I want to travel far in my lifetime. I want to accomplish things, I want to grow, I want to never stop learning. I want to become the best version of myself possible, but lately, something is holding me back.
I feel like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and something has to give.
I’ve got too much baggage.
My literal baggage has lightened significantly since I began traveling a few years ago. I’ve realized which things are unnecessary and I’ve shed them without hesitation.
Baggage of the emotional variety, on the other hand, hasn’t been as easy for me to discard.
We accumulate emotional baggage as we move through life. Certain experiences have a tendency to stick with us, weighing us down, forcing us to work harder at every subsequent thing we do. These experiences typically leave us feeling vulnerable or hurt in some way.
Everyone carries this type of baggage to some degree, and if they tell otherwise, they’re either the Dalai Lama or they’re lying.
Everyone has been affected by something in life that they haven’t yet found the power to let go of, and the resulting emotions can manifest themselves in any number of ways. Baggage can cause us to hesitate and to fear; it can cause us jealousy, insecurity, and mistrust.
What I’m starting to realize about this baggage is that, much like the baggage we carry on our travels, when we have too much of it, we end up paying for it over, and over, and over again.
And emotional baggage is quite costly. The extra baggage we drag with us to the airport may cost us dollars, but emotional baggage stands to cost us much, much more.
Emotional baggage affects our present relationships and any we hope to have in the future; it can strip them of a fighting chance before they even really begin. We remember the painful experiences we had in the past and sometimes even go so far as to sabotage new relationships on purpose as a defense mechanism against reliving that pain.
Emotional baggage can cost us opportunities; it can cost us peace; it can cost us the ability to make rational decisions.
Most importantly, it can cost us our happiness.
“If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.” –Cesare Pavese
Sometimes we forget that we must take care of ourselves before we can take care of others. I’m certainly guilty of this. The emotional baggage we carry serves no purpose–it’s nothing more than psychological dead weight.
One of the best things you can do for yourself–and, consequently, everyone around you–is abandon your baggage.
Give people the benefit of the doubt. Learn to trust people again. Take a chance on yourself even when you’ve failed in the past. Forget how much it hurt and try again.
We can learn from our past negative experiences without letting them rule our present; in the same breath, the lessons we learn in life mean nothing if we don’t apply them.
I made a promise to myself earlier this year that I would let go of my baggage, and I haven’t been living up to that promise. Today is the day that changes.
If baggage is holding you back in life, I invite you to join me on my journey. Let’s travel light so we can travel far; let’s rid ourselves of our baggage before it costs us something we can’t replace.
