bagLet’s imagine that everywhere you went, you carried a heavy backpack. You weren’t sure why – it’s not even like you needed it. But it’s something that you’ve done for as long as you can remember. It’s just something that was normal to you. You couldn’t even really remember what was in it.

So, one day, you set it down and opened it up. And you began to pull everything out of it. It had been so long that it was as though you were seeing the contents for the first time.

And what you realized, in that moment, was that you didn’t need any of these things anymore. They were no longer useful to you. Maybe, when you first began carrying them around they were. But now, you simply didn’t have any use for them. You were just keeping them near you out of habit.

So you round up everything that was inside the backpack and take it to a donation center. You are excited about your now-empty backpack, and you decide to only put into it things that feed your soul. You feel so much lighter and much more free! You don’t miss the contents at all; you’re just happy to be starting over.

Life is like this, too. We are all carrying around our figurative backpacks that are filled with beliefs and emotions that we no longer need – that are no longer useful in our lives. But we do it without even thinking about it. We do it because it’s become such a habit – and a comfort – in our lives.

If we opened our backpack, we might find that we couldn’t even recognize ourselves in the contents – that we felt so far removed from it. Many of our bags carry the same contents. Here are some of the heavy, outdated beliefs we may find:

  • Life is a struggle.
  • You shouldn’t want too much because you’ll just end up being disappointed.
  • Who do you think you are to dream such big dreams?
  • You should be suspicious when things come to you too easily.
  • It won’t matter as much if you didn’t have to work hard to get it.
  • You don’t really deserve to be happy.
  • Relationships are hard work.
  • You’re not ________ enough.
  • You need to be perfect.
  • Success is bad.
  • It’s selfish to take care of yourself.

Do any of these sound familiar? Where did these beliefs come from? And how long have you been carrying them with you? What are some other beliefs and emotions that you’ve been carrying around that are no longer serving you?

Would you be willing to empty everything from your figurative backpack and only fill it with beliefs and emotions that make you happy and that feed your soul? Would you be willing to give yourself permission to say goodbye to these beliefs for good – knowing that you just don’t need them? Would you?

Because you know what?

You are so deserving of a backpack filled with love and hope and dreams and life. Your love and your hopes and your dreams and your life.

So often, we’re carrying someone else’s baggage around, and we don’t even realize it. But you can give yourself permission to create a new life and carry around new beliefs. You can do that right now. 

It starts right here in this moment.

So what’s it going to be – a bag filled with heavy old stuff that was never yours to begin with, or a big filled with love, positivity, and possibility? You get to decide. 

And I sure would love for you to choose the second bag. You are so worthy of it. We all are.

I would love for you to spread the love by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter!

jodi

Ready to Write Your Soulful Book? I Can Help!

Sign up for my free "Write Your Soulful Book in 2024" Workshop that's happening on Dec 12 at 3 pm pst!

You have Successfully Subscribed!