by Throughout life we accumulate excess baggage. It can take the form of “stuff” we really don’t need nor use. “Things” that really don’t matter or did for a while but have become clutter. Unloading these is a good thing.
There’s another more insidious kind of baggage we accumulate, primarily in our earlier years, that interferes with our living the life we really want to live. This Noise distracts us from who we really are and clutters our mind, especially at moments of stress and challenges.
It makes unrealistic demands on us, demands that we have been taught at home, in school, by the media, by friends and others. Always winning, always being the best, never making mistakes, knowing what cannot be known and controlled and so on. Intellectually we know this makes no sense and is an impossible standard. However, our actions may not reflect this clarity.
Like a clean home after a major purge of the unneeded, identifying and then committing to decluttering our mind of this Noise moves us closer and closer to the person we really want to be and so a better life. This Noise, this baggage, is often based on our distrust and fear of being who we really are and of life. We compensate by becoming petty, jealous, placing blame, being unkind, bullying, imposing fear, avoidance and so on. Our symptoms include worry, anxiety, stress, low self-worth, weakness, cowardice and less-than-optimal results.
Our Noise stunts our potential.
The good news is that we can lessen the impact of our Noise. It is hard. It is frustrating. It requires self-honesty. Breaking deeply ingrained habits is not for the meek. It means seeing ourselves as we are, with all our pluses and minuses, and accepting and embracing who we really are. Learning to know ourselves well enough to distinguish between what is Noise and what is who we really are is the challenge before us. Without this knowledge, we will not identify the path that leads us closer to maximizing our potential.
Will we ever maximize our true potential? Probably not. Can we scare the hell out of it? Yes, we can. Within us is a “me” that is unencumbered by our personal Noise, our baggage. Unloading more and more baggage, mitigating the clutter, quieting the Noise is progress and that is enough. BUT understand, like all progress, it does not end. We may never be “there,” but we can become better, be more of who we really are. This propels us forward and gives us purpose each day. Feeling great about being the kind of person we are and the kind of person we want to be is a great place to be.
Honestly assess your personal Noise, your clutter, your baggage. Make the commitment to understand it better and better and to act on your knowledge. Prepare yourself for a difficult but extremely satisfying journey as you spend more and more of your life unencumbered.
More to come.
Eric Easter is CEO of Indianapolis-based Kittle’s Furniture.
