into the next version of yourself if you’re constantly shrinking to fit the old one.

Sometimes that means letting go.

Letting go of friendships that thrive on criticism more than encouragement.Letting go of people who only show up when it serves them.Letting go of projects, commitments, or even thought patterns that keep you spinning in circles instead of moving forward.

And letting go doesn’t have to mean dramatic exits, angry texts, or public declarations of cutting ties. Honestly, it’s usually the opposite. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply stop chasing. Stop over-explaining. Stop performing for people who’ve already made up their minds about you.

You don’t owe anyone a big speech or a viral “I’m cutting people off” social media post. What you do owe yourself is peace. Growth. The right to outgrow rooms you’ve stayed in too long.

The hardest part isn’t the letting go—it’s sitting with the space that follows. The quiet moments when you wonder, Was it me? Could I have done more? But if you pause and get really honest, you’ll usually realize the answer isn’t about being more for them... it’s about finally being more for yourself.

Because here’s what happens next—when you let go, you create room.

Room for new friendships that cheer for your wins and hold you gently through your losses.Room for opportunities that align with who you are now, not who you had to be for others.Room for joy. For peace. For the kind of growth that feels expansive, not draining.

Some relationships are for a season.

Some people are meant to be part of your story for just a few chapters. That doesn’t make them bad, and it doesn’t make you wrong for turning the page.

You don’t have to hate people to grow past them. You can love what the friendship once was. You can thank them silently for the lessons they brought. And you can wish them well as you keep moving toward the life—and the people—that are waiting for you next.

If you’re standing at that crossroads right now, wondering whether it’s okay to let go… let me tell you: It is.

And on the other side? A version of you that’s more free, more fulfilled, and more ready for what’s next.

You’re allowed to grow. In fact, you’re built for it.