Permission to Pause for ABA Professionals: Rest, Reset, and Return Stronger

This is it. The end of 2025.

And if you've made it through this year—through the sessions and the paperwork and the hard conversations and the moments of doubt and the small victories and everything in between—you've earned a moment to stop.

Not to plan. Not to prepare. Not to get ahead. Just to stop.

So here's what I want to say to you as we close out this year: you have permission to pause for ABA professionals and for yourself as a human being.

What Permission to Pause for ABA Professionals Actually Means

Over the past few weeks, we've talked about reflection, reconnection, and reset. We've talked about what 2025 taught us, about the power of community and intentionality. We've talked about "me too" instead of "me first." We've talked about setting sustainable goals that actually align with your values.

All important stuff. All worth thinking about.

But right now? Right now, I just want to give you permission to not think about any of it for a minute.

Permission to pause means:

You don't have to set goals for 2026 until you're actually ready. The new year doesn't magically erase the exhaustion of this one. Give yourself time to breathe before you start planning what's next.

You don't have to use the holidays to "catch up" on work. The work will still be there in January. It always is. But this time—this brief window where things slow down—won't come again.

You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't need a perfect plan or a clear vision or complete certainty about what 2026 will bring. You just need to rest.

You don't have to be productive. Rest isn't something you earn after you've checked all the boxes. Rest is something you need in order to keep going. Period.

Why Rest Matters (Even Though You Already Know)

Here's the thing: I know you know rest is important. You probably tell the families you work with about the importance of downtime and recovery. You probably encourage your team to take breaks and use their PTO.

But when it comes to yourself? Different story.

We have this idea—especially in helping professions—that our worth is tied to our productivity. That taking time off is somehow letting people down. That we should be able to power through because the work is important and people are counting on us.

But here's what I've learned: we can't show up fully for our learners when we're running on empty. We can't make good clinical decisions when we're exhausted. We can't build authentic connections when we're burned out.

At Precision ABA, we believe in growth through building resilience. But resilience doesn't mean powering through exhaustion. It means knowing when to push and when to pause. It means recognizing that sustainable practice requires recovery time.

Rest isn't a luxury. It's not a reward. It's a requirement for doing this work well.

Modeling Rest Matters Too

Here's something we don't talk about enough: when you rest, when you set boundaries, when you model sustainable practice—you give other people permission to do the same.

If you're a supervisor, your team is watching how you handle work-life balance. If you respond to emails during the holidays, you're teaching them that's the expectation. If you talk about being too busy to take time off, you're normalizing burnout.

But if you model rest? If you actually take time off and disconnect? If you talk about the importance of recovery? You're creating a culture where sustainable practice is possible.

At Precision ABA, we value authentic connection and acceptance. Part of that means accepting our own humanity and limits. And creating space for others to do the same.

When you give yourself permission to pause for ABA professionals and humans alike, you're not just taking care of yourself. You're modeling for the entire field what sustainable practice looks like.

What We're Doing

I want to be transparent about what we're doing over the holidays. We're pausing. We're stepping away. We're giving our team time to rest without the expectation of checking in or staying connected to work.

Not because the work isn't important. But because the people doing the work need time to recover.

And when we come back in January, we'll come back rested. Grounded. Ready to show up fully for our learners and families in a way we couldn't if we'd powered through without a break.

That's what permission to pause looks like in practice. It's not just words. It's actually doing the thing.

Your Permission to Pause for ABA Professionals Starts Here

So here's what I'm asking you to do—or more accurately, not do—over the holidays:

Don't check your work email unless it's absolutely necessary. Set an away message. Let people know you'll respond when you're back. Trust that things will be okay without you for a few days.

Don't use the time to "get ahead" on 2026 planning. There will be time for that. Right now, just be present with wherever you are and whoever you're with.

Don't feel guilty about resting. You're not being lazy. You're not letting anyone down. You're doing exactly what you need to do to show up well when work starts again.

Do something that has nothing to do with ABA. Read for pleasure. Sleep in. Spend time with people you love. Stare at the wall if that's what you need. Just be.

Give yourself the same grace and compassion you extend to others. You deserve it.

Thank You

Before we close out this series and this year, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for being part of our community. For showing up authentically—even when it's hard, even when you're tired, even when you're not sure you're doing it right.

Thank you for doing the hard work of supporting learners and families with compassion and intentionality. For being willing to reflect on your practice. For trying to reconnect with your purpose. For setting goals that align with your actual values instead of just what looks impressive.

Thank you for being humans first, Precision Teachers second. For remembering that the people we serve—and we ourselves—are whole people with needs and limits and lives that matter beyond the work.

This community—built on collaboration, diverse perspectives, and trust—is stronger because you're in it.

See You in 2026

We'll be back in the new year with more content, more conversations, more support for your growth as a professional. But for now? We're all taking a breath.

You've earned it. We've all earned it.

So rest. Pause. Give yourself permission to not have it all figured out.

The work will still be there in January. Your learners will still need you. But they need you rested and grounded, not depleted and running on fumes.

Here's to closing out 2025 with gratitude, reflection, and peace.

And here's to walking into 2026 rested and ready—whenever you're actually ready.

Until then, be kind to yourself.

With gratitude,

The Precision ABA Team

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