“To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit.” — Jack Kornfield
My husband and I were walking around the Lower East Side this weekend when we passed a Trader Joe's.
Now, we don't usually shop at TJ's because:
1) There isn't one nearby our apartment AND
2) I refuse to wait in line to enter a grocery store (for those of you who don't live in NYC, waiting in line outside of a Trader Joe's is a kind of a "normal" thing...🙄)
But, to our surprise, there was no line that day. So we decided to do some impromptu grocery shopping.
Since we don't go to Trader Joe's often, I wanted to stock up on the items from there that I really enjoy (including these refried beans...🤤) which meant that our bag was pretty full and heavy once all was said and done.
Now, I pride myself on being able to carry my own groceries...but when my husband offered to take our bag, I didn't object.
Like I said, it was heavy 😜.
Plus, he knew what he was taking on.
But what about all the heavy stuff YOU carry around?
How much of that stuff did you actually OFFER to take on?
Stuff like:
👉 Beliefs about how your body "should" look?
👉 Opinions about how a woman "should" behave?
👉 Definitions of "success" and "happiness"?
👉 Expectations, roles and responsibilities you "should" honor and fulfill?
Did you willingly, knowingly, gladly say,
"Hey, I'll take that." 🙋♀️
Or was this stuff forced onto you by:
👉 Your parents and family
👉 Your friends and coworkers
👉 Social media and the entertainment industry
I remember a conversation I had with a former personal training client.
I can't recall the details that led up to this exchange, but we were talking about setting goals and she said to me,
"I realize that you've never suggested to me that I need to lose weight or that I should lose weight.
All this time, the feeling that I need to lose weight was coming from what my mother used to say to me over and over when I was younger.
And I was just projecting that onto you."
Now, at the time, this client was in her late 50s/early 60s and her mother was deceased.
Yet she was still carrying around her mother's beliefs about body image and what a woman "should" look like.
So many of the struggling dieters that I work with continue to carry someone else's beliefs about a woman's body, a woman's role and woman's place in this world.
And despite how heavy it all is, they don't even realize they are carrying it around.
But once you see that these beliefs, opinions, definitions and expectations aren't your own,
You can put them down.
You don’t have to carry around someone's else baggage if you don't want to.
You don't have to hold onto something you never asked for in the first place.
At any moment you have the freedom to let it all go and enjoy the feeling of lightness, liberation and choice.
What are you carrying around that belongs to someone else? And are you ready to put it down and walk away?
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