How We Can Start Embracing Everyday Courage
Can the changing season encourage us to become active bystanders?
Posted November 3, 2025 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch
For many of us, the change of season from summer to autumn arrives without warning. One day we’re walking around with bare arms, sipping iced coffee, and the next we’re digging around in the back of the closet for a warm sweater to ward off the chill. For me, it immediately feels like fall when the famous pumpkin spice latte returns to the Starbucks menu. Despite the fact that I don’t particularly like pumpkin spice latte, its mere presence as an option announces the arrival of autumn as effectively as any billboard.
While autumnal events like Halloween are undeniably fun, this time of year offers far more than this. Jo et al. (2021) found that viewing images with autumnal foliage induced physiological and psychological relaxation in women in their 20s, reducing their heart rate and increasing parasympathetic nervous activity. As well as the potential impact on relaxation, the season also offers an opportunity for transition. Just as the trees shed their leaves and nature prepares to undergo rest and renewal, this time of year provides an ideal opportunity to reflect, adapt, and consider who we want to be.
Making changes can take different forms. It might mean choosing to let go of worries or fears that we’ve been hanging on to, or perhaps making the decision to embrace something new. It may be that you decide to be more attuned to what’s happening around you and make the effort to notice the small moments of joy that can be drowned out by stress or busy lives. Whatever change you seek, taking time to actively plan changes can help prepare, commit to the change, and be ready to weather any challenges along the way.
If you’re open to making positive changes but aren’t sure what that might look like for you, may I suggest the following: Make a commitment to being aware of what’s happening around you and spotting quiet opportunities to take action that may otherwise pass unnoticed. In other words, commit to be an active bystander. Bystanders play a unique role: They are not the perpetrators or the victims of problematic behaviour; they are simply witnesses to what unfolds. Active bystanders are those who choose to get involved and who make the decision to step up and step in when they see someone who needs help.
The thought of making this commitment can feel overwhelming at first; as with any transition, it takes courage—the courage to speak up, the courage to say that something isn’t OK, and the courage to act even when those around you stay quiet. Mainwaring et al. (2024) identified a range of barriers that can inhibit people from intervening in problematic situations, including fear for their own safety, their relationship to the victim, and audience inhibition. One way to ameliorate these factors is to have a clear set of options for intervening, including both direct and indirect options, thereby allowing bystanders to select the intervention option that best suits them and the situation.
Here are five ways to potentially intervene:
Remembering these options can make it easier to decide what to do if you do encounter a problematic situation and can help you feel more confident about choosing to be an active bystander. You don’t have to do them all; just pick which best fits the situation and commit to taking action. In this way, you can help ensure that the changes of autumn are not contained to the temperature, the colours of the leaves, or even the Starbucks menu. This change is about the way we connect with the people around us and our willingness to step up and speak out when we get the chance. When all’s said and done, what better way is there to welcome in a new season?
Jo, H., Ikei, H., & Miyazaki, Y. (2022). Physiological and psychological benefits of viewing an autumn foliage mountain landscape image among young women. Forests , 13 (9), 1492.
Mainwaring, C., Scott, A. J., & Gabbert, F. (2024). Facilitators and barriers of bystander intervention intent in image-based sexual abuse contexts: A focus group study with a university sample. Journal of Interpersonal Biolence , 39 (11-12), 2655–2686.
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Gill Harrop, Ph.D., is a Registered Forensic Psychologist specializing in the use of active bystandership and psychological strategies to address problematic relationship behaviour and tackle crime.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.