Tag: weight

What Size is Your Baggage?

#inspiration, sign, forgiveness, lifeMy husband and I were at the airport waiting for a connecting flight when we saw the sign. It asked about the size of our baggage and the measurements included were to help us know if what we carried was too big.

The double meaning was not lost on us. Are we carrying around baggage the size of a small personal item? Maybe it’s larger, like a carry-on we need to stow overhead. Or, in some cases, it might have to be checked with the oversized pieces.

There was a time when the emotional baggage I carried was too large to be contained in the dimensions specified on this sign. It seems ironic to have carried around something too big to fit in a carry-on bag.

Past hurts, regrets, resentments and more were weighing me down. I was dragging them around, letting the weight of my past impact my day-to-day life. The load was becoming too much to carry and I needed to find a way to permanently check at least part of it.

Forgiveness was the key to lightening my load. Not only did I need to extend this to others, I also had to forgive me. My past mistakes didn’t need to still be carried. I could learn from them and let them go. This didn’t happen overnight, but bit by bit, I was able to permanently check the majority of this baggage.

I’m sure I’ll accumulate more as I travel life’s journey. But, now that I know what to do with this excess weight, I’m travelling a lot lighter.

Weighing In

#inspiration, perseverance, goalsTentatively I stepped on the scales, hoping to see a lower number. After all, I’d cut out sugar, reduced my portion sizes and been drinking more water so the weight should be dropping off. It had been three whole days of this new regime and I figured the results should be starting to show.

Instead, there was no change. How could that be? Had I resisted the sugary treats for nothing?

It may sound ridiculous that I expected results in just a few short days, but that was my mindset. Since this new eating plan wasn’t giving me the desired results, maybe it wasn’t worth the effort. I could say, “Oh well, I tried” and go back to my old ways.

Something inside of me said I may have been expecting too much, so I didn’t quit. Over the next few weeks, the number on the scales would go down slightly one day and then be up again the next. I was disappointed until I thought about my clothing that wasn’t fitting quite as snugly as it had previously. Come to think of it, I’d had more energy and better focus lately, too.

This was a big lesson in perseverance. The benefit of doing what I knew was right even though it was challenging was not lost on me. I was proud of myself for not quitting when I failed to see instant rewards.

I may not have achieved the results I was looking for, but I did get what I needed. If I can use this as my inspiration to keep moving toward my goals and not let setbacks stop me, I’ll be able to reach much more than I thought possible.

Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance. Samuel Johnson

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