How Heavy is Your Bag?

Imagine you are carrying a huge backpack. You are in the woods and you must climb up and down different hills in order to get out and must wear the backpack the entire time. The number of items in the backpack looks like they belong in the closet of a typical female teenager, but they are items you would carry. Hand sanitizer? Check! Tissues? Coming up! A brick? You've got that, too! Well, you may not carry a brick in the woods, but I think you get the point. Think about the backpack as you walk through the woods. How hard is it to walk? Is it slowing you down? Do your shoulders ache? Are you getting in an extra workout? In the middle of the walk, you see a sign that reads you can remove half of the items from your bag. You start walking again. All of a sudden, you walk faster, your shoulders don't ache as much, and you're not as exhausted. Then, you see another sign a mile later that reads you can take off the backpack and leave it behind the remainder of the time. Now, how do you feel? Did it feel like 20 pounds were lifted off of your shoulders?

In life, you have experienced your fair share of trials and unfortunate experiences. As you get older, your backpack gets heavier. Each time your backpack is loaded, it becomes more difficult to move. You wish you could just put it all behind you and leave the hurt and frustrations in the past. Guess what? You can! Yes, you actually can do this. In the scenario above, you had to wait till the signs appeared before you were allowed to remove items. Life isn't that obvious. There are no signs that read it's time to take the burden off of your shoulders. You can do it now. Also, the scenario only let you take half of the items out of the bag. You may take everything out or you can take one thing out. Whatever you choose to do is your choice.If you take the frustrations and baggage out of your backpack sooner, you will be able to achieve your goals and become the best version of yourself sooner than you think.